GRACE NOTES : JUNE 2016
It's often said that fashion writers shop for a living, but beauty writers? A significant portion of our job [on top of pitching articles, interviewing experts, brainstorming, writing, briefing etc etc] is actually trying the myriad of products out there in order to inform you what's worth spending your hard-earned pennies on. Every evening is an experimentation in a new wrinkle-reducing face cream, multitasking hair oil, or long-lasting lipstick, so trust me when I say that the products that make it into my Grace Notes posts are well and truly the best of the bunch,
NIOD Sanskrit Saponins Cleanser*
You'd ultimately have to pry my beloved Eve Lom Cleanser from my cold, dead hands, but I think this newly released cleanser from NIOD will garner an equally cult status. The innovative formula is a virtuous alternative to both aggressive exfoliating cleansers and micellar and oil based ones [designed to remove makeup, they don't have the finesse for deep pore cleansing[. It has the weightless texture of a whipped mousse and melts onto the skin, removing makeup effortlessly and leaving my face feeling perfectly clean but simultaneously calm and soft. Oh, and it also smells like chocolate and cocoa nuts - and not in a synthetic Yankee Candle kind of way.
SACHAJUAN Dark Volume Powder*
Dry shampoo is literally my desert-island product - and as a beauty writer I have literally tried dozens. I typically find that they break into two camps; the hard-working oil-absorbers and the volume-boosting stylers. This one however sits firmly between both camps - a dry powder spray that creates immediate volume whilst immediately remedying greasy roots. I love that the dark formula blends into my hair - never leaving chalky white streaks since it has a brown tint. It makes my hair feel clean and fresh without leaving buildup and heavy residue. Exactly what one needs in a hair emergency.
EDWARD BESS Undo Time Blurring Perfector
Part primer, part concealer, part skin tint, it's almost impossible to label this product in a conventional manner, which is perhaps why I love it quite so much - in fact, it's unlike anything else I've ever used. A super pigmented but incredibly lightweight base - I use it everyday - blending the tiniest bit over the areas of my skin in need of a little extra coverage. Smooth and creamy, it completely masks imperfections and cancels out discolouration, but unlike most concealing products, has a second skin 'my skin but better' effect - blending seamlessly and completely disappearing into the skin. Paired with a BB cream, my skin has never looked nor felt better.
GLOSSIER Generation G Lipstick in Crush
Generation G is the ultimate sheer matte lip colour. More than just a tinted lip balm, it imparts long-lasting kiss-proof pigment - sheer at first, but easily layerable to a stain-like result. Crush is a magenta-red, a far cry from the soft nudes I normally opt for, but surprisingly wearable. The result is almost like that of applying a good blush to your cheeks - instantly brightening but not obvious that you're wearing makeup. The formula glides on super smoothly, feels completely weightless, and isn't remotely drying, despite being matte - in a natural 'I've been eating berries' kind of way as opposed to 'Kylie Jenner Lipkit'.
MIZENSIR Bois de Mysore*
Alberto Morillas, the nose behind some of the most famous fragrances on the market [including CK One, Marc Jacob's Daisy, and Kenzo's Flower], just launched his own fragrance line - Mizensir. Ahead of the collection's UK launch I was fortunate enough to attend a breakfast with the man himself, where, in the grandeur of a private suite at Claridge's he presented the 'anti-niche' fragrance line, announcing "I don't want to create niche, I want to create excellence". I've worn Bois de Mysore ever since, a warm, woody citrus blend that has earned me more compliments than any other scent I've ever worn.
