Product watch: Mother's Day gifts
MooGoo, the dairy-inspired Aussie skincare company, offers lots of pampering, irritant-free treats for mums and little ones. Surprise a new mum with some goodies from your nearest stockist or order from moogoo.ie. Highlights of the baby collection include a natural-oil based Nappy Balm, €10.95, and MSM Soothing Cream, €15.95, which is quick to calm irritated or peeling skin. Natural Mini Moo Bubbly Wash, €14.95, is coconut and glucoside-based, sodium laureth sulphate-free and as gentle on baby’s skin as water. For mum, the luxurious Full Cream moisturiser, €13.95, with high concentrations of pasteurised honey, olive oil and sweet almond, is the precursor to a good night’s sleep. 3 Vitamins Eye Serum, €21.75, is loaded with reviving antioxidants and skin-boosting ceramides.
If you were born in the Eighties, your mum probably had a bottle of Prescriptives Calyx on her dresser. The fruit and floral fragrance was the first international hit for Sophia Grosjman, a Belarusian perfumer who went on to create Calvin Klein Eternity, Lancôme Trésor and many other bestsellers. Prescriptives, an Estee Lauder-owned brand, folded in 2009 but Clinique has adopted and re-released Calyx this season. This soft yet zingy scent includes apricot, mandarin, lily, muguet and vetiver notes. A calyx is “the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud,” which is loosely depicted by the shape of the bottle. This is how Mum smelled when she was your whole world. Clinique Calyx, €85 for 100ml.
Alexander McQueen has reworked the “De Manta” leather clutch bag this season to create a very chic wash-bag. The De Manta makeup case, €275 at matchesfashion.com, has a stingray-inspired shape constructed with magnetic corners, silver hardware and squishy, textured lambskin. Fully lined with black tweed, it is the perfect pouch for mum’s beauty bits (provided you can bear to hand it over). This style is available in black, blue and white.
Stylish hair accessories give an instant mood-boost to mums with no time to spend on a morning blow-dry. Hair scarves, headbands, bejewelled barrettes and even silk turbans make great additions to the tresses of a mum who loves colour. Cute ideas include Valentino’s studded pink leather hairclip, €100, Missoni’s crotchet-knit headband, €75, and the Gigi printed-silk headscarf, €157.23, by Eugenia Kim. All available at Net-a-Porter.com.
The question beauty writers are asked most often is whether luxury skincare is worth the money. Invariably, I say it depends on an item’s contents. Skincare ranges at every price point offer a mix of good, bad and so-so products. No range is beyond improvement. You have to check ingredients lists and reference cosmetic dictionaries to understand what you are getting (or drop me a line at examinerweekendbeauty@gmail.com, if you would like something reviewed). On Mother’s Day, however, you just want something that will impress her. Estée Lauder Nutritious Radiance Vitality Essence Oil, €53, is a great choice. The brand is a favourite of most mums. More importantly, the irritant-free formula contains fatty acids and proven antioxidants that genuinely benefit normal to dry skin. Plus, the label is free from spirit-crushing phrases like “lift effect” or “age reverse.”
Some of us are more different from our mums than others. If things feel a bit Joy Luck Club when you visit her, an engrossing DVD is the perfect gift. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was recently digitally restored and re-released by StudioCanal to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary. Jacques Demy’s tale of love, war and marrying for money in Sixties’ Paris is performed entirely in song and scored by the legendary Michel Legrand. The pop-arty mise-en-scene looks even more gorgeous in this updated version. Beauty icon Catherine Deneuve’s look in this film inspired the makeup for Orla Kiely’s London Fashion Week show last month.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg: 50th Anniversary Edition, €17.99 from various outlets
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