Hottest Must-Have Colors for Style, Fashion and Makeup This Fall 2010

I'm psyched about makeup and fashion colors for fall 2010. It's customary to nix white after Labor Day and opt for darker colors. This year's colors include neutral tones, dark plum, fire engine red and smoke blue. For those of us whose color palettes emphasize deep gray, lush burgundy wine, Gothic blood red, neutral ivory, sage and khaki, fall 2010 bodes well for us. And best of all, these colors look terrific on many different skin tones.

Got lighter, fair skin? Ease into the darker fall colors with heather gray, taupe, milk chocolate, burnt sienna, blush red and festive orange. Or take a walk on the wild side and make a bold contrast with slate blue, charcoal, burnished gold, gunmetal, red or antique bronze. For super fair skin that leans toward cool-toned, warm up your porcelain complexion with buff, cream, bone, neutral, taupe and Chantilly lace tones for foundation. Opt for chocolate and olive for your eyes and honey wheat or warm peach for cheeks and lips. If you want to risk the darker colors, lean toward dark chocolate for eyes and russet and caramel apple shades for lips.

For lighter skin tones that lean toward warm, keep that summer glow alive with a moist peach bronzer, gold to olive shades of eye color and deep red for lips. If you feel the need for some stormy weather, go for the charcoal and smoke eyes and nails. Offset the deeper colors with a russet or wine tones of lipstick. If your skin tone is warm, you can pull off the plum wine colors, but be sure to keep the bronzer toned to match.

If you really need to satisfy your inner goth, you can work the ivory and plum palette, but keep the tones in the same color family. Opt for deep purples on the red end of the chromatic scale, as opposed to blue violet. Blues and plums will wash out most skin tones to a livid purple. If the contrast of white to wine is too much to resist, look for an ivory shade of face makeup to complement those deep wine-colored lips. If you choose blue tones, be sure to work in some of the delicious, smoky blue-gray and gray-green. Other options for warmer skin tones are turquoise and jeweled aqua.

If you are already dark-skinned, well, girl, fall 2010 is your time to howl. Enjoy all those lush earth tones: gold, bronze, olive, russet, deep plum wine, mahogany, ocher, copper, charcoal, diva red, henna and even silver. On you, that funky turquoise trend will look like something delicious and regal. Let the natural resources of the earth be your guide to fall 2010 color style: think precious metal and gemstone. And be sure to enjoy some of the lighter neutral colors: taupe, sand, sage, heather, ivory, slate, bone, caramel, butterscotch and russet, in both your wardrobe and your makeup choices.

Remember that, whatever direction you go with makeup, less is more. If you are going to go big and bold, choose your best feature and accent that one. Keep it simple in the rest of your makeup. Say you've got gorgeous eyes that you want to bedazzle; go for it, but keep it simpler on the cheeks and lips. And don't be afraid to try new things. Experimenting with makeup colors is a safe outlet for your creativity, because makeup isn't permanent. If you don't like it, try something else. But by thinking outside the box, you may find a whole new color palette that you love. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.