Ah, Sunday. Day of rest, relaxation and beauty news, if you frequent these quarters. Apologies for having been an intermittent messenger once again – I’ve some changes to the site coming your way that I’m exceedingly excited to share but, as always, the labour has been rather more intensive than I’d anticipated. Anyway, enough about that and more about this week’s new beauty buys…
THE NOVELTY THING / Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Kiss & Love Limited Edition / Don’t panic, Touche Eclat fans – the iconic formula hasn’t changed in the slightest, it just got itself a jazzy new coat. While we’re on the topic of TE – it is NOT a concealer for under eyes – it is a highlighter. It was designed to highlight (hence ‘touché éclat’), and does a marvellous job of doing so without any shimmer/shine. If you use it under your eyes, it’ll lift, but not conceal, the area. Don’t do it (unless you’re mixing it with a fluid concealer, but that’s a whole other post). Instead, use this down the bridge of your nose to slim, between brows to flatten furrows, on the inner part of eyes to widen them, and on your cupid’s bow to make lips look more pouty.
THE MAKE-UP THING / Mary Kay Modern City Collection / This affordable brand has a cult following in the US and is now trying to replicate this success in the UK. Their new collection is all about the ‘modern beauty of city skylines, landscapes and architecture,’ which in make-up terms translates to a clean, sophisticated palette of colours that wouldn’t be out of place on a city slicker. My top pick of the lot is the Eye Palette in City Sophisticate – use the deep brown as a liner and either of the three shimmers as an accent on your eyelid for a speedy bit of smoke.
THE HAIR THING / Aussie 3 Miracle Oil Reconstructor / I champion Aussie, mostly out of sentiment – I loved their wares so much when I was younger and loyalty laid down as a teenager runs deeply. If you feel similarly, you’ll be thrilled that Aussie is moving with the times by jumping on the oil wagon and releasing a lightweight blend of three hair-smoothing and softening oils (jojoba, macadamia and avocado) designed to be used in three different ways: as a pre-shampoo conditioning treatment (smooth on dry hair, leave for along as you can bear to before washing); as a smoothing, anti-frizz treatment once hair is washed, and to add shine and tame once hair is dry. As Aussie aficionados will expect, this smells pretty awesome – like sweets and fruit and sunshine.
THE WELLBEING THING / Cowshed Sleepy Cow Travel Set / Just as I was smugly telling you all that I don’t suffer from any difficulty in drifting off, interrupted sleep catches me. Waking at 2/3/4/5/6/all of the above is a nuisance and makes you feel a little strung out throughout the day, so I am using ALL the sleep aids in an attempt to put to bed (pun intended) this episode of troubled sleep. New in my life is this set, which has a whole lot of sleepy stuff in travel sizes. Now, at £30, it’s pretty dear for a single night’s sleep, but as the eye mask/cosmetics bag/sleep mist will last a little longer, I’m giving this one a (mostly) thumbs up. Only reservation: after using my Holistic Silk eye mask, this feels scratchy. Spoiled, moi?
THE BODY THING / Fresh Cocoa Exfoliating Body Soap / Out any day now in the UK, this soap makes me all kinds of happy. First, I like whipping it out because it smells of a mix between warm chocolate with a touch of fizz (like cola sweets, in a good way). Second, it whips up a moderate lather on my body while the tiny particles of coconut shell go to work at sloughing off dead skin and the cocoa and shea butter nourishes. Finally, it provides all these kicks in under a minute. Form an orderly queue.
THE SKINCARE THING / Merumaya Everything Everywhere Beauty Oil / Already keen on Merumaya? Good – you’ll love this multipurpose oil (and by multipurpose, they really mean it – they recommend you use it everywhere from your face to your cuticles via hair and lashes). If you’re unacquainted, this is a really good place to start with the range – the blend of kahai, grapeseed, jojoba and oat oils leave skin feeling comfortably soft, but not greasy.