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BEAUTY
Few things fill me with glee like new makeup does. Every fresh product comes with possibility: This could change everything! Hope in a compact. Promise from a squeezy tube. Eternity in a jar. And why not? Cosmetics are the essence of reinvention. I get particularly excited when the cosmetics themselves are reformulated or reinvented, which often doesn’t mean they’re better, only different. Here’s what hot and new in stores now.
Chanel’s Pirate is my favorite red. I have Pirate in lipstick, lip gloss, nail polish, and if they offered it as house paint, I’d have that, too. It’s a blue-red that when applied to lips makes teeth appear white, and on nails flatters a range of skin tones. But a few of the formulations are embarrassingly subpar: I’ve rarely gotten 24 consecutive hours of wear with Pirate on my nails without a chip. Chanel, however, just reintroduced the Le Vernis line with a superior long-wearing formula, and its shades are always spectacular. The new Pirate wears on my nails for a week without chipping. Top Le Vernis ($28, Saks Fifth Avenue) with Le Gel Coat ($28) for a gel look without the light.
If you’ve ventured near a beauty counter lately you’ve no doubt noticed the crush of color-correcting sticks, cushion compacts, and primers. It can be confusing and overwhelming, but I promise this trend has more practical application for you than contouring, strobing, or sandbagging. Yves Saint Laurent offers Touche Éclat Neutralizers ($38, yslbeautyus.com) color-correcting pens in violet to brighten, green to camouflage redness, and bisque to cover dark circles and spots. I find them most effective when applied only where needed and well blended under foundation.
Estée Lauder would like you to know that it’s more than just your mother’s — or grandmother’s — favorite makeup. The company recently launched The Estée Edit. It’s designed for the younger, edgier makeup junkie who’s on top of street style. The line is stocked with millennialtargeted products like a powder that promises to improve the look of skin in selfies (cosmetic companies that aren’t trying to be hip but actually are hip beat them to this idea a year ago). The Barest Blush ($28, Sephora) is the line’s standout. As the name implies, the powder is pigmented just enough for a natural looking flush, but buildable for times when a bolder cheek is desired. I started with Coy Coral, then went back for Purr Pink, then First Lover, and strongly suspect I’ll have the fourth and final shade, Ember Glow, before long.
Uncannily, Tom Ford knows what new makeup I’m hungry for before I do. His SS16 Runway Collection offers Patent Finish Lip Color ($52, tomford.com), an intensely shiny hybrid of lipstick and lip gloss. It applies thick and opaque, yet with a glasslike finish. As the patent wears away over hours, the lips are left stained with color. My favorite is Orchid Fatale, a deep fuchsia berry with a blue shift.
Every makeup brand, it seems, has a new highlighter at the moment. Too many of them are full of glitter, and have the bad manners to emphasize texture on the skin. But Natasha Denona’s All Over Glow Face & Body Shimmer in Powder ($38, beautylish.com) is more sophisticated. This finely milled powder, free of chunky sparkle, cannot be beat for a grown-up, lit from within glow. And who doesn’t want a product that makes her seem like a celestial being?