Friday, September 22, 2017
Fragrance Friday: ECOYA Cedarwood & Leather
Everything that home fragrance house and bodycare brand ECOYA do is absolutely flawless in my opinion - from killer scents to beautiful events and gorgeous and surprising imagery, they seriously hit the nail on the head. Every time.
They are also always updating and refreshing what they do - which I equally love - in the form of delicious limited edition scents and gifting ideas, and now they have unveiled a whole new look for fans of the brand.
Back in August the Australasian fragrance house rolled out the new look, which is elegant, contemporary and inspired by its environment. After 13 years doing amazing, beautiful things in the marketplace it was due for a refresh, and she looks just gorgeous!
Alongside the rollout of new packaging the brand also released three new fragrances to the ECOYA collection: Spiced Ginger & Musk, Blue Cypress and Amber and my favourite, Cedarwood & Leather. The latter is a totally new direction for the brand, a seriously moody and sexy scent that I cannot get enough of.
The brand describes Cedarwood & Leather as being “a gentle touch of vetiver and bergamot drifting over a warm mix of leather, clove and cedarwood,” creating a deep, enveloping fragrance. It is exactly that, and although I’ve only thus far experienced it in a diffuser form, I am guessing that as a candle it would be even more heady.
They also now offer an ECOYA wick trimmer for keeping your candles in tip top shape, ensuring a cleaner burn and zero mushrooming. I love that. Essential for every candle fan and a steal at just $19.95, I reckon it’s the best stocking stuffer I’ve heard of thus far in the lead up to Christmas.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Fresh fragrance find: Aesop's new Hwyl
I have been a long time wearer of Aesop’s Marrakech fragrance, both in its original incarnation and as the heavenly Marrakech Intense, which was the most beautiful tweak on the original. Marrakech Intense was created in collaboration with revered French perfumer Barnabé Fillion, and their intention was to develop a variation of the original theme, but one that remained true to its original inspirations – the sights, scents, colours and culture of Morocco. I didn’t think the brand could great a fragrance equally as perfect – that is, until now.
Next week sees the global release of Hwyl Eau de Parfum, a unisex scent inspired by the stillness and greenery of ancient Japanese Forests. Hwyl Eau de Parfum was created once again in collaboration with Fillion, who has said that his sweet spot when creating the scent came to him when he walked through a 300-year-old woodland in Japan. It led him to create an Eau de Parfum with smoky notes as well as aromas of wood, moss and robust spices.
“My inspiration for Hwyl Eau de Parfum was sparked by walking amongst the remarkable 300-year-old Hiba trees in an ancient Japanese forest and experiencing the country’s lush temple moss gardens,” Fillion explains. “Hwyl recaptures the feeling of solitude and refuge in nature, and stimulates the olfactory senses with an eclectic array of potent botanical extracts.”
“Barnabé is a perfumer we deeply admire and he understands that Aesop’s fragrance philosophy combines art and science to formulate unique scents with longevity,” said Dr. Kate Forbes, Aesop General Manager, Products and R&D. “Our relationship with Barnabé is built on a passion for botanicals, enriching conversation and intuition, not creating a fragrance by brief or numbers. We shared creative ideas and inspiration throughout the collaborative process, and focused on sourcing botanical extracts of the finest quality to formulate Hwyl, an intriguing fragrance with a hint of eccentricity.”
Two years in the making, it is an absolute joy to be in the presence of, and being Aesop, every detail is just right. Hwyl comes packaged in a 50ml amber glass bottle, which sits elegantly in a box featuring the work of Australian artist Jonathan McCabe. RRP $160… and worth every cent.
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Monday, September 18, 2017
Love it: the YSL Beauté All Hours collection
Foundation is like the white shirt of your beauty bag - an everyday essential that always works when and where you need it. But we all have a few white shirts depending on the hour and the season, and this also applies to your base. Consider the idea of building a closet full of foundation choices, as there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to makeup.
Before shopping for a new foundation wardrobe it’s essential to decide what kind of finish you like – as in matte, velvet, dewy – and what kind of formula you find easiest to apply. You may love the ease of a liquid longwear by night but prefer a cushion during the day for a more dewy, handbag-friendly option. Your skin type also plays a vital role in your choice of base, and having two different formulas for the warmer and cooler seasons is a veritable no brainer.
One foundation formula that I believe everyone needs is a light-on-the-face but serious-on-coverage, nourishing longwear, and with the launch of their new All Hours Encre de Peau, YSL Beauté has created exactly that.
While you want a formula that‘s sure to provide you with coverage all day long, these days you can also find a formula that will nourish your skin at the same time – and this newbie does all that, and more. Designed for a flawless matte face and a perfect complexion, 24/7, it’s a lightweight marvel that comes smartly dressed in a sharp-suited bottle that echoes the classic YSL tuxedo. It goes on like velvet, and with a waterproof and transfer-resistant finish, it’s instantly addictive.
