One of the most intimidating things ever is walking into a department store to shop for makeup. I am a makeup artist. I have been for more than 20 years. I have worked for cosmetic companies at makeup labs all over the world, produced photo shoots, worked with celebrities—but nothing is more intimidating than walking into a department store to buy makeup. I feel like I just walked into my high school math class and a pop quiz has been announced.

I can only imagine walking in wanting help and knowing the person answering your questions has a vested interest in "upselling" you. I know there are great makeup artists working at makeup counters, but honestly, sometimes it's just the luck of the draw who you get and what they are promoting.

I have been wanting to write about a line I have always loved named Benefit and a foundation they recently launched—called Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow. No, really, that's the name of the product.

Benefit was started by twin sisters in San Francisco. Their philosophy is that simple makeup should be fun and not take itself too seriously, and products should solve beauty dilemmas. In other words, their product shows you a good time by helping you fake it until you make it. As for Benefits irreverent humor, their first product was a nipple stain they created for an exotic dancer. Benetint, as it was later named, remains the company's best-selling product, with something like 10 million bottles sold. (Most women use it as a blush.)

In 1981, I read Interview with a Vampire for the first time. I was a regular at the midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and was listening to bands like Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Cure, and my idol at the time, Siouxie and the Banshees. It was Siouxsie Sioux's look that I most identified with and tried to emulate. I guess in a way I was doing Goth before the term became mainstream.

Back then my look consisted of NEVER going out in the sun. I used Max Factor Pan Cake Makeup in the lightest shade I could find (you can actually see my face and neck don't match). Almost everything else I used on my face was black. Black eyeliner, black shadow, black pencil on my brows, black mascara (OK, that has stayed the same). Of course at eighteen you can wear mud and a paper bag and still look ravishing. Just for the record I was "happy goth."

I always wait until the last few days to go to the Minnesota State Fair. Not because I don't like it, but because it always signals the end of summer and the casual ease that summer allows. The truth is, I just don't want summer to come to an end. Maybe it's because my hair (which is wavy) always looks better in more humid weather, or that my skin (which is getting older) looks better when there is moisture in the air. Either way, I always attend the fair with trepidation, knowing with certainty that the end of summer is near.

The end of the fair also signals the time to start thinking about steps to incorporate into my routine to ease the transition from summer to fall. I like gradual change, so here are a couple of important steps that help my family and I transition from the lazy days of summer to the cool nights of fall looking our best. Let's start at the top and work our way down.