ELLE.COM/UK September 2O19Photography: Lucky If Sharp.246
ELLEBeautyButwhatI’vealsolearnedis thattherearesomebeautytruths and rules
thatrarelygetpasseddown.Thesearethethingsthecognoscenti keep
tothemselves...andwhich,forthefirsttime,I’mbreakingrank to share
withyou.Mostwillsurpriseyou,somemayevenshock.But each one
hasbeengleanedbylisteningtofellowbeautyeditors,interviewing
theworld’sbestdermatologistsandmake-upartists,timespent with
celebrities,andearwiggingofthemoststylishwomen.So here they
are.Mygiftstoyou.Thesethingswork.They’llstickbyyou.They are true
classics.Andwhatcouldbemorefashionablethanthat?
Parisianwomenhavebeautynailed.Themajorbeautycompanies
areinParis,whichmeansmuchofmyjobis spentgettingup close and
personalwithlesfillesfrançaises. Howdotheydothatinsouciant cool
thingsowell?Easy.Parisianwomendon’tuseconditioner– it makes
hairtoosleek.Instead,theypreferthatbelledujourfluffiness. They also
livebytheruleofone– meaningjusta singlestandoutmake-up moment
onyourfaceatanyonetime:a redlipwithbareskin,ora smoky eye
againstnakedcheeksandlips.Asforscent... they
simplyspritzintomid-air,then‘walk ’through their
favouritefragrancetocreatea devastating ‘trail’.
Stockupabroad.Beautyeditorshave spent
thepasttwodecadestellingyoutostock up in
French pharmacies,butstopshort of telling
youwhatexactlytobuy.Here’sthelowdown.
GetHomeoplasmine–it’sawaxybalm that
worksadreamonstubborndrypatches. And
thereisn’tamake-upartistintownwho doesn’t
filltheirbagswithEmbryolisseface creams.Myloveaffairwithbeautybeganina
smallbedroomina southwestLondon
semi.Everymonth,thisverymagazine
woulddropthroughmyletterboxand
thefacesofthesupermodelsofthe
day– Naomi,Cindy,Claudia,Yasmin
andHelena–wouldstarebackat
me,theirmake-upalmostasperfect
astheirgenes.I plasteredeveryinch
ofmyteenagewallwiththosecovers- butnotbeforeI’dnoteddowneverylipstick,linerandbaseworn.
Andsobeautybecamemyobsession.I internedatcountlessglossy
magazines,andsawfirst-handthemythicalbeautycupboardsfilledwith
rowuponrowofperfumes,creamsandeveryotherunguentyoucan
imagine.Theroleofbeautyeditorwastotesteveryone.Nointerrogation
wastooextreme(it’scommonpracticetousea differentcreamonevery
limb,whilesplittingyourfacedownthemiddleto
trialtwodifferentlypricedserums).If it didn’twork,
it didn’tgointhemagazine.Simpleas.
So,twodecades,fivemagazinetitlesand
thousandsofproductlauncheslater,hereI am.
AndwhathaveI learned?Alot.I cantellyou
thebestmoneyyou’lleverspendisonagood
haircut.Thatmicellarwaterisbasicallytoner...
And ifyou skip anystep from yourroutine,
makeit that.I havetestedeverytextureofblusher,
andnothingis asflatteringasNarsOrgasmBlush.
17 YE ARS as a beauty
ed i to r. 2,O O O A RT ICL ES
written. 1O, O O O
PRODUC TS tested –
the untold truth about the
modern beauty industry
“ DON’T SPEND
your MONEY
ON SKINCARE,
SPEND IT on SPF:
8O% OF AGEING
IS CAUSED
BY THE SUN ”