Product Watch: December’s best launches
In an industry in which developers can be peripatetic in searching for influences (Star Wars,
by Covergirl, anyone?), Lancôme are consistently inspired by their native Paris, especially this time of year. Christmas 2014’s crystal-studded salute to Paris’s lights is bested by make-up for a party in one of the city’s many hidden gardens.
L’Absolu palette, €55, a great gift idea, is printed with the doors of Lancôme’s 29 Faubourg Saint Honoré flagship. This dual-purpose compact contains shades of beige, gold, bronze, taupe, prune and violet powder for the eyes, as well as a lip base and red and bordeaux lip colours.
Apply Poudre de Lumière, €45, to the centre of your face, and décolleté for subtle, but glamorous gold shimmer. This limited-edition, loose powder is super-fine and not at all glittery. L’Absolu rouge replenishing lipstick, €28, and Artliner, €27.50, both Lancôme classics, are available in festive shades of vermillion (‘Caprice’) and golden bronze (‘Bronze Orfèvre’), respectively. Complete the look by bedazzling your nail polish with Vernis in Love gold lead-effect top coat, €19.50.
Steven Klein’s most famous images depict stars rendered unrecognisable for his lens (Justin Timberlake as a roughed-up pimp, Brad Pitt as Rick Blaine...), with make-up having played no small role.
NARS is a celebrity favourite, known for nontraditional ads like January’s ‘all-day luminous foundation’ campaign, which featured a completely blanched Tilda Swinton.
It is no surprise the brand has partnered with Klein for Christmas, choosing 11 photos from his archive to adorn black lacquered-metal packaging. A collection of limited-edition compacts is topped with edgy shots, while their contents provide for pretty devastating eye, lip and cheek looks. NARS dual-intensity eyeshadow is one of 2015’s best make-up releases, so the ‘Dead of Summer’ palette is my pick.
The four shadows within look wonderful, worn wet or dry. The three lightest shades contain micro-glitter, creating a finish that is perfect for the party season.
This compact also contains a mini Via Veneto Larger Than Life eyeliner, which does not drag on the skin and blends easily into a ‘Dead of Summer’ smoky eye.
If you put just one skincare product on your Christmas list, make it a high-quality, antioxidant serum. Estée Lauder latest boasts a veritable laundry list of proven anti-ageing ingredients, as is EL’s serum style.
Barley, pomegranate, blueberry and cranberry extracts, in particular, all have well-established reparative benefits.
There are also several lightweight moisturisers, and soothing ingredients, in the mix. Used in conjunction with a gentle cleanser and daily UV protection, potential benefits include improved skin texture, moisture levels and brightness.
Don’t be put off by the word ‘detox’ in the title. This isn’t a cleansing treatment in any sense and can be left on all day or night. This formula best suits normal-to-dry skin, as it is too emollient for oily types. Added fragrance may irritate the rosacea-prone.
Inspired by starry nights, Bobbi Brown’s Holiday 2015 look pairs shimmery eyes with a generous sweep of liner. The limited-edition Sterling Nights palette, €74, serves up nine shades, ranging from matte neutrals to rich, sparkle-infused shadows that create brilliant dimension. Mix and match these complementary hues to create a classic nude eye, or a modern nude-smokey eye.
The silky powders go on smoothly without creasing, flaking or fading. The brand-embossed black compact closes with a magnetic clasp and includes a large mirror. Bobbi’s gel-based ‘perfectly-defined eye liner, €24, is now available in ivy and evergreen.
A mono-palette of sequin eye shadow, a marbleised, highly-pigmented powder with metallic flecks, comes in molten gold (‘Constellation’), grape (‘Star Beam’), ivy (‘Comet’) and deep blue (‘Moon Rock’), all of which create dramatic party looks.
Frame your glamourised eyes with a dab face highlighter, €34, in pink, seashell or sunlight bronze, on the cheek and brow-bones.
These sheer, pearlescent lotions work well over foundation or mixed with moisturiser. There are four, new, radiant-matte shades of lip colour, €26.50, in a creamy, naturally-plumping formula. You can’t go wrong with an orange, scarlet, burgundy or nude pout.
Drinking, dancing and eating rich food are not activities that keep your face shine-free, but why let that stop you? Becca is best known for beautiful illuminators and has a highlighting tint to suit any skin tone.
The Aussie beauty brand clearly takes oil control just as seriously. Ever-Matte Poreless primer is so effective that combining it with a foundation formulated for oily skin makes your complexion strikingly opaque. Worn with less absorbent make-up, it creates a completely matte finish and minimises pores.
The formula is extremely long-wearing and negates the need for foundation touch-ups or powder, which should lighten your party clutch a bit. Sensitive types will be pleased that there is no alcohol or perfume on the ingredients list, though if you do not have oily skin the (super-mattifying) magnesium silicate may feel a little drying.
Those who use primers to hide wrinkles should know that this product is water-based, so won’t have the same filling effect as a traditional, silicone-rich primer.
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