Tag: red lipstick

5 January 2012     0

Happy New Year!

New for February Bobbi Brown Ultra Nude Eye Palette

After all the beautilicious build up to Christmas – the sparkly make-up, the backcombed hair, the twinkly nails – when it really comes down to it few of us do an awful lot of it at Christmas.   What with Christmas spent most often en famille, it’s the last place you feel the need to doll up to the nines.   And if you’re anything like me, doesn’t it come as rather a welcome change?   How relaxing and liberating simply to slap on a bit of tinted moisturiser and a lick of mascara of a Christmas morning.   There are far too many other things to be thinking about.  The turkey (ahem, we had beef), getting to the church on time (just), presents (so many), Champagne (welcome), stopping the dog from eating all the smoked salmon sandwiches (embarrassing).

And now I’m back having in truth spent much of the Christmas break knee deep in cosmetics as I tested, sniffed and reviewed a heap of 2011′s brightest new stars.  This, for Marie Claire Prix d’Excellence, the magazine’s annual beauty awards.  It’s a huge honour to be a judge. Yet still for me both Christmas Day and Boxing were delightfully low key.

My first hottie for 2012?  Bobbi Brown‘s latest nude eye palette.   It’s not out till February, but January will fly by, promise (£39, click here to reserve yours).  It contains six soft brown, nude and taupe shadows – all you need for Spring’s soft new eye.   Bobbi suggests teaming it with bright lipstick – a great, classic combination.

Happy 2012 x

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8 September 2010     2

Mad Men, red lips and face powder

Torn between, a. donning new Burberry trench and wellies (about which I’ve been boring for Britain on Twitter) for a night of (window) shopping at Vogue’s fashion evening and, b. bracing myself for episode 1, series 4 of Mad Men.  Have a feeling the latter will win – that is the hazard of blogging, Twitter and possibly an unhealthy affection for the Mac. Keeps you in the warm – and more rain’s a coming.  Trench and boots or no trench and boots.

In spite of the excitement a surprising number of you haven’t yet got into this series (you know who you are).  And I’m still a novice, at episode 9, series 1.  Try it tonight, BBC4 I urge you (if you get this tomorrow: iPlayer).

One of the reasons I’m hooked is of course for the look of it – and the make-up.   It’s about proper, old fashioned make-up: foundation, powder, lipstick, eye liner.  The time is the early 60s, so there’s still a hefty feel of  late ’50s (coral lipstick and nail polish – Betty Draper, the blonde, series 1, episode 8).  There’s black, flicked-out eyeliner.  There’s red lipstick.  There’s powdered skin.  I don’t think they had invented the idea of ‘dewy skin’ at that time.  Shine was something to be kept in check.

A shine-free nose makes quite a good metaphor for those times – pre-sexual revolution, pre-Rolling Stones, pre-public letting go.   The public and the private face were kept thus – and the make-up symbolised that, to a degree.  But only to a degree – witness the perfection of the Mad Men women folk at home – make-up perfect.

This is what Mad Men tells me at any rate.   Also, my late grandmother (who always had face powder and red lipstick to hand) who while wonderfully relaxed and adoring of youth and newness had, most definitely, a public, shine-free face.

If you want to get up to speed on this brilliant, racy, raunchy, stylish, compelling, utterly addictive thing, read Melanie Phillips column here.  Then tune in.

Mad Men, 10pm, BBC 4

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