Hamburg - The leaves are changing to brown and red tones, a sign that the cold weather months have arrived. 

Gradually, thicker coats are appearing, often wrapped around a man or woman carrying a hot chocolate or cappuccino. The delicious brown tones in those drinks are not just in the paper cups this season. They can also be found in the make-up of the women passers-by, as many cosmetic companies this season feature shades of brown. 

Maybelline Jade's fall collection is called Chocolate Shimmer. The eye shadows are in light and dark brown, and, according to Maybelline, they should melt like chocolate on the tongue, thus providing for a natural looking eye make-up. The look is then rounded off by brown eyeliner. 

By contrast, lips captivate with colourful fruit tones such as peach. Brown shows up again on the cheeks in brown-red blush and fingernails in creamy pastels. And brown eye mak-up doesn't have to be necessarily discreet. Combined with bright colours, it can have a glamorous effect. 

"Brown with purple is a very modern combination," said Beatrix Isabel Lied, a make-up artist from Hamburg. A bold blue, applied in moderation, can look good with brown. And playfully combining brown and gold is also permissible, especially in the evening. 

Lied recommends wearing matt brown eye-shadow tones during the day because they look classically warm. Nuances of brown with gold or bronze shimmer, such as the ones featured in Lied's makeup line Beauty is Life, come across as elegant. They are well-suited for a night out. But the colour brown should not be repeated on the lips, Lied advised. Rose-coloured lipsticks match better. 

Make-up artist Olaf Zieseniss, who runs the mobile cosmetic service Beauty at Home in Frankfurt, shares this view: Brown can go on either the eyes or the lips, he says, but not simultaneously. He suggests combining rosewood lipstick or a simple gloss with brown eye shadow. 

When the chocolate tones are sought for the lips, there is plenty of selection: Sans Soucis offers lipstick and lip pencil as well as lipgloss with delicious names such as mocca, chocolate kiss and creamy caramel. For the eyes there are shadows in colours called coffee bean and shiny nougat. 

The colour trend for this autumn and winter is, according to experts, not new. Make-up in brown tones has been in before. What's new is the chocolate and coffee descriptions of the eye shadows and the lipsticks, said Antje Bruene of Germany's cosmetic association in Berlin. 

"It's also easier for the customer because they can imagine each colour," said Bruene. Brown is included in almost all the cosmetic companies' autumn collections. It is, after all, one of the classic eye shadow colours. 

Estee Lauder goes a step further and designates not only individual eye shadows, but also an entire make-up line in the chocolate trend. Its Chocolate Decadence collection is meant to make cheekbones glisten from gold-shimmering cream powder in caramel colours. The eyelids meanwhile are steeped in chocolate and caramel tones. 

To follow the application technique, first cover the eyelid all the way up to the bend of the eye brow with light brown eye shadow. Then cover the part of the eyelid that moves with a coat of shadow in a darker chocolate tone. 

Lancome is also featuring brown tones. The highlight of this season's collection is a make-up palette in the form of a golden lotus bloom. Within it are two eye-shadows and two lip colours. The customer can choose either rose, grey or red tones combined with bold beige and brown nuances. 

It could be worthwhile to consider the brown tones ahead of the beige because they have the advantage, according to Zieseniss, of bringing out a woman's appearance without looking painted on. 

Women considering wearing trendy chocolate-coloured make-up should be aware that not only Latinas can wear them. As brown tones can be combined in a variety of nuanced ways, they are appropriate for many complexions. Caramel tones go well on blondes, said Zieseniss. (dpa)