business of beauty

A.P.C is coming for your bathroom shelf



APC Beauty

Does the world need another beauty brand? Clearly not. And yet. I’m wholly seduced by the idea of A.P.C Self-Care. The signature orange blossom fragrance always transports me to trying on boots in their store near the Tuileries in Paris circa 2010 – so quintessentially ‘garconne style‘ – so the notion that this scent underscores the products, gives me a good feeling. It’s all about the sensorials for me.

The line is miniscule – just six products; a cologne (£65), shower gel (£40), body lotion (£45), hand soap (£40), hand cream (£20) and lip balm (£15). (more…)



On quiet beauty, Prada make-up 2.0 and the end of the glossy girl boss era



Australian Vogue Beauty Garconne

How cool to be quoted in Noelle Faulkner’s article for Vogue Australia on the emerging anti-perfect aesthetic.

In her piece, ‘The Whole Picture’ (in the August issue), she charts the convergence of discreet fashion and beauty, particularly the growing shift away from obvious enhancements in pursuit of so-called perfection (pillow cheeks, snatched jawlines, uber-pumped lips) and towards a more self-accepting, everyday aesthetic. (more…)



On clubs, culture, commerce and… candles



DISCOTHEQUE Paradise Garage candle
The post-Covid hedonism wave we were promised doesn’t seem to have quite materialised. There are glimpses of it – a whiff of a smoking revival, the return of the indie sleaze aesthetic – but mostly it’s a lingering backward glance to wilder times.

Discothèque candles got the memo and ran with it. Founded by L.A ladies Jessie Willner and Hanover Booth, the intoxicatingly-scented and gorgeously packaged candles are named after storied clubbing landmarks of their time – think Hacienda, Crisco Disco, Paradise Garage and the Mudd Club. (more…)



Trend report: What to wear for SS23



WWD backstage at Jil Sander SS23

Let’s say it now, there’s not a lot of newness around at the mo. The world’s in flux, designers are scared for their jobs, no one’s taking risks and the big brands especially just wanna sell. Who can blame them? BOF’s Angelo Flaccavento was maybe a bit harsh with his ‘clothes to die from not for’ (lol) summing up of MFW SS23, but he had a point. It’s a commercial season, so let’s just get that out of the way. Honestly, I’m not sad about the black-everything revival, I can’t complain about the loafer love-fest and as a New Luddite, it’s great to see women’s watches in the spotlight. Read on for my round-up of what I’ll be wearing and doing this season… (more…)