It uses a rich level of fine pigments to create a flawless, fresh and full coverage that lasts 24 hours, and even has a gloriously soft-focus finish thanks to spherical-shaped silicon resin. If your skin is on the drier side like mine you’ll appreciate the latter, as many longwear formulas draw attention to it rather than away. Thanks YSL Beauté!
It’s thanks to a special long-wear resistant polymer, rich in perlite, that the foundation lasts through non-stop activity all day and all night long, and it also contains skin conditioning complexes with antioxidant benefits to improve skin texture and keep it protected from urban aggressions. Kombucha, the fermented black tea extract, improves luminosity, and an SPF 20 helps to future-proof the skin. It also comes in 22 options from light to dark, so has one heck of a lot of complexions covered.
The brand has also created La Base Encre de Peau, a perfect primer to guarantee your matte, crease-free complexion will end the night the same way it started the day. It comes in a slick, black bottle and helps minimise pores and more, and can be applied with fingers or a brush. The formula includes aerogels, like micro-sized bubbles of moisturizing gel, which allow the skin to breathe while absorbing any oiliness, and smooth rolling beads allow the formula to spread uniformly over the skin, love that!
There is also a new sponge and a concealer in the ALL HOURS collection, which landed on counters today.
La Base Encre de Peau Suggested retail: $93.00
Encre De Peau All Hours Foundation Suggested retail: $101.00
Foundation Blender Suggested retail: $33.00
Encre de Peau Correcteur Suggested retail: $66.00
Friday, September 15, 2017
Hair how to: the Guido X Alexander Wang New Wave
This week in New York, uber designer Alexander Wang presented his SS18 collection at New York Fashion Week, and it was a standout show for SO many reasons. Kaia Gerber made her official runway debut and slayed, and the easy, breezy party girl hair created to accompany the collection was just perfect.
ghd partnered with international session stylist – and veritable legend - Guido Palau to create the show Alexander Wang SS18 hair look, which comes as no surprise. His approach to runway and campaign hair has always been completely his own, and his celebration of ‘natural’ hair is so refreshing. “When considering natural hair, people tend to assume that the
end result will be messy,” said Guido backstage at Wang. “That’s absolutely not the case.”
Reflecting the fashion industry’s current fascination with the individual and the unique, Guido worked with models’ natural texture to create ‘lived-in’ hair with movement a-plenty.
Guido first washed each girl’s hair, before applying a styling cream and using the ghd Air hairdryer with a diffuser to mimic the process of allowing hair to air-dry. “A great hairdryer, like the ghd Air Hairdryer, minimises drying time and therefore limits damage to the hair, while helping to achieve beautiful, natural movement,” he said.
After crafting a messy middle part with his fingertips, hair lengths were gently bent around the ghd Classic Curl Tong to lend natural movement, texture and idiosyncratic waves. “This look requires simply two tools, the ghd Air Hairdryer and ghd Classic Curl Tong. Great styling tools are essential for creating simple, modern textures.”
To get the look:
1. Wash hair and apply a heat protection spray.
2. Use the ghd air® hairdryer with a diffuser to gently blow-dry hair on a super low heat setting, while maintaining and enhancing your natural texture.
3. Add a natural centre parting using just your fingers.
4. Afterwards, create a soft natural wave by bending sections of hair around the ghd curve® classic curl tong to add additional movement. Maintain an imperfect finish by bending hair in different directions.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Love it: all new Too Faced Fall 2017 at Mecca
It goes without saying that Too Faced seem to be constantly creating new must-haves by the bucketload of late, and the newest collection to drop at Mecca Maxima is full of exactly that. It also introduces some fresh, new shades to some of the brand’s most popular releases, increasing its profile as a beauty name that champions diversity.
Their legendary Born This Way oil-free foundation has been a hit since its release, masterfully diffusing the line between makeup and skin and really giving the appearance that yes, #IWokeUpLikeThis. It may be a medium to full coverage formula, but that coverage is so undetectable that when it’s shade matched right, it really does look like flawless, radiant skin. Oil-free and paraben free, it is boosted by the benefits of coconut water and hyaluronic acid so is a great pick if your skin is on the dry side, and the creamy liquid formula packs a ton of pigment, so a little goes a long way. Oh and it also has no discernible scent, which is a bonus for many makeup wearers that prefer their foundation fragrance-free. So with all this in mind, what could Too Faced do that could make this beauty better? Well introduce six new shades, meaning it’s available in a total of 24! A second skin that matched pretty much any skin tone? You gotta love that… Too Faced have also released six new shades of Born This Way Concealer to go with, which was equally as thoughtful of them!
