Beauty snippets: McQueen parfum, By Kilian, Farfetch, Buly 1803, Estee Lauder, Glamour, Fenwick, NARS, Bobbi Brown
I haven’t done a beauty news roundup for yonks but I simply can’t keep up with all the news so I’m putting it all in one place. Deep breath…
A NEW MCQUEEN FRAGRANCE HAS LAUNCHED
Alexander McQueen is relaunching fragrance with McQueen Parfum, a decadent-sounding perfume in an absolutely stunning bottle. Just arrived exclusively at Harrods, the new fragrance business is in partnership with Procter & Gamble Prestige and the rich, floral scent conjures up a gothic dark mood according to WWD. Sarah Burton spent time eliminating off-brand notes such as vanilla and berry in favour of the sensuality of tuberose and jasmine. The marketing sounds quite interesting. Comparing McQueen with the uncompromising vision of Chanel, P&G Prestige’s MD Antoine Delgrange described VIP gifts of a mini ceramic bottle infused with the fragrance to act like a jewel or piece of art. How very fabulous.
ESTÉE LAUDER HAS ACQUIRED BY KILIAN
More on the fragrance front, big news from By Kilian. The luxury fragrance house is the latest niche brand to be acquired by Estée Lauder. I’m not surprised, to be honest. Like Tom Ford, it has a super-suave and charismatic figurehead in Kilian Hennessy, a clever marketing strategy (these are lifestyle objects, not just fragrances), a huge fan base and of course, the most wonderful smells.
ESTÉE LAUDER RELAUNCHES EDITORIAL SITE
Estée Lauder’s editorial site has pivoted from the Estée Edit to Estée Stories. It’s still an upbeat mix of how-tos, lifestyle videos and product news, all shoppable of course…
THERE’S A BRITISH BEAUTY BLOGGER APP
My main beauty news source is British Beauty Blogger, which has now got its very own app. For once it’s on Android, not IOS, which suits me fine! The app is here. And here’s BBB’s review of Givenchy’s curious new Cushion Kiss gloss as a taster… (P.S. I totally want an app now…)
FENWICK WELCOMES EARLY RISERS
Mornings just got more bearable, with Fenwick of Bond Street’s new ‘See You at 8’ service. The New Bond Street store is opening up its beauty floor for early starters, so you can get a blow dry, breakfast muffin or boss’s birthday card en route to the office as early as 8am (weekdays only). For an appointment or more info, head to Fenwick.co.uk.
FARFETCH ENTERS THE BEAUTY SPACE
More retail news: Farfetch has embraced beauty. Kicking off with Space NK, the e-commerce marketplace now offers all the best beauty brands alongside its global fashion offer.
BOBBI BROWN X BALTHAZAR
If you love fashion-themed afternoon teas, Bobbi Brown has a corker for you. To celebrate 25 years of Bobbi Brown, it has joined forces with the brilliant Balthazar in Covent Garden to present Bobbi Loves Balthazar, a bespoke afternoon tea and limited edition lipstick. Balthazar created Bobbi icons in cake form including a Pot Rouge macaron and a rhubarb tart that thinks it’s a Shimmer Brick. Head across the road to the Bobbi Brown Covent Garden Studio to pick up the matching lippie (‘Vintage Red for Balthazar’ a reprisal of the original Vintage Red shade, £20), or find it online. The tea is available from 3-5pm until September and the £25 cost includes an Instant Lip Makeup Lesson in the neighbouring store.
MINI REVIEW: NARS VELVET MATTE SKIN TINT
First impressions of NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint: it’s a very pigmented, medium-coverage foundation to warm up your complexion as we head into spring. I like the small nozzle that doesn’t squirt out too much product. Because it’s so pigmented, the trick is to use a tiny bit and spend time buffing it in. It’s slightly time consuming if you’re in a hurry, but you can cheat by adding serum to thin it out a bit, which is what I’ve been doing. Personally, I like my base a bit more dewy, but sometimes matte is good for polish. I’ve been wearing this with a tiny bit of contour (God, never thought I’d say that), no blush and a red lip stain. Buy it at Selfridges or John Lewis (£30) or shop the post below.
GLAMOUR BEAUTY FESTIVAL
Don’t forget that next weekend is the Glamour Beauty Festival, with a ton of beauty treatments and pampering stations on offer, plus talks and panels with industry heavyweights. It’s a vaguely similar format to Vogue Festival, in which your ticket gets you entry to one talk and you can then take your time enjoying all the other attractions. I imagine the Lisa Eldridge talk and the Jim Chapman-hosted social media panel will be jam-packed, but honestly, you’ll have a task choosing just one talk to attend. Tickets are available here.
BULY 1803 GOES GLOBAL
The Parisian beauty insider fave, Buly 1803 is opening a new store very soon. Keep an eye on its Insta to find out where. (You’ll never guess…)
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WORDS: Navaz Batliwalla/Disneyrollergirl
