Chanel

The gel moisturisers I’ve tried and love



Skin Rocks The Light Moisturiser - a lightweight gel moisturiser

It’s gel moisturiser season and I’m into it.

When the heat rises, gel creams are quick to apply, light to wear and sometimes cooling on the skin. Despite being lightweight, the ones I recommend offer a good level of hydration with their added vitamins, ceramides and hyaluronic acid.

Five favourites that I’ve tried and love…

CLINIQUE MOISTURE SURGE 100H AUTO-REPLENISHING HYDRATOR. First launched in 1988, Clinique’s Moisture Surge (£26 for 30ml) is the gel moisturiser that spawned a thousand blush-pink copycats. Its recognisable colour and bouncy texture may have aesthetic appeal, but its non-clogging formula loaded with vitamins C, D and E, plus hyaluronic acid and calming aloe deliver on results. Buy it here*. There’s also an SPF 25 version (£34 for 50ml). Buy it here*.

BYOMA MOISTURIZING GEL CREAM. Formulated especially to boost the skin barrier, Byoma’s Moisturizing Gel Cream* (£12.99 for 50ml) infused with barrier-boosting ceramides, comforting niacinamide and green tea is an excellent, affordable gel moisturiser. It’s also refillable, and available in an SPF 30 version* (£14.99 for 50ml).

ANTIPODES BAPTISE H2O ULTRA-HYDRATING WATER GEL MOISTURISER. My favourite for hot summers, Antipodes’ plant-based, cooling water-gel moisturiser (£32 for 60ml) is lightly scented with rose and feels thirst quenching on the skin. But it here*.

BOY DE CHANEL FORTIFYING GEL MOISTURIZER. Impossibly chic and practically impossible to find in stores. And yet! It’s worth hunting out Chanel’s lightweight gel-cream from the Boy de Chanel line, (below, $80 for 50ml) for its ultra-light formula containing hyaluronic acid and green coffee to strengthen skin and protect against environmental stressors. A great post-shave men’s moisturiser or women’s pre-make-up prep. Sold out in the UK, but you can buy it here* in the U.S.

Boy De Chanel Fortifying Gel Moisturizer

SKIN ROCKS THE LIGHT MOISTURISER. Finally, brand new and already taking pole position in my bathroom real estate, Caroline Hirons’ Skin Rocks The Light Moisturiser (£58 for 50ml) is a lighter, high-performance addition to the original The Moisturiser hero product. This uber-light summery version has the wobbly jelly texture that I love and its impeccable formula includes a little oil, ceramides and vitamin D to protect the skin barrier and keep hormonal spots in check. Choose from scented or unscented. Buy it here*.

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WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Disneyrollergirl; Boy de Chanel/Disneyrollergirl
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The culture of fashion: how the catwalk soundtrack got its groove



Michael Clark Bodymap fashion show - photograph by Robert Rosen courtesy BodyMap

Models! Clothes! Music! Fashion show soundtracks are increasingly part of shaping a brand’s identity. And in the digital era they’re about to become even more important…

The year was 2017. Kim Jones was menswear artistic director at Louis Vuitton. At the appointed hour, his first models sloped onto the Paris runway in iterations of slouchy 80s overcoats, baggy flannel trousers and Basquiat-style suits with untucked shirts. Then the kicker – internet-breaking Speedy holdalls emblazoned with red-and-white Supreme logos. And to add the crucial fourth musical dimension: Honey Dijon’s mix of Sound Factory bangers including Chez Damier’s Can You Feel It (MK Dub), completing the downtown New York nostalgia trip.

Since then, other notable catwalk soundtracks have included LaQuan Smith’s AW23 Ballroom fabulosity-fest; Benji B’s eerie David Lynch-like Chromatics mix for Jil Sander SS25 and Saint Laurent’s long-term music collaboration with DJ SebastiAn – so integral to the brand, they packaged it as a box set and sold it in Saint Laurent stores. (more…)



Polly Mellen remembered



Polly Mellen

Thoughts and prayers to all the fashion journalists this week. I’m not sure what’s up with the planets but it’s been a whirlwind of arrivals, departures and confirmations.

The happy news is that Chanel has confirmed Matthieu Blazy as its next artistic director (following his successful three years at Bottega Veneta) and Bottega has confirmed Louise Trotter as Blazy’s replacement. Yes, I’m delighted!

The sad news is that John Galliano (AKA Johnny G – cute!) is departing Maison Margiela after ten years. Not sure where he goes next.

But very sad is the news that the incredible stylist and one of my fashion idols Polly Allen Mellen has died at the age of 100. (more…)



Cartier carabiner, anyone?



Cartier carabiner watch

Gorpcore jewellery – yay or nay?

Personally, I’m feeling the elevated carabiner-clip-as-jewellery vibe.

Back in spring, Cartier unveiled its take on the utilitarian carabiner clip – an audacious, deco-esque watch-carabiner hybrid set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds as part of its Cartier Libre Polymorph collection (above). Suitably incongruous and decadent, it’s the kind of irreverent move I love from Cartier. (more…)