'Muted Tones' is the easiest makeup trend to wear to work this winter. Here's how to do it in minutes.

Winter is slowly coming and I’m pretty excited because I’ll no longer sweat off all my makeup on my morning commute. (Yes, this is a thing that happens to me.)

A change in season also means a fresh batch of beauty looks to try, inspired by the hair and makeup on local and international catwalks.

This week, every influencer and their smart phone is in Melbourne for Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, known as VAMFF.

Priceline’s Makeup Director, Sarah Laidlaw, and Hair Director, Kenneth Stoddart, also released their Annual Beauty Trend report, which lists six makeup and hair trends to try this autumn/winter from the VAMPFF runways.

Among the key looks are a bold red lip, glitter eye makeup, textured volume with hair off the face, ‘ladylike’ curled ponytails and natural curls. They’re all very lovely, but one particular beauty look strolled down the runway and gently slapped me in the face.

It’s called ‘muted tones’ and it might be the easiest makeup trend to wear everyday this winter.

On @mamamiaaus this week: MUTED TONES on the runway on the face of a very lovely model, and in our office bathroom on my also lovely mug (can you say that about… yourself?). ✨✨✨#festivalofbeauty

A post shared by Amy Clark (@theamyclark) on Mar 6, 2019 at 4:02pm PST

Muted taupe tones & bare lashes on @loli.watson for the @vogueaustralia runway at @vamff styled by @pipmoroney ???? makeup by @sarahlaidlaw ???? Hair Direction by @kennethstoddarthair ???? for @pricelineau ???? #vamff #vamff2019 #priceline #makeup #fashionweek #fashionfestival #PricelinexVAMFF @pricelineau @vamff #vamff #olay #olaywhip @vogueaustralia #vogue

A post shared by Sarah Laidlaw ✂️Hair + Makeup???? (@sarahlaidlaw) on Mar 5, 2019 at 4:33am PST

The look for last night’s @vogueaustralia runway at @vamff was all about flawless skin and muted tones. We used soft matte taupe cream eyeshadow, very subtle peachy/brown blush and nude lips. And no mascara- sometimes it’s about what you don’t do that creates a look. • • Makeup directed by @sarahlaidlaw for @pricelineau. #makeupbymonicagingold #vamff #vamff2019 #vogue #vogueaustralia #pricelinexvamff #naturalmakeup #nomakeupmakeup

A post shared by Monica Gingold (@monicagingold_beauty) on Mar 5, 2019 at 1:22pm PST

A post shared by Priceline Pharmacy The Ponds (@pricelinepharmacytheponds) on Mar 5, 2019 at 8:59pm PST

The idea behind the muted tones look is to pick one muted colour and wear it in three ways – on your eyes, swiped across your cheeks and dabbed onto your lips.

“Muted tones were all over the runways this season in soft beige, apricot, peach, mauve or camel. It’s all about wearing one shade across your eyes, lips and cheeks,” Laidlaw told Mamamia.

“It’s also easy to wear for every occasion, the key is to keep it sheer and remember to blend.”

Beauty trends from fashion weeks aren’t typically easy (or appropriate) to wear in your everyday life. Sure, glitter eyeshadow and thick, angular eyeliner are banger makeup looks and please give them a crack for your next night out, but unfortunately, not everyone in your workplace will appreciate your artistry like I would.

Muted tones, however, is 100 per cent office appropriate. It’s also bloody easy to create, and cheap as chips because, multi-tasking products.

I wore this trend to work twice this week – once in camel/rose gold and then in peach.

How to do the muted tones makeup trend.

With some professional advice from Laidlaw, here's how to try the muted tones makeup look at home.

Step 1: Pick a colour and choose your products.

First, decide which colour you'd like to smear all over your face. Think soft, muted colours like baby pink, dusty pink, soft beige, apricot, peach, mauve, tan, rose gold or camel - whichever colour(s) work best for your skin tone.

Then, go about finding an eyeshadow, blush/bronzer and lip product in that one shade. Some of your products can take the extra work load of being your eye colour and cheek colour (use a blush as an eyeshadow, or an eye shadow as a blush).

For example:

For my rose gold look, I used:

• The Nude by Nature Touch of Glow Highlighter Stick in Rose, $24.95, on my eyelids and cheeks, applied with my finger).
• A small dab of the rose gold shade in the Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold Highlighter Palette, $90 (a few of the colours in the Flower Shimmer & Shade Eyeshadow Palette Cool Natural, $13.99, would have worked too) to add some staying power to the cream product.
• The Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer Balm in Caramel, $9.99, on my lips.

For my peach look, I used:

• The peach triangle in the Natio Blush & Bronze Palette in Rosy Glow, $19.95, on my eyelids and on cheeks, applied with the Rae Morris Jishaku #2: Mini Kabuki Brush, $85 (any small bronzer/highlighter brush will do the job).
• The Chapstick Total Hydration Lip Balm in Coral Blush, $7.99, on my lips, and also a cheeky smudge on my eyelid before applying the eyeshadow to act as a cheapskate version of an eyeshadow primer.

You can read more about how obsessed I am with the Chapstick tinted lip balms (especially in the Merlot shade) in my review here.

Like me, you'll probably find products in your makeup bag you can re-purpose for this look. If you can, go for matte (non-sparkly or glittery) products, a bit of shimmer is fine, but you want it to look like you conceivably came out of the womb with a subtle wash of peach on your eyelids.

Step 2: Apply your foundation/base products.

Do your foundation/base as you normally would, or if you normally use a high coverage matte foundation, pick one with the words 'dewy' or 'sheer' on the packaging.

Laidlaw added, "This look is all about softness, so choose a lightweight foundation to even out your skin tone weightlessly, leaving you with that soft flawless base".

Step 3: Apply your chosen colour on your eyes, cheeks and lips.

Again, this look is about softness, which is great news because you can use your fingers to apply cream products and warm them into the skin.

If you like using brushes or are working with powder formulas, a small bronzer/highlighter brush is a great way to sweep your products over your eyes and the apples of your cheeks, but you can also use separate eyeshadow and cheek brushes if you'd like.

Laidlaw also said you can use your finger to dab on your lip product for a more natural, stained finish. Win.

Would you try the muted makeup look in winter? Do you like experimenting with your makeup at work?

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