Elle Fanning oozed goth goddess energy in a sheer black Gucci gown at the LACMA Art + Film Gala, a star-studded event in Los Angeles. The elegant dress featured numerous cutouts – on the sleeves, sides, and, most noticeably, the back – and a completely see-through skirt. Black flower hair clips embellished her slicked-back bun and a purple sequin flower brooch adorned her collar. What a stylish femme fatale! What an amazing contemporary Gucci muse!
What sophisticated perfume does a goth goddess like Elle Fanning wear on the red carpet? As a beauty editor, I would have combined the black Gucci evening gown with one of my favourite high perfumery creations: Feminité du bois by Serge Lutens. The sophisticated, mysterious and enigmatic perfume celebrates 30 years of femininity and high perfumery. In 1992, when Serge Lutens founded his perfume label in Paris, a radiant, full-bodied and spicy wood fragrance burst onto the scene, with the refinement of cedarwood and the wisdom of the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains at the heart of its composition.
THE FRENCH PERFUME THAT REVOLUTIONIZED PERFUMERY
At the time, fragrances were mainly bottled blends aimed at stereotypes of men and women: working women, housewives, men in their varying roles, often sporty. Féminité du bois went back to the basics of perfume-making and to the principle of fragrance as memory, by highlighting the innate characteristics of the main ingredient, which in its case was cedar wood. Féminité du bois (femininity of wood) was a symbolic name, a distinctive and pure creation that did not shy away from the feminine nor seek to drown out the masculine.
One of the main ingredients of this luxury perfume was cedar wood, which accounted for more than 60% of its composition. “An overdose, yes,” says Serge Lutens. “Just as I experienced it during my walks through the souks of Marrakesh: honeyed, animalic, persistent, yet hollowing itself out with time.” (video)
Féminité du bois transformed the perfume industry. After its release, there was a mad rush for perfumes that similarly highlighted the base ingredients. In addition to this new approach to perfume making, Serge Lutens also invented a new way of presenting and acquiring fragrances, through the opening of his Salons du Palais Royal boutique in Paris.
To mark the 30 years of this legendary perfume, Serge Lutens has created a bottle with a unique Cubist engraving of a woman in a tuxedo. A tribute to Picasso, Braque and Yves Saint Laurent? “I am entirely made up of right and obtuse angles,” explains the French perfumer. “When I conceived this perfume, I imagined femininity in a different light, a little like the Cubist movement in the world of art.”
SILKY BODY CARE PRODUCTS BY SERGE LUTENS
Serge Lutens is reinventing our morning routine with a collection of eaux fraîches, accompanied for the first time by cleansing gels. Inspiring a return to our roots and awakening of the senses, this body care range taps into our collective unconscious: bath time. An authentic childhood memory, but also a simple and comforting everyday routine.
For each stage, Serge Lutens proposes three approaches to freshness: pure, aromatic and invigorating…
L’Eau Serge Lutens is one of the brand’s bestsellers and the source of inspiration for this collection. Cool water, clean, crisply ironed laundry, a starched pillowcase which shares all your dreams.
Parole d’eau: Deep, intimate, eternal. An original and modern composition that puts an end to the myth of the unscented water. A perfume that embodies the real deep water.
Dans le bleu qui pétille: Happy, bubbly, full of life. A dive into the heart of the ocean, sea salt crystallizing on the skin in the sunshine. It exudes the scent of salt and iodine on skin warmed by the afternoon sun. An inimitable, fresh, sensual fragrance.
MUSC NOIR ROSE BY NARCISO RODRIGUEZ
Musc Noir Rose marks a new chapter in the successful fragrance collection For Her by Narciso Rodriguez, a New York fashion designer who celebrates modern femininity.
“I wanted to create a more blooming, petally version of Musc Noir, and to do so, I chose to increase the delicate rose and jasmine petaly facet with the heady note of tuberose, while increasing the sensuality of the base notes with a modern chypre oriental accord,” says French master perfumer Sonia Constant. “In this new fragrance, the signature heart of musc is creamier, and it is balanced by the oriental vanilla for more sensuality. To increase the contrast in the composition between light and shadow, I also added a bergamot glow, accented with pink peppercorn on top.” Like Musc Noir, Musc Noir Rose contains notes of leather, plum and cedarwood, but it is more floral and less woody.
