Here’s a quick suncare heads-up. This Shiseido XRoxy SPF set* (above) has arrived at John Lewis and it’s a very good buy for topping up your SPF if you’re out and about.
The mini size (20ml) Clear Suncare Stick SPF50+ Very High Protection works under and over make-up and its clear formulation obviously means there’s no issue with blending it in. As well as protecting against UVA and UVB rays, it offers skin moisturising properties and is suitable for combination, dry, normal, oily and sensitive skins. Also included in the Roxy printed cotton pouch is a 30ml Shiseido After-sun Intensive Recovery Emulsion. This calms sun-exposed skin and adds a dewy après-sun finish. The set is £32 – buy it here*.
For the beach-bound, there’s another Shiseido X Roxy set. This one is a bodycare duo (below), containing Shiseido Expert Sun Protector Face & Body Lotion SPF50+ (50ml), a fluid formula that’s effective against heat, sweat or water. It’s coupled again with the 30ml After-sun Intensive Recovery Emulsion and is available here* for £22.
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Shiseido
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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Kanye’s first Yeezy Gap jacket drooped last week, but is it any cop?
The single nylon puffer was the first piece from the much hyped ten-year project to appear as a pre-order on the U.S Gap website (to be shipped in the autumn). In bright blue, the voluminous $200 jacket wasn’t your average Gap fare. (Some memes compared it to a Smurf-coloured bin bag.)
Early reactions on fashion forums were mixed – 65/35 against I’d say. The 35% were quite emphatic in their enthusiasm, applauding Gap for giving so much trust and control to Team Yeezy. Gap even temporarily erased its entire Instagram feed save for one picture of the polarising item. At this stage, one could concede, what exactly does Gap have to lose?
To understand how things might play out, we could look at Gucci and Celine. When Alessandro and Hedi took over creative direction at these two heritage brands there was outrage and confusion (remember #oldceline?). But in time, the new customer convinced the old customer and wider public. Gucci is now extremely profitable, while Celine has been making progress despite the obvious challenges of the pandemic.
Gap has been struggling for years. As hoodies, normcore and Casual Friday-wear have been variously co-opted by cooler street wear upstarts, or simply fallen out of favour with the way people dress, Gap has failed to evolve sufficiently for the modern consumer. In today’s hyper-accelerated market you need to go harder on your brand heritage, try harder to stay ahead, or go home.
It may be a little late, but with this recent move, Gapcould recover. I actually believe the Kanye appointment may turn out to be a smart strategy, anointing the retailer with a much needed ‘halo effect’. After all, he has a solid track record with his Adidas-backed Yeezy trainers, which grew 31% in annual revenue during the pandemic. Plus timing-wise, what better moment than post-pandemic for a radical reinvention? He also has Mowalola Ogunlesi heading up his design team, a secret weapon who understands Gen-Z taste preferences. To be clear: this is not your father’s Gap.
Importantly, the company is fully behind Kanye. Gap’s CEO Sonia Sygnal said on a recent earnings call, “what I can tell you is that the creativity is through the roof and it’s spilling over to the brand and it’s inspiring our teams more broadly.” Thinking back to Alessandro Michele’s Gucci debut there was muchhandwringing until we all relaxed and accepted Gucci’s visionary new normal.
Will I be wearing the Yeezy Gap blue puffer? (It’s U.S. only now but global rollout is expected.) No. But I’m certainly keeping an eye on the rest of the line of so-called ‘elevated basics’. Despite nostalgic brand affection, I’ve not meaningfully engaged with Gap for quite a while. But I’m not ready to dismiss it just yet.
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGE: Twitter
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
CLICK HERE to get Disneyrollergirl blog posts straight to your inbox once a week CLICK HEREto buy my book The New Garconne: How to be a Modern Gentlewoman
With a couple of recent beauty brand launches, it’s interesting to speculate who will be the next make-up-artist-turned-make-up-mogul after Pat McGrath and Charlotte Tilbury. I’m currently enjoying watching the rise of Gucci Westman and Westman Atelier, but next in the running we have Violette Serrat and Lisa Eldridge.
Violette rose quickly from freelance MUA to Estee Lauder Global Beauty Director after growing a dedicated following of her beautifully shot (and very ‘French girl style’) YouTube videos. Her aspirational but relatable style now translates to Violette_FR, a capsule beauty line that includes Boum Boum Milk spray serum, liquid eye shadows and – already! – a unisex musk oil perfume (above).
Building a loyal social media following is clearly the modus operandi du jour for future make-up moguls. Lisa Eldridge is another freelance MUA (make-up artist) who scaled her reach via YouTube. But whereas Violette’s are five-minute lifestyle vignettes, often filmed in chic Parisian brasseries or hotel rooms, Lisa’s videos are step-by-step studio beautorials demonstrated on a model (or occasional celeb). Lisa is a well known collector and history nerd ( remember the Audrey Hepburn lipstick auction story?), with an eye for accessory design and a make-up history book under her belt. Her line (below) launched first with a trio of incredible sell-out lipsticks, evolving recently into lip glosses, blushers and highlighter.
Both Violette and Lisa have great personal style that adds to their appeal. No surprise then to see them segue from the make-up playbook into other areas such as fashion and lifestyle – Lisa with jewellery and Violette with, well, who can say? “I want to reposition beauty as a lifestyle, not just about the face. We’re celebrating who you are and not trying to change your features or even enhance them — it’s more to help you feel great and fall in love with yourself and give you confidence,” she told WWD.
To illustrate the point, she has just opened a Violette_FRNew York pop-up shop (until June 21), complete with a merch collab with French brand Bisous Skateboards. Why not pick up a Violette hoodie (below), tee or skateboard along with your matte red lipstick?
This evolution of not-just-make-up mogul seems logical in many ways when we look to the example of Gen Y competitors like Glossier and Kylie Cosmetics. If you have a highly engaged fan base, they will likely buy into anything you offer. But to succeed long term, or with a customer that skews slightly older, it must make sense, not just in terms of product type, but product quality and messaging too.
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Violette_FR Lisa Eldridge; Violette_FR
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
CLICK HERE to get Disneyrollergirl blog posts straight to your inbox once a week CLICK HERE to buy my book The New Garconne: How to be a Modern Gentlewoman
I’m a complete sucker for a classic Cartier watch, especially one reissued from the archives. This month sees the relaunch of the Tank Must de Cartier, a discreet unisex style originally released in 1977. Created at the height of the quartz watch era, it was designed to appeal to the new young Cartier customer, with its diminutive proportions, entry price point, brightly coloured dials and vermeil (gold-plated silver) hands.
Fast-forward and we’re again seeing this new youthful customer embracing old-school watches. (more…)
