The Style Maven: make-up motifs Make-up is one of the easiest and most affordable ways of getting an of-the-moment style fix each season, says Kate Finnigan. 'Make-up your life' is the title of the fun, feminine autumn/winter 2012 catwalk collection that the Moschino diffusion line, Cheap & Chic, showed in London earlier this year, and which has recently arrived in the shops. With its 1960s-style coats and silk pleated skirts stamped in little lipsticks and eyeshadow pots it has obvious resonance for an issue of a magazine devoted to beauty, its title a homage to the art of feminine adornment and also a call to have fun, be spontaneous, not take things too seriously. IN PICTURES: Moschino Cheap and Chic A/W 12 'Messages' from fashion brands are perhaps one of the first things you'd be advised not to take seriously in life but this one is harmless enough. What is the point of fashion and beauty after all if not the chance to express and decorate oneself with a laugh and a light touch? I love make-up and even though I don't wear that much (no doubt Bobbi Brown, interviewed in this issue, would say no, not enough, honey) I haul my bag of tricks around daily like lucky totems, and love oohing over the newest colours and formulae that we try out in the office. The ritual of putting on a bit of make-up in the mornings and evenings is one that I've enjoyed since I was 14 and can't imagine not, even if I now sort of prefer the ritual of taking it all off with a warm cloth at the end of the day. READ: Moschino Cheap And Chic A/W 12 show review But let's get to the point. This column is concerned with current fashion trends and make-up is one of the easiest and most affordable ways of getting an of-the-moment style fix each season. I don't mean merely that a bottle of Chanel nail polish is about 120 times cheaper than a small classic 2.55 bag by the same label, although it is. But painting your nails in this season's 'in' shade (blue, incidentally - our fashion desk is currently enjoying the sparkly Freak Out by Models Own) or your lips in a trendy dark-berry colour (YSL's Glossy Stain No 22 Prune Minimale - out in November) is an economical gesture towards feeling hip, looking youthful or whyever it is you enjoy following the ups and downs of fashion. Does it all matter in the great grand scheme of things? Not a bit. Are you going to separate me from my YSL Prune Minimale? Just try. From left: Metal earrings, £7.50, Freedom at Topshop, topshop.com; Merino-wool and sequin jumper, £295, Markus Lupfer, markuslupfer.com; Satin bag, £55, Lulu Guinness, luluguinness.com .