Clockis beauty sticking
For a quick makeover, at work or at play, the latest beauty-in-a-stick products promise to do the trick in no time THURSDAY
BLOGGERS, vloggers and Instagram make-up gurus might spend hours layering, creating ombre lips and perfectly contouring faces but let’s face it, when do we have time for an hour-long beauty routine?
We want fast fixes with minimal fuss, and thankfully there are plenty of “speed beauty” products out there to help us achieve a great look, in minutes.
Clinique started it all back in 2011 when they launched the Chubby Stick – and revolutionised the “beautyin-a-stick” market.
Dozens of brands followed suit with lip crayons popping up on every beauty counter.
Clinique upped their game and introduced Chubby Sticks for, well, pretty much everything. There are now eight Chubby products – three different formulas of Chubby for Lips, an eyeshadow stick, a contour stick, a highlighter stick, a blush stick and a foundation.
Clinique sell FIVE Chubby Sticks every minute. And where they lead, others follow – luxury French brand Sisley are the latest to launch their third beauty-in-a-stick product in the form of Phyto Blush (£45), a gorgeous creamy cheek colour in three shades.
And Chanel have just launched their Jumbo lip crayons – or Le Rouge Crayon de Couleur (£28), in a whole host of shades, in a creamy, buildable formula.
Even better are multitaskers – those 2-in-1 pots of colour that can be used on lips and cheeks.
Bobbi Brown’s Pot Rouge might not be in stick form, but it has cult beauty status, having been on the market since 2005, winning several awards and remaining a bestseller for the brand.
It’s a favourite with celebrity make-up artist, Ana Cruzalegui, who explains how best to use it.
“For a quick flush to the lips and cheeks I absolutely love Pot Rouge from Bobbi Brown,” Ana said. “It comes in a variety of beautiful colours and Rose is my current favourite for spring. It’s quite sheer and so easy to apply. And it’s buildable, so you can deepen the colour.
“I start by applying some product to the top of my hand and with a stipple brush, softly apply to the cheeks, almost using your hand as a palette. For lips, just use your fingers and press softly into the lips, dabbing it really, to create a lovely stain.”
Another big favourite with Ana are NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils (£20). “Try Infatuated Red for an easy red lip- all the colour with minimum effort,” she says.
Highlighting, or illuminating the skin is the perfect way to add a gorgeous glow in the spring and summer months, and the easiest way to do it is with a 3. Laura Geller Easy Illuminating Stick, Debenhams, few slicks from a stick, blended with your fingers.
Kiko Milano’s Radiant Touch Creamy Stick Highlighter (£9.90) glides on, leaving an iridescent sheen to the cheekbones. Estée Lauder’s Genuine Glow range has a Blushing Crème for Lips and Cheeks (£19) which is a skincare and makeup hybrid – containing hyaluronic acid moisturisers, and vitamins C and E, as well as luminous optics. It gives your skin a fresh glow and the colour-pay off on the lips is good. It’s particularly flattering for more mature skin, and comes in two subtle shades. Tom Ford’s Traceless Foundation Stick (£66) is all the luxury of a Tom Ford base, in a simple stick form. You control your level of coverage – sheer, medium, or full – with the way you apply the stick.
If it’s just a hint of colour you want, then Maybelline’s Baby Balm and Blush (£4.99) is ideal, and the packaging is cute too – making it great for makeup-curious little ones.
Bobbi Brown’s Art Sticks (£21.50) combine lip liner and lipstick in one, and now come in Liquid form as well.
Clinique, though, have done it again, with their innovative BIY Blend It Yourself Pigment Drops (£25, from April 7). In a range of permanent shades, and one limited bronzer pigment, these are brilliant. They come in a tiny bottle and you just add a few drops to any moisturiser to create BB cream/ foundation – the more drops, the fuller the coverage.
Beauty couldn’t be easier.
‘We want fast fixes with minimal fuss, and there are plenty of products out there to help’