The right face for fall

A pale, porcelainlike complexion. Stronger, more intense makeup colors to accentuate eyes and mouth. Sleek hair styles combed back away from the face or with short-cut locks swept up over the forehead. Those are the essentials in the fall beauty picture.

Fastidious grooming is extremely important. Fashion designers here and abroad gave meticulous attention to the way their models appeared on their runways. The interaction between faces and clothes was painstakingly worked out with care given to line, proportion, and depth of color for every detail.

This is not a fussy, curly-girly season. Simple coiffures that are close to the head are the rule. They range from very short, boyish styles to chin-length hair that is softly waved or, as shown at Chanel, straight and smooth with a blunt cut. Long hair is often slicked back and coiled into a neat twist at the nape of the neck, as worn by the Perry Ellis models.

Although cosmetic colors are deeper and are used with dramatic artistry, distorted effects are not compatible with the well-bred sportive clothes of this season. Unsubtle lip gloss that shines like a spotlight is out. So are thin, over-plucked eyebrows.

Cheeks wear a faint amount of blusher. Wide, naturally arched brows frame eyes that are skillfully enhanced with blended shadings on the upper lid - never , never rimmed round with liner on the lower lid to resemble a startled chipmunk.

Freaky makeups - the ''battered look'' that turned up in Paris and the black or clay-colored lipsticks proposed by some of the nihilistic new Japanese designers along with savage, artfully disheveled hairdos - may be expected to have limited appeal.

Interest for most women will center on the new colorings. Violet casts continue in the general scheme, but russets, pure reds, and pinks for lips and cheeks are also well-represented in the fall lines of Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, and others. Matching your lip rouge to your nail color is again the fashionable thing to do. Wide bangle bracelets will focus attention on hands, so well-manicured nails take on special consequence.

Blues, greens, gray, and coppery brown are the main hues for eye shadows, which nowadays usually come in compacts containing three or more tones, including highlighters. To complement lashes, the range of colors is exceptional. Chanel offers both cream and cake mascaras in blue and deep violet. Among other new products of note: Lauder's All-Day Eye Color Creme, which does not collect in the creases of the lid the way many powders do.

Keeping hair chicly sleek can be made easier by means of the new setting gels (Clinique's is especially light) that are combed in directly after a shampoo and rinse, then brushed out later. They also work on dry hair that has become unruly. Some hairdressers think l'Oreal's Valence, a mousse-like foam, is even more efficacious than gel. They find it's less sticky and leaves no residue when it's combed out.