Holding your own in a room of impeccably coiffed beauty editors is not easy, so time to pile on good old-fashioned glamour, movie-star style
To a super scary lunch yesterday to celebrate the launch of Aerin Lauder’s (Estée’s grand-daughter) new make-up range. The venue was the Connaught, a very grand hotel in Mayfair, and so naturally I wore my new hat. It’s a felt cloche from the Per Una range at Marks and Sparks.
I love a cloche. It’s partly because I have a ridiculously old-fashioned face, and so weirdly it quite suits me; but also because it’s the ideal hat shape for when you want to look a bit swish but not too try-hard. Holding your own in a room of impeccably coiffed beauty editors is not easy, I can tell you. I accessorised for added effect with a movie-star shade of a deep but really quite vibrant shade of cherry red lipstick. It’s a brand I’ve never even heard of (sleekmakeup.com) but the texture is great and the colour properly fabulous.
Aerin’s own range is a much more gentle affair, a soft, very modern palette of rosy golds and easy, flattering textures and shades. The packaging is, however pleasingly retro, like something your grandmother might have owned. I asked if she had rifled through Estée’ old compacts for inspiration, but actually it’s to do with Aerin’s own passion for interiors: the textured surface is meant to look like linen. Textiles are Aerin’s thing: apparently she has hand-painted silk wallpaper in her apartment in New York.
I’m not sure hand-painted silk would work at my house, given the amount of grubby hand- and paw-prints I seem to spend scrubbing off walls and carpets; but then I am not the soignée scion of style aristocracy. The make-up is just the precursor to an entire line of Aerin interiors, which will launch in the UK around Christmas time. You can get an idea of the sort of thing by having a look at www.aerin.com . Come back on Monday and you’ll find a full interview with her.