Also on the base side of the new collection, the brand has release the brilliantly named Hangover Primer and Setting Spray, which is a weightless, 3-in-1 coconut water-infused mist, made to prime, set, and refresh makeup, while hydrating the skin like never before. To use as a primer, simply shake the bottle well, hold it 6-8 inches away from your face, and apply before your makeup. To use as a setting spray that lasts all day, simply spray after applying your makeup. To use as a mid-day refresher, apply anytime your skin needs a boost, serving as the perfect cure for a beauty “hangover”. The unique combination of coconut water, probiotic-based ingredient and skin-revivers work together to hydrate and brighten skin, promote skin’s elasticity and tone, and soothe and smooth the skin. The perfect product for the upcoming party season I reckon, and one I can’t wait to get my hands on!
The Too Faced Fall 2017 collection is available right now in New Zealand, exclusively at Mecca Maxima and www.meccabeauty.co.nz
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Hair how to: Kevin Murphy at Melbourne Fashion Week
I adore Kevin Murphy products, and the man himself is pretty fabulous, too. I interviewed him when his haircare range was just released, and found him to be super passionate about hair, the planet and making women beautiful. He isn’t called one of Australasia’s best session stylists for nothing, and his products are all carefully honed on the job and are just as effective at home or on set.
Melbourne Fashion Week has just kicked off, and the internationally renowned editorial stylist is naturally at home backstage, where will be undertaking his 14th year as Hair Director of MFW for 2017. Premium Runway 2 and 3 is where you’ll find key trends for Spring/Summer 2017, with designs from Akira, ALPHA60, Ginger & Smart, Manning Cartell, Sarah Hope Schofield and Zambesi walking down Premium Runway 2, and Asilio, JASON GRECH, MISCHA COLLECTION, nevenka, Nicola Fenetti and DEMKIW seen on Premium Runway 3.
The Melbourne Town Hall provided a historic and dramatic background to contrast the embracing of natural texture and movement in hair - a key look for the upcoming season. “We start with a languid-looking small silhouette of soft texture that is almost see through,” says Murphy, “and then for the second show we move into bigger more erratic texture to add movement and volume through the sides and back, however not so much through the top, to add a modern edge”.
He also kindly shared his secrets for nailing the Premium Runway 3 look, seen above, using his eponymous collection. To achieve the hair look follow these super simple steps as outlined by the man himself:
1. Prep hair by using ultra-hydrating duo, HYDRATE-ME.WASH and HYDRATE-ME.RINSE
2. On towel-dried hair apply HAIR.RESORT and blow dry in to create natural movement and
texture
3. Using a styling brush, blow dry hair with natural movement, spraying in SESSION.SPRAY
into the layers. Tuck hair behind the ears as you go, leaving the last section without
SESSION.SPRAY, so to not look over-groomed
4. Spray in BEDROOM.HAIR to complete the look with natural movement
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Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Love it: all natural, all good Miri Skincare Balm
I love multi-use beauty products, and am always on the hunt for the ultimate multitasker - an all-round, sure-fire, totally natural fixer upper, that throws together the world’s best pure plant ingredients to soothe, soften and condition all skin types, everywhere. I have a few faves in my arsenal, but one that I’ve recently been playing with - and love - comes from Aotearoa’s own Miri Skincare.
New Zealand made, Miri Skincare Balm is a natural alternative to many of the petroleum-filled salves out there, instead harnessing powerful, naturally available ingredients to soothe and nourish the skin. The company was founded by Paul Jarvis when he discovered his wife and her friends were using a popular Australian multi-use balm – that shall remain nameless! – known to contain petrochemicals proven to be unsafe for prolonged use. Knowing the myriad of remarkable natural ingredients native to New Zealand and the South Pacific, Paul began formulating an alternative product that was just as useful and effective across a range of common skin issues and conditions such as eczema.
The end result is a little multitasking beauty that nourishes hands and nails, conditions lips and softens and smoothes elbows, knees and dry, cracked heels. It even works as a super smooth massage oil, an intensive moisturiser for harsh environments, looks after baby, and will even tame the tips of flyaway hair.
Miri, Māori for ‘to rub, smear or soothe’, encapsulates what this balm is all about. Made using Kiwifruit seed oil and Manuka honey, the secret to the balm’s effectiveness lies in the unique combination of New Zealand and South Pacific ingredients that are well known for their beneficial properties. Kiwifruit seed oil is rich in essential fatty acids with a high concentration of Alpha-Linoleic Acid, otherwise known as Omega 3. The seed oil works to add needed moisture to the skin, naturally preventing dryness and cracking. Manuka honey then increases the effectiveness of the formula, with its well documented healing and soothing properties. The balm’s all natural makeup means that it is best stored below 25 degrees and shaken before each use, which really, is NBD.
The perfect size for your handbag, baby bag, carry on bag and to have on hand in the kitchen, Miri Skincare Balm is joyfully made without chemical fillers, preservatives, perfumes or dyes. It goes without saying that it’s also minus DEA-regulated ingredients, dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, parabens, PEG compounds, siloxanes, SLS or triclosan. Love that.
Last but by no means least, it is also super affordable at RRP$12.99 for a 25ml tube of goodness from leading pharmacies nationwide.
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Monday, September 4, 2017
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