Hannah Betts’s Better…. not younger: Time to nick a millennial’s make-up bag, whatever your age
- UK-based columnist Hannah Betts recommends trying out Glossier products
- Glossier has released ten earthy £19 eyeshadow trios, known as Monochromes
- Beauty expert said the palettes give you three ways to wear your chosen shade
The millennial make-up phenomenon Glossier has just released ten earthy eyeshadow trios, known as Monochromes (£19, glossier.com) — and very pleasing they are, too.
Rather than the over-crammed ‘make-up artist’ selections of weird and not-so-wonderful colours no one ever uses, Monochromes focus on your chosen shade — the one you always use up — played three ways: a rich matte, a satin sheen and a sparkly metallic.
It’s likely you’ve heard of Glossier, even if you’ve never tried it. This digital-first make-up brand was founded in 2014 by American Emily Weiss, now 36.
It launched four products aimed at creating the dewy, natural-looking complexions (rather than exaggeratedly made-up looks) millennials yearn for.
Here was the opposite of the Kardashian-style, emphatically contoured, fake face designed to look good on Instagram. Glossier girls loved simple, finger-paint type stuff that you just daubed on.
The 28-year-old Scottish founder of make-up range Vieve, Jamie Genevieve, is going to teach me how to apply her false lashes (stock image)
Glossier now boasts 40 or so beauty products, and sold brilliantly during lockdown when some more established rivals floundered. It opens its first international flagship store in London’s Covent Garden this winter.
After the brand’s pop-up shop opened in London in 2019, more than 100,000 punters visited it over ten weeks.
Not all of these enthusiasts were nippers, as knowledge of Glossier is often passed up to older women in the way that cosmetic lore was once passed down. Witness Beyonce’s (40), Michelle Obama’s (57), and Iris Apfel’s (100) passion for the brand.
Boy Brow (£14) was the product that took the beauty planet by storm: the eyebrow pomade once had a 10,000-person waiting list, and went on to sell four million phials.
Inspired by moustache wax, Boy Brow adds texture without rigidity, plus the perfect amount of pigment.
I defy you to find a better brow groomer. That said, for filling in gaps, try Brow Flick (£15), Glossier’s microfine pen.
I adore Glossier’s Perfecting Skin Tint (£20), the sheerest and most fluid of bare-skin-resembling bases. It brightens, lends a soft-focus sheen, and minimises the appearance of pores without concealing the skin beneath.
Gen Y loves the way it doesn’t mask freckles. I love the way it glides over wrinkles.
The millennial make-up phenomenon Glossier has just released ten earthy eyeshadow trios, known as Monochromes (£19, glossier.com) — and very pleasing they are, too
Glossier’s ultra-light powder, Wowder (£18), meanwhile, has an instant blotting-paper effect sans chalkiness.
And I know fiftysomething women obsessed with all eight of its cult Cloud Paints (£15) — tap-on gel-cream blushes. Because why would you close your mind to a product simply because it is championed by another generation?
If not quite cutting off your nose to spite your face, it would certainly leave it looking glaringly old-fashioned.
Beauty moves fast. Twenty years ago, the industry was dominated by companies such as Estee Lauder, L’Oreal and LVMH. Today, legions of ingenious upstarts flourish. Boots’s Covent Garden flagship store launched 65 new brands during lockdown alone.
Fenty Beauty by pop star Rihanna, 33, is outstanding, while the heavier-look Huda Beauty, by 38-year-old American make-up artist Huda Kattan, boasts fans of all ages.
I’ve just given a pal in her late 70s the new Hydro Grip Eye Primer (£22, cultbeauty.com) by another millennial brand, Milk Makeup.
My friend won’t be excited by Milk’s vegan credentials, cannabis-oil fixation or 1.9 million Instagram followers, known as the ‘Milk Mob’, but she will be impressed by its lid primer’s colour-locking and hydrating abilities.
I’ll also throw in a tube of its flatteringly fluid Bionic Blush (£19) and Sunshine Under Eye Tint + Brighten (£26) because they’ll be just the ticket while she’s having chemo.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Scottish founder of make-up range Vieve, Jamie Genevieve, is going to teach me how to apply her false lashes (£11, vieve.co.uk), despite the fact I’m older than her mother — whom she also makes over.
What does age mean in this context anyway — or race, or gender, for that matter?
Glossier’s dab here, dab there approach is entirely at one with older-lady line Trinny London, or Bobbi Brown’s new, ageless Jones Road venture.
Who cares who stuff is supposed to be for if it does the trick so beautifully?
MY AUTUMN PICK-ME-UPS
This has not-too-sturdy bristles to help you dry-brush your way to a smoother rear.
theorganicpharmacy.com
The classic, perfume-free emollient is cheap enough to slather on all over.
500ml, boots.com
Lavender, rose geranium, juniper and lemongrass make for a heavenly, multipurpose salve.
30ml, uk.ishga.com
Soothing and smells divine.
It works on skin prone to eczema, too.
100ml, balanceme.com
This sunny cedarwood scent was created by Lyn Harris of Miller Harris fame.
sunspel.com
MY ICON OF THE WEEK: Liz Hurley
Actress Liz Hurley, 56, has been strutting her stuff in Versace at Milan Fashion Week, complete with a fabulously ‘up and at ’em’ cleavage.
She is a notoriously disciplined eater — remember her six-raisin snacks?
Actress liz Hurley, 56, has been strutting her stuff in Versace at Milan Fashion Week, complete with a fabulously ‘up and at ’em’ cleavage
Hurley, who has been an Estee Lauder spokesmodel since 1995, credits its Advanced Night Repair Serum (£60 for 30ml, esteelauder.co.uk) for her youthful glow, and says: ‘I’ll moisturise my face six times a day and my neck about ten times.’
COSMETIC CRAVING
When the original Moroccanoil came out in 2008, this award-winning conditioning, styling and finishing tool was too heavy for my limp locks, despite the wonders it worked on thicker, curlier hair.
Now there’s a version of the antioxidant-rich argan oil and linseed powerhouse that’s formulated to detangle finer and/or light-coloured tresses, including platinum and white — Moroccanoil Treatment Light.
I’m obsessed: the shine has to be seen to be believed, and it speeds up drying time, too.
125ml, moroccanoil.com
RACE YOU TO IT
Wet lips are back — blame the 1990s revival — and who better to give them to us than Posh Spice?
Victoria Beckham’s Posh Gloss is packed with plumping caprylic triglyceride, and isn’t sticky, so you won’t end up with a mouth full of hair.
It’ll take two decades off your pout, if not your dance moves.
victoriabeckhambeauty.com
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