THE LOOK OF LOVE
How to look your best for your amour
In these days of domesticity and social distancing, that prelapsarian era of dressing up for dates or romantic mini-breaks feels very far away. ‘There’s nobody to look good for,’ lamented one friend to me, the other day. ‘Au contraire,’ I informed her. ‘There are two very obvious candidates to make an effort to scrub up for: first, ourselves, and second, those who are prepared to tolerate us amid the collective cabin fever.’ As a depressive, I know it doesn’t do us any good to sink into squalor; for me, the first sign that any bout of misery is over comes with the impulse to wash my hair. Nesting needn’t mean negligence, not least for those still in the first flush of love who may be spending an unprecedented amount of time together. At moments of global crisis, one doesn’t want to look like a self-obsessed maniac, forever racing off to the mirror to engage in some elaborate beauty routine. On the other hand, one still hopes to look sufficiently appealing (and effortlessly beautiful) to confirm one is the right choice of companion for the apocalypse.
The perkily pretty Chanel Le Blanc Rosy Light Drops, £38, are the kind of thing that, in flightier times, I might have smuggled under my pillow and applied in order to look daisy-fresh before the object of my affection woke up (were I terribly manipulative, which, obviously, I am). They’re an instant reminder of those early days of a blossoming romance, when you would creep into the bathroom to brush your teeth, conceal panda rings and douse yourself in scent before pretending to be Sleeping Beauty again. All of us yearn to look as if we have perfect skin, but very few actually do. I have loved Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector, for a couple of decades, and never
more so than when trying to convince some amorous swain of my skin’s supposed plushness. Naturally, this means that it has been discontinued, replaced by the brand’s new Becca Ignite Liquified Light Highlighter, £32. I have been buying up stocks of the original.
Make-up-wise, doing the bare minimum requires a spot of brow work, concealer and Jane Austen-style pinched cheeks. For a light touch that still does the business, Bobbi Brown Instant Full Cover Concealer, £24. is not to be bested. Densely pigmented, yet weightlessly supple, it’s perfect for blending under your eyes to look instantly awake. The crayon-like Hema Extra Thick Eyebrow Pencils, £5.50 each, are terrific: pliant and fast. Fill in fine detail with the ultra-slim Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, £23, then blend through with its brush.
Foundations have become so subtle, you shouldn’t look as if you’re wearing one, even if you’re caked in the stuff. The buff-in
Kevyn Aucoin Foundation Balm, £42, feels more akin to a salve than slap – barely there, yet drawing a veil over any horrors. Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint, £20, is wonderfully dewy, minimising pores while leaving freckles exposed in a way that is very Bridgerton. Alternatively, for the speediest, most surreptitious route to facial perfection, seek out Jennifer Aniston’s make-up artist’s brilliant Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick, £62. After five swipes, plus a couple of seconds of blending, your complexion will look faultless. Lovers of cream blush will find Glossier Cloud Paint, £15, Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick, £46, and Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge, £23.50, all first-rate, while those of us who refuse to renounce powder may prefer Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush, £23.50, a flatteringly fresh-faced classic that will prove durable even if one is beguiled back between the sheets.
Lashes and lips will elevate matters to a still-dressier level. In terms of mascara, I have found myself increasingly drawn to Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama Mascara, £7.99, not – as it sounds – a hyperbolically spidery affair, but rather a glossy, keratin-enriched jet-coloured formula that makes lashes appear naturally lustrous. For lips, it can only be
Lipstick Queen Hello Sailor, £22, a beauteous, suits-all sheer berry bursting with good health, of such shiny simplicity that it can be applied without a mirror. I have never met any woman who didn’t look fantastic wearing it.
Perfume will certainly be essential to morale – yours and that of your beloved – and this calls for a skin scent with metaphysically lovely properties. Try Hermès Hiris edt, £113, an exquisitely tender iris that brings lovers to their knees.
Whatever your indulgence, let yourself enjoy it. However poor and benighted we may feel, now is not the time to scrimp on small luxuries. Open that bottle of good bath oil you were sent for your birthday, slather on the body cream that felt too extravagant to use and lather up the soap that transports you to the Tuscan hills. We must go stalwartly on, and we must do so beautifully.
‘WHATEVER YOUR INDULGENCE, LET YOURSELF ENJOY IT’