PRODUCT
Lancôme X Chiara Ferragni Capsule Collection, from £24.50
THE HYPE:
Chiara Ferragni (who you may have known previously as the blogger Blonde Salad) has amassed a gigantic 16 million following on Instagram, has been the subject of two Harvard case studies and been named most powerful fashion influencer by Forbes, so it’s fair to say we’re interested to know what goes into creating her cool-girl look. She’s joined forces with Lancôme on her first capsule collection (which launches today), combining her favourite hero products with new, exclusive limited-edition shades, all in sparkly new packaging.
REVIEWER:
Elle Turner, Deputy Beauty Editor
BEAUTY BIO:
I’m not exactly low maintenance with my makeup. I’ll apply eyeshadow, blusher, bronzer and maybe a bit of a lip. But, I tend to stick to the same neutral-ish shades so it still looks fairly natural. The products I love most (bronzey and champagney eyeshadows and peachy blushers), I use most days. I know you shouldn’t judge a product by its packaging, but I’m a sucker for a print or pretty compact, so it helps that this collaboration (which is metallic rose pink with a flirty winking eye design) looks absolutely cracking.
THE REVIEW:
If I were to design my own dream makeup collection, it would look pretty much like this. Of course, Chiara’s had a bit of help, given she has the whole of Lancôme’s cosmetic arsenal to play with, but aside from the Excessive Black Hypnose Drama Mascara, £25.50, (which gives gorgeously thick, fluttery lashes), all of the shades have been hand-picked by Ferragni. And I have to hand it to her, she’s chosen well. Very well. The L’Absolu Mademoiselle Shine tinted balms, £27, come in three subtley sheeny shades of peach, coral and dusky pink, while the punchier L’Absolu Lacquer lip glosses, £27, leave behind a juicy shine and come in salmon, raspberry and ballerina pink, all of which look beautiful and would look fantastic with bronzed summer skin.
The show-stopper though, is the do-it-all Flirting Palette, £65, which includes four more buildable lip shades all named brilliantly, with the plum coloured Ciao! Berry paying homage to Chiara’s Italian heritage alongside a clear lip balm, four eyeshadow shades, a blusher and three highlighters.
The shadows (a mix of champagne, bronze, copper and chocolate) are right up my street and the ideal combination to take you from a laid back weekend, a business meeting and an evening out, though I’m fond of using the three highlighter shades in pearl, cool bronze and antique gold shades over my lids, too and the brush and whopper mirror provided in the palette make applying on-the-go effortless. Finally, the pinky-peach blush laced with a little golden shimmer lends cheeks a gorgeous healthy glow. Perfection. Well, almost. The only thing I’d change? I’d ditch the clear balm and add in a bronzer.
THE VERDICT:
At least three of the products – the mascara, the coral coloured L’Absolu Mademoiselle Lip Shine and the Flirting palette – have already made it to holy grail status and landed a spot in my makeup bag (with the other lip colours on rotation). In fact, this might just be my favourite launch of the year so far. My advice? Grab it while you can.