Lola Nicon, a French model who recently graced the cover of Vogue Paris after hitting the catwalk for Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Balmain and Chloé, perfectly embodies the intimate sensuality of Musc Noir Rose. The campaign film, shot by Inez & Vinoodh, has an ethereal, dream-like quality composed of fragmented memories and intriguing, hypnotic moments.
A WATER-INFUSED FOUNDATION FOR A LIGHT COVERAGE
Sisley’s new foundation Phyto-Teint Nude meets a fresh challenge: to provide coverage so light that it gives the appearance of bare skin. With its sheer texture, this light and undetectable water-infused foundation evens out the complexion. It hydrates, energizes and vitalizes skin.
Transparent smoothing microspheres with a blurring effect diffuse light and act in combination with coated talc and hectorite gel to smooth the skin and blur blemishes. As a result, the airy and natural Phyto-Teint Nude leaves a veil on the epidermis that corrects blemishes without disguising the texture of the skin: It provides a subtle satin nude finish.
Phyto-Teint Nude comes in 18 shades, 3 undertones (cool, neutral, warm) and 8 levels of intensity that are compatible with a wide range of skin tones.
IN THE MOOD FOR SHINE WITH SISLEY PARIS
Phyto-Rouge Shine is a new vibrant tinted lipstick with a lustrous finish and a melt-in
feel that moisturizes and plumps lips. The perfect compromise between the satiny coverage of a classic lipstick and the sheerness of a gloss, it provides both make-up and lipcare functions.
Phyto-Rouge Shine features 12 alluring sheer colours that glide on and melt into the lips for a fresh and radiant look. Designed with high-tech pigments, Phyto-Rouge Shine lends a flash of colour. It comes in four different colour families (nudes, pinks, oranges, reds) and two finishes: shiny and iridescent.
The soft and creamy texture of Sisley’s new lipstick forms a fine, soft and silky film of shine to reveal bright colour and radiant, lustrous lips.
The famous zebra print, Sisley’s make-up signature, has been given a breath of fresh air. A white and gold design adorns the portable and refillable slimline case for ultimate luxury.
PREVENTING PREMATURE AGING
Urban life is tough on the skin. A constant barrage of environmental stressors –including pollution, UV rays and smoking – disrupts the process of cell renewal and leads to premature aging. With a combination of powerful active ingredients, All Day All Year by Sisley Paris protects the skin from the external aggressors responsbile for premature aging.
The physical shield of All Day All Year protects the skin at the surface before external aggressors have the time to alter its cells, through three mechanisms of
protection, including enhanced UVA/UVB protection. The biological shield reactivates the skin’s self-defence capabilities through four mechanisms of protection.
The skin is protected against accelerated aging and is left smoother and denser. Wrinkles are reduced and the complexion is more radiant. With a moisturizing formula, All Day All Year can be used alone or incorporated into any other skincare routine as a protective “top coat” worn over daily skincare.
ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BRANDS IN FRENCH PHARMACIES
Nuxe has created a new skincare line for women aged 35 plus that targets wrinkles and improves the skin’s firmness. Nuxe Merveillance Lift features five anti-ageing care products infused with a micro-algae oil made of chlorella vulgaris, a microscopic fresh water green algae with an exceptional regeneration capability. Thanks to an innovative extraction method, the result is a pure, stable micro-algae oil extract concentrated in essential fatty acids and natural antioxidants.
The Firming Powdery Cream firms the skin and corrects wrinkles. It is ideal for normal to combination skin. It also creates a natural blur effect for a flawless finish. The Firming Velvet Cream is a rich cream for normal to dry skin. Like the Firming Activating Oil-Serum, it firms the skin and corrects wrinkles, providing suppleness and tone. The Lift Eye Cream has a blur-effect texture and reduces wrinkles, puffiness and signs of fatigue around the eyes. The Concentrated Night Cream is an anti-ageing concentrate. In the morning, skin is recharged with energy and looks smoother and firmer. If you wish, you can include the Merveillance Lift Face-Sculpting Double Roller, a self-massage accessory, in your Nuxe beauty routine.
SWISS BIOTECHNOLOGY COMBINED WITH LUXURY SKINCARE
Swissline celebrates 30 years of its exclusive Cell Shock skincare range with the launch of a limited-edition jar containing the award-winning Luxe-Lift Rich Cream. It features vibrant colours – ruby red, sapphire blue and opal white with touches of gold and black in a goldfish motif. Goldfish are a symbol of luck, prosperity and longevity in many cultures.
The rich collagen cream lifts, revitalizes and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by deeply hydrating the skin. It contains biomimetic growth factors, which activate dermal synthesis and boost collagen production, and Cellactel 2 complex, a nutri-revitalizer that helps to repair essential functions and to increase the cell’s access to oxygen. Moreover, it contains marine collagen and fibroin, a combination that increases moisture.
LITHUANIAN TOPMODEL IS THE NEW FACE OF ZADIG & VOLTAIRE
Vibes of Freedom is the new edition of Zadig & Voltaire’s fragrance collections THIS IS HER! and THIS IS HIM! It celebrates authentic unplugged moments. Vacations, weekends in the countryside, seaside breaks. City vibrations give way to those of nature.
The sensual fragrance for women is like a peony blooming in May. An expansive floral breeze, somehow both warm and cool, with oriental accents of jasmine and rose, radiant pear accords and chestnut cream accords.
The sparkling variation of the men’s fragrance features Provençal accents of mandarin and lavender as well as citron and frankincense, while patchouli and cardamom spice it up.
Edita Vilkeviciute, a Lithuanian topmodel (32) who graced the covers of the world’s most important fashion magazines like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Marie Claire, is the face of Zadig & Voltaire’s new fragrance campaign, alongside Mamadou Lo, a 29-year-old French model who posed for several Balmain lookbooks.
KOREAN SKIN THERAPY
Skin blemishes affect around 6 million people in France. They can show up at any age, under our face mask, at times of stress, hormonal imbalance or inflammation. If you have blemishes, you should see a dermatologist first. Afterwards, you can opt for a product like Super BB Cream by Erborian, a combined high coverage and skincare solution.
The new cream, which is available in five shades, works over the long term to help the skin regain a natural balance, thanks to a formula that gives high coverage without being cakey. Moreover, it is rich in active anti-blemish ingredients for a hydrated and even complexion. It contains fermented Ginseng flower for an even complexion effect, and 4% Niacinamide, a skin active ingredient that reduces imperfections.
Centenella Cleansing Balm, the latest product by Erborian, combines the effective cleansing of an oil and the comforting softness of a balm. Enriched with Centella Asiatica, the Korean super-ingredient of Erborian skincare, it effectively removes make-up while providing a feeling of softness and comfort to the skin.
TREAT YOUR HAIR WITH A HYDRATION SHOT
Christophe Robin’s Hydrating regimen with aloe vera, one of the brand’s bestselling ranges, responds to hair’s universal need for hydration. Just like skin, hair requires a boost of hydration to defend itself against environmental stressors that cause dryness.
The Hydrating Cream Scrub with aloe vera is a gentle pre-wash exfoliating treatment for dehydrated or very sensitive scalps. It softly polishes away dead skin cells and debris while delivering the perfect dose of hydration and moisture. Once a week, apply it generously on your dry scalp and massage it gently using circular motions. Let the product sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then work it into a lather using water. Continue to massage the scalp, then rinse thoroughly.
The Hydrating Leave-in Cream with aloe vera is a silky leave-in treatment that delivers luminous, healthy-looking hair. The lightweight cream responds to the needs of dehydrated, frizzy or dull hair. It moisturises the hair fibres and envelops strands with nurturing antioxidants to repair split ends, control frizz and
protect from heat damage up to 230°C.
PURIFYING SCALP MASK
In 2013, French VIP colorist Christophe Robin launched Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt, which quickly became an international best seller. To further improve the scalp’s well-being, Christophe Robin has created two new haircare products: the Purifying Mask with Thermal Mud, a pre-wash detox treatment, and the Purifying Shampoo with Thermal Mud, an improved
reformulation of the Purifying Shampoo with jujube bark extract.
The Purifying Mask with Thermal Mud is an anti-pollution pre-wash treatment. It draws out impurities and pollution build-up from the scalp to provide an instant feeling of freshness.
The scalp feels comfortable and soothed, roots are refreshed, and hair is healthy-looking, soft and shiny. Once a week, dampen your hair and massage the product onto the scalp and roots.
Leave on for 3 minutes before rinsing thoroughly.
The Purifying Shampoo with Thermal Mud is a detoxifying shampoo formulated to draw out impurities and pollution from the scalp and lengths for an exceptionally clean, fresh feeling.
Cover Photo: Imago
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