How does one of the biggest launches of the year measure up? We put Marc Jacobs’ new beauty line to the test
Powerful pigment, innovative formulas and fantastic colour payoff: these are just some of the words that come to mind when describing the new Marc Jacobs Beauty line.
Having just launched exclusively at Harrods , the highly anticipated makeup range from one of fashion’s most famous names has made its presence felt in a big way courtesy of an eye-catching February pop-up within the London store’s iconic Brompton Road Exhibition Windows. While the packaging may be surprisingly understated compared to the designer’s lucrative lines of best-selling perfumes, the high gloss casings give the collection a chic, stylish flair that mirrors Marc’s mantra that beauty be an extension of fashion - “Shine is my favourite colour,” the designer notes and the range reflects that vision perfectly.
Creativity and experimentation lie at its core, with its inspiration derived from a woman’s makeup ritual. “I think the idea of transforming into this person you want to be is exciting,” he says. “It’s the idea of a young woman enjoying creating her look, getting ready for her night out, or the night after her night out.” Sounds like a pretty perfect fit to us already.
The range encompasses a comprehensive collection of complexion and colour cosmetics and makeup brushes covering face to eyes, lips to nails. With a myriad of new makeup movers and shakers to try and test out, stand-out products in our opinion are the new Re(marc)able Full Cover Foundation Concentrate , £37, Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara , £20, Highliner Gel Eye Crayon , £19 and Le Marc Lip Crème , £24 - a great way to give any makeup bag a seriously luxe high fashion makeover.
Available in 22 shades (including a refreshingly wider roster of darker shades for an intro line - an event that’s too rarely seen in this GTG writer’s opinion); the formulation of the foundations is something really kind of special. The thinking behind it is to provide more pigment, with less thickness, with literally the tiniest of drops needed to provide a surprisingly large amount of coverage. The finish is more matte (not flat) rather than dewy and makes for a great choice for combination and oily skin types in our opinion. Impressive stuff.
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Next up, eyes and the new Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara has all the making of a cult classic in our books. Why you ask? Providing great length, volume and richness in one fell swoop (or swipe), it made achieving a clump-free doe-eyed flutter easy to accomplish thanks to its curvaceous lash-plumping brush. Inspired by one of Marc’s earliest memories of watching his mother carefully shave the fibres from a black velvet ribbon and skilfully apply them to her lashes, it brings the glamour of Studio 54 to the modern day. Paired with the inky Highliner in Blacquer, that’s your work to play makeup look sorted.
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And finally, lips. Again, pigment is the quality that sets these particular Lip Crèmes apart from the rest. The great thing about them in addition to their longevity is their versatility. If the finish is too strong, simply do what we did and apply, blot a little off and pop a touch of lip balm on top for daytime wearability. There’s even a shade created with our very own Royal family in mind - ‘Charlotte,’ a Harrods exclusive.
So having conquered the world of scent, could the world of cosmetics be next? A unique combination of innovation, style and substance, it seems beauty domination could well be on the horizon for the designer.
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