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Going grey? Our beauty expert reveals the one makeup trick to make you look younger
Pastels for spring — ground-breaking, as Meryl Streep didn’t quite drawl in The Devil Wears Prada.
Every April, sugary, saccharine shades appear on catwalks and cosmetic shelves, just as, every April, many of us will dismiss them without a second glance.
This year, insult is added to injury thanks to the looks being reminiscent of those last seen below 1980s fringes. ‘The horror!’ exclaims a friend, when I propose wisteria eyeshadow.
And yet pastels can feel not only very 2024, but extremely flattering — not least against grey hair, bringing not only light, but soft, glowing colour to paler skin tones. Witness how fabulous Josh Wood’s Pink Quartz, Blue Reef and Peach Blush Hair Glazes (from £5, joshwoodcolour.com) can look on silver locks.
Givenchy is famously clever with its multi-dimensional pastel powders, meaning its make-up artist, Claire Mulleady, is my first port of call for wisdom.
Pastels can feel not only very 2024, but extremely flattering — not least against grey hair, bringing not only light, but soft, glowing colour to paler skin tones
‘A soft, pastel liner on the top or bottom lash line, such as Givenchy Khol Couture Waterproof in Lilac (£21, givenchybeauty.com), gives you a modern shot of colour without looking overdone,’ she explains.
‘Either keep the line defined, or blend for a subtle, watercolour effect. Finish with black mascara to avoid feeling washed out and pair with a dewy, lightweight complexion. The key is to keep everything else pared back and undone.’
‘If you’re unsure which colour to choose, go for an undertone that matches your skin’s. For cool tones, pastels such as icy blues or mint greens work well, while corals and yellows work best with warm skin tones.’
She’s not wrong. Cool types with bluer veins, like me, will want to opt for baby blues, pinks and lavenders. Warm-complexion folk, with greener veins, will suit sunny yellows, mellow pistachios and apricots.
If you want to give pastels a token whirl, Maybelline Tattoo Liner in the silvery, shimmering 812 Lavender Light (£4.08, notino.co.uk) will work well for the former; Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Liner in Seafoam, a pale matte green (£30, victoria beckhambeauty.com) for the latter. While women who sit in neutral — who are neither warm nor cool — may want to think about what sort of contrast will make their eyes really pop.
For me the joy is going, if not full on, then fuller. In addition to liner, I crave eyeshadow, blush, a lip. One approach is to work from what suits you in a bold hue, then configure it in softer, less saturated guise. By way of example, my beloved purplish berry becomes a lavender. For you, it might be coral morphing to peach.
The easiest and most contemporary way of concocting a full, pastel-inspired face is to head to a Dior counter and let rip. To indulge my lilac love, I fell on a Diorshow 5 Couleurs eyeshadow palette in Pastel Glow (£58, dior.com) (warm women will prefer the yellowy Coral Flame quintet, £58).
Then, I bagged a Rosy Glow blush in Pink Lilac (£34), (Coral, £34, makes a perfect equivalent for less cool types), and a Lip Glow Oil in Pink Lilac (£32) (again, Coral, £32, for the warm-complexioned).
UK beauty expert Hannah Betts recommends Diorshow 5 Couleurs eyeshadow palette in Pastel Glow
The sheer lip keeps things modern. And Claire is right — a light, dewy complexion is key. This isn’t our mother’s 1960s, heavily-powdered pastel look. It’s a juicier, more natural-looking, 21st-century incarnation.
Other pastel passions include Vieve’s Eye Wand shadow in Lilac (£23 vieve.co.uk), as simple as it is sophisticated. Fenty and Morphe boast fantastic warm pastels; Morphe’s Quad Goals Multi-Palette in Fresh Peach (£16, uk.morphe.com) is a cracking stack embracing eyes, lips, cheeks and shimmer.
