Yves Saint Laurent make-up is seriously glamorous. I’m not just talking about your appearance once it’s on, I’m talking about the entire process of applying it. While I’m generally speaking all for soft, silky make-up and as a rule steer well clear of anything that feels drying or gritty when on, this just takes things to another level.
Texturally, I was mesmerised by the powder – it is hands down most lightweight I’ve ever used, leaving in its wake silken skin that looks illuminated and not chalky in the slightest. Also noteworthy are the matte lipsticks which cling to the lips without a whisper of shine but don’t make them feel unpleasantly tight and caked (they also don’t budge – how YSL have done this I know not, but they are A-OK for a pretty long kissing session/mirrorless night out), and the mascara which lengthens and thickens without crumbling or drying up while staying put for about eighteen hours on the trot (I recently wore it to a lock-in: I wilted, mascara didn’t). You get the picture – this stuff doesn’t only make you look better but genuinely feels good when on.
Then there’s the packaging, which is basically a series of glossy gold tubes and compacts that would befit a screen siren’s dressing table. When the below bounty landed on my desk last month I just wanted to put it all on display immediately and, you know, wear scarlet silk. And diamonds. Really – it’s that kind of make-up. So here I am, with a few face fulls of YSL, feeling pretty happy of skin/lip/lash etc…
Face One // I put this make-up on for a day of meetings and it was easy peasy. Skin was made up with a little foundation where needed, a touch of concealer around my nose and powder on my t-zone. Eyes were done with the top half of the couture palette and mascara. Cheeks and lips just patted with Kiss and Blush. To finish things off I just brushed through brows with a spoolie. See? Simples. Jumper: Topshop.
Face Two // I know it’s still too early to even be thinking about buying presents for Christmas yet, let alone make-up looks, but the below is the PERFECT festive look, isn’t it? I think this will be my go-to for parties this year. So, this is: foundation where needed plus concealer and touché éclat as a highlighter (cupid’s bow, tops of cheekbones, centre of nose) powder on my t-zone, bronzer to sculpt and Kiss & Blush on the apples of cheeks. I used the darker colours in the couture palette to define eyes before applying mascara and a liberal lick of red lipstick straight from the bullet (I know: I’m wild). Jumper: Maje.
Face Three // I have to level with you – I didn’t do this eye make-up. At the launch for the new Black Opium scent last week I got to talking with the the European head of make-up for YSL, Fred Letailleur. He offered to jazz my eye makeup up and, as he is the very same man who makes up models for the campaigns and is the authority on all things YSL, I sat down pliantly in a nanosecond.
So, I’d been wearing: foundation, bronzer, concealer and Kiss and Blush. He added: couture palette up to the socket line and beyond, eyeliner (smudged with a brush) and lashings of mascara. His advice on doing a smoky eye? Don’t line the waterline (passé, apparently), and graduate the darkest colour into something lighter to avoid looking overdone/like a racoon.
Products Used //
– Foundation: YSL Fusion Foundation (B40), £30.50 here.
– Powder: YSL Souffle D’Eclat Sheer and Radiant Loose Powder (02), £38 here.
– Concealer: YSL Anti-Cernes Multi-Action Concealer (1), £23.50 here.
– Highlighter: YSL Touche Eclat in (2), £25 here.
– Bronzer: YSL Terre Saharienne Bronzing Powder, £35 here.
– Eyeshadow: YSL Couture Palette 5-colour Ready to Wear (4), £39.50 here.
– Mascara: YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils 23, £23 here.
– Blusher and Lipstick: YSL Kiss & Blush Lips & Cheeks Soft Matte Colour (9), £27 here.
– Lipstick: Rouge Pur Couture The Mats (209 Red Rhythm), £25 here.
