Here are the beauty products you should look out for in February
The search for a nude lip that enlivens fair skin instead of sapping colour apparently ended as Emilia Clarke prepared for the Critics Choice Awards. Artist Jillian Dempsey blended three of Laura Mercier’s new Lip Velours Extreme Matte crayons to get the look.
She mixed ‘Ruthless’ ‘Vibe’ and ‘Respect’ nudes with rose, beige and pink tones, respectively on her hand before brushing onto the lips. There’s no liner here but if you like using one to affect bigger lips I recommend MAC Studio Chromographic Pencil in NC15, €18.50, for a colour match.
The creamy Lip Velours formula meant the shades melted together to create a seamless look that lasted. This is LM’s most highly-pigmented lipstick and the mattifying agent is rice starch (often used in dry shampoo), so despite the texture it is not especially hydrating.
Emilia’s lips were balmed and the brand itself recommends pre-application hydration.
I do wonder how this enduring matte trend will affect our lips long-term, they have no oil glands to produce protective sebum for their fine skin and the collagen and other plumpers beneath break down faster (than through ageing alone) with constant irritation.
I guess big pharma provides where nature is harassed. Still, at this special occasion the colour was super-chic without looking overdone.
Mon Guerlain, the venerable French house’s call to millennials, launched last year with an elegant Angelina-faced campaign. It is not often so-called ‘flankers’, seasonal variations on a main-line scent, outshine the original but this one is really lovely.
Launching February 18, Florale was designed by Thierry Wasser, whose hits include the similarly airy Emporio Armani Diamonds, €75/100ml, a more floral and airy version of the original with additional notes of peony and an enhanced dose of Sambac jasmine.
Have you tried our new exclusive Mon Guerlain Florale? This modern but sensual scent which has notes of ylangylang, sandalwood & vanilla is now available in store. #MonGuerlainFlorale #ThePerfumeShop #Guerlain pic.twitter.com/JEjmtbs21J
— Tps Nuneaton (@NuneatonTps) January 22, 2018
The top notes remain the same, with an intoxicating note of Carla lavender. The heart has a higher concentration of Sambac jasmine than the original and Wasser’s added floral notes of peony and Paradisone molecule. Paradisone is an amplification of a jasmine molecule called Hedione, created to help perfume designers use the sometimes overpowering scent of jasmine essential oil in a moderate way.
Florale’s base includes vanilla with woody notes. The elegant and timeless bottle design based on the Nuances d’or de Guerlain comes in rose-gold colour. This is a modern, feminine scent with a limited run and makes a perfect Valentine’s gift.
Beauty you can customise is a major trend — unsurprising in this age of Insta-viduality — so expect to see lots of natty products that make conventional makeup more ‘you’ this year. Bottles of liquid pigment for adjusting foundation are one such.
Lighter than concealer but more cover-rich than tinted moisturiser, drops like these Lancôme newbies, which come in four shades, promise patch-free camouflage and brightening. Also there’s bronze-sculpting, if that is still your thing. Or how about something to warm up regular foundation when you have a tan? It sounds fiddly but getting it right makes such seamless perfection of all of the above — fast — that you will wonder why we bother with cream concealers, powder bronzers, etc.
This is a product type that may take a while to reach budget brands because refined, scarcely-diluted pigment is pricy and the colour ranges are as broad as many foundation’s. Fans of CoverFX, a Canadian line conceived to imperceptibly mask scars, burns and other long-term issues, will know they had the nonpareil — Custom Enhancer Drops, €35.50 at BeautyBay.com — out by 2016 but their products are not so widely available to experiment with as Lancôme’s. And I highly recommend experimenting with pigment before purchase.
The price is a lot for a little bottle and while you only need a few drops, you don’t know how it alters your skin or foundation until you get blending.
Stuck for time, I think the rose shade is a good choice as there is no complexion rose-gold does not flatter but if you want camouflage or correction get thee to a counter. Formula-wise, there is nothing here that should bother sensitive skin or increase dryness. The drops’ serum-like texture means they skip over uneven tone and application time is briefer than typical concealing.
Acetyl Hexapeptide 8, sometimes called argireline or ‘Botox-in-a-bottle’ is a muscle relaxant relatively new to commercial skincare. Estée Lauder-owned Clinique uses it in Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle Eye Cream, €48, released last spring, and it plays a key role in the flagship brand’s new serum.
Serums, concentrated blends of potent anti-agers, are all daily treatments at their best but this one promises relaxed lines after a fortnight. There is much to support the peptide in the bottle and it is hard to tell if the star ingredient is really a difference-maker, despite the brand’s research.
I like this serum as home care and Acetyl Hexapeptide 8 also acts as a moisturiser, so is not to be discounted.
Lauder has a habit of kitchen-sinking serums, the ingredients list is extensive and filled with goodies.
Whey protein and algae extract support natural collagen development and help fight free radicals.
Buzzy moisturisers fillagrin and hyaluronic acid are there to help plump up the volume, while rice bran and date oils keep skin supple.
This serum is safe for all skin types but the former does contain alpha hydroxy acids, which are smoothing and brightening but can increase sensitivity.
Is it a major departure from Lauder’s other anti-ageing serums? Or even just the original Perfectionist Perfectionist [CP+R] Serum, €72? There is certainly ingredient overlap. The aforementioned acids mean this one takes more action on sun spots and red marks.
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