Make-up so pretty you won’t hide it in your bag
FORGET It-bags or designer shoes — the ultimate accessory for this season’s parties is a covetable compact.
For the latest cosmetics aren’t purely functional items that you scurry off to the bathroom with to touch up your makeup. They’re objects of desire, the sort of thing you want to whip out in a bar, to ostentatiously wield as you slick on lipstick or powder your nose.
Whether you’re indulging in a little pre-Christmas treat or searching for the perfect gift, here’s our selection of the best and most beautiful . . .
Beautiful Golden Pineapple
£280, esteelauder.co.uk) ESTEE LAUDER has been creating covetable limitededition compacts for decades. Invariably, they are mini works of art (and are priced as such).
The stunner in this year’s collection is a decadent, swarovski crystal- encrusted pineapple (pictured), which contains a solid version of the brand’s Beautiful fragrance.
Rouge G de Guerlain lipstick
£32.50, johnlewis.com IF JAMES BOND’s Q made lipsticks, he’d make them like this (far right): delightfully weighty and, as you pull the bullet out of the container, a mini mirror flips up.
Look out for the limited merveilleux Rose, a pretty browny-pink that comes in a snowflake-covered case.
Colour Of Youth
£40, charlotte tilbury.com MAKE- UP artist Charlotte Tilbury has taken inspiration from the late photographer norman parkinson to create a collection using some of his iconic images.
This lip-and-cheek colour is the perfect multi-tasker for an evening out. It comes in an elegant compact ( right), featuring a picture of norman’s wife, Wenda, looking chic on a beach in Fifties Tobago.
Lip balm pill boxes
£15, andreagarland.co.uk ACCESSORIES designer andrea Garland has created a range of vintage compacts for lip balm made from organic shea butter, beeswax and sweet almond oil. Choose between clear, pink or red tinted.
There are multiple designs, including original Liberty prints, skiing scotties (top right) and doe a deer, two reindeer admiring a Christmas tree.
Gold Glow fragranced luminising powder
£45, burberry.com IF any brand knows how to do beauty packaging, it’s Burberry. Its lipsticks have a magic magnetic system to help them click shut, while compacts are weighty and solid-feeling.
This product is no exception. a chunky case opens to reveal a super-fine powder that can be used to highlight the decolletage or cheekbones for a festive glowing shimmer.
Dolce & Gabbana Animalier Glow Powder
£42, harrods.com DOLCE & Gabbana is synonymous with glamour, animal print and being just a little OTT, so it’s no surprise that its limited-edition bronzer ticks all these boxes.
The compact (above right) features the label’s signature leopard print — the bronzer inside has a matching leopard print design.
Diorific State Of Gold
£50, houseoffraser.co.uk THIS stylish compact comes in a choice of two highlighting shades — Luxurious Beige and sumptuous pink. unlike the blingy dior compacts of years gone by, it whispers grown-up style, with ‘dior’ embossed on the outside of the gold case.
Paul & Joe Bird lipstick case
£7, veryexclusive.co.uk FRENCH brand paul & Joe is worth investigating if you want a pretty product that won’t break the bank — but note that these cases come empty, so you’ll have to buy a lipstick to put into it.
Cream of this season’s crop is a design featuring a bobble-hatted bird. There’s also a matching compact (£7) for the Cheek Colour (£12).
Mini brush set
£59, bobbibrown.co.uk RATHER than carrying brushes or doing touch-ups with your fingers, mini versions with shorter handles, but full- size heads mean you can get a professional finish on the go.
This set of four (for blending, eyeliner, cream shadow and powder shadow) come in an elegant silver case, with a metal clasp that clips shut in a satisfying fashion.