mini-me fragrances: Chloé and Rykiel
I adore fragrance miniatures. Not only are they sooo cute but they make sense if you’re short of space. And obviously they’re practical travel companions (my Jo Malone 9ml Pomegranate Noir comes on all my adventures with me). For Valentine’s Day, Chloé is releasing ‘My Little Chloés’, its three popular scents – Love Chloé, Chloé and L’Eau de Chloé – in mini-me 20ml bottles. They’re available from February 1st, £25.
On the subject of mini fragrances*, I finally got hold of some L’eau de Rykiel from one of those fragrance-only emporiums in Westfield that seems to sell every scent you’ve ever heard of. I’ve been wanting this for ever and was happy to find 7.5ml bottle for about a fiver. Truthfully, it’s the packaging that appealed – the classic graphics and the T-shirt-shaped bottle. The juice isn’t bad, it’s quite fresh and soapy and reminds me of something I used to wear (still racking my brains to remember what). But I’m mainly going to use it for shelf decorating… wouldn’t you?
*PS: oh looky, just discovered Miniature Perfume Shoppe, a website devoted to collectors of miniature fragrances – genius!
Boys with bobs and girls who look like Bowie
Hello Beck for Saint Laurent and Stella Tennant for NARS. You both look ravishing…
Beck for Saint Laurent SS13
Continue reading
Eye candy: Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes
British Beauty Blogger is reporting on the Spring colours for Clinique’s Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes. The colours and formulations certainly look appealing (not enough people do cream shadows) but I’m most entranced by the campaign photos. How pretty! If they’re actually packaged like this, I think they’ll sell a ton more…
Chanel’s Métiers d’Art Linlithgow collection tweets up a storm
Chanel, Scotland, tartan, kilts, twinsets… what’s not to love in the latest Chanel Métiers d’Art show at Linlithgow Palace in Edinburgh? I’ll admit I have a love-hate relationship with Chanel RTW but this ticked most of my ‘love’ boxes. In particular, Stella Tennant in the ultimate luxe twinset and Edie Campbell in argyle-patterned tights and plaid tam-o-shanter, not to mention Sam Mcknight’s phenomenal Elizabethan hair dos. Continue reading
No-brainer gifting the Jo Malone London way
Fact: Jo Malone London always gives good Christmas. The crackers are a guaranteed winner (oops sorry, sold out again), and the cologne collections are everything a Jo Malone fan could want. In the past, these beauty gift sets were called ‘coffrets‘ and generally considered rather naff but these days they’re carefully chosen and handsomely presented. Continue reading
Introducing Bella Freud scented candles
I’m a firm believer that your choice of scented candle says a lot about you. Luxe Diptyques, Jo Malones and Fornasettis all suggest a person who enjoys the finer, prettier things in life *nods vigorously*.
The fact is, most posh candles last a good age so you don’t really need to replenish. In that way, they’re a little like clothes, accessories, or indeed perfume, more about variety and the sheer delight of having lovely things surrounding you.
Proving my point perfectly is Bella Freud who has just introduced a line of scented candles, daubed with her famous whimsical slogans. Possibly almost better than a ‘Ginsberg is God’ knit in that you can enjoy this every single day – just keep it as a fragrant desk ornament (I certainly will).
The candle is available at Space NK in three varieties at £38 each.
Lancome’s beauty Christmas crackers are back
It’s not just me who’s a sucker for miniature beauty products. Last year’s beauty Christmas crackers from Jo Malone, Lancome et al sold out in record time so this year the brands have repeated the exercise. Although I notice that Lancome’s prices have crept up. Is it related to the Euro-crisis? This year’s Lancome crackers are retailing for £50 at Selfridges (compared to £38 last year) but I have a feeling this won’t affect sales. For your £50 you get six miniature Lancome hero prdoucts: Hypnôse Mascara 2ml, Bi-Facil 30ml, Mini Juicy Tube – Fraise 17, Visionnaire 7ml, Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate 7ml, Mini L’Absolu Rouge ßx Lipstick 06. Such a genius marketing idea. Will you be buying?
*NOTE: this post uses cookies in affiliate links*
Curated retail: BeautyMART
Editing, editing, editing. As any stylist or magazine editor knows, what you leave out is as important as what you leave in. And so in retail, we’re seeing a similar thoughtful curation taking place in order to stand out from competitors. Continue reading
London Fashion Week: Brazil Rising at The Shop At Bluebird
Alongside the official London Fashion Week show schedule, there were all manner of extra curricular activities going on. My week kicked off with a breakfast at The Shop At Bluebird to launch Brazil Rising, a pop-up shop curated by Alice Ferraz. Alice is the owner of F*hits, Brazil’s super-blogger platform, but she’s something of a dynamo herself. Continue reading
Fashion show secrets: gaffer tape hair spray
Here’s a little backstage beauty nugget I found out recently. See that backstage beauty station? See those hairspray-like cans wrapped in parcel tape? That’s a little known secret of fashion shows. When big beauty brands sponsor shows, they want their and only their branding in the backstage shots. So MAC doesn’t want a stray Lancome mascara wand in view at a MAC-sponsored show and Toni & Guy doesn’t want a can of Elnett upstaging its products if it’s paying for exclusive endorsement. All well and good, but it seems there’s an understanding that sometimes X product is the only one that will do for X star hairdresser. So the solution is to cover it in gaffer tape to disguise the branding. In fact, some say that Toni & Guy’s black-clad Label M product packaging was so designed to mimic the gaffer-tape look I just described. Who knew?
[Image: Grazia Daily/BaByLiss]
