Soft beauty to help ease the transition to spring …
I recently spotted a stylish woman wearing a dress of the palest pink silk that avoided girliness via lengths of trailing vermilion ribbons – Simone Rocha is a maestro at using something so simple to make a piece dynamic and striking rather than twee.
Soft yet strong is a good motto to choose a perfume by. A friend decided to choose a new fragrance – after decades wearing the same one – and found herself drawn to Vanilla Powder by Matiere Premiere. For me, this is the epitome of a scent that’s striking and memorable, but never overpowering, making people draw closer.
Similarly, it’s been 15 years since Frédéric Malle launched Portrait of a Lady, and shook up the entire perfume scene with its “overdose” of full-blown rose and magisterial patchouli. I’m still bowled over every time I smell this masterpiece. It’s now hugely expensive, while the hair mist is your gateway at €120 as spraying it is sheer pleasure every time. I love the limited edition red lacquer bottle to celebrate its anniversary (€330, 100ml).
Being kind to yourself is often translated as “take lots of baths” … but the concept of treating your bathroom as a refuge doesn’t really work when you have to clean it!
Some treats can help. Everyone’s obsessed with Sol de Janeiro, especially the Brazilian Play body wash – its coconutty scent makes us dream of summer. The original bath beauty is Laura Mercier’s Almond Coconut Honey Bath, in a glass pot with wooden scoop; I’d forgotten quite how decadent it is, having loved it decades ago. Its sweet notes of salted caramel and pistachio certainly make bathtime soothing.
I’m also intrigued by West Cork brand Wasi, centred on seaweed to fortify and relax your body, and am indulging in their seaweed bath salts (€25; www.wasi.ie), and infused body oil.
It feels like make-up is getting softer this year, too: the idea of “slept in” make-up has always appealed to me over any high-maintenance attempt at “perfectionism”.
This season, that means blended liner, softened tones of caramel and mocha rather than uncompromising black, and soft bitten-lip tints (try bareMinerals Dewy Lip Gloss-Balms). Soft beauty is the way forward for spring. @sarahhalliwellbeauty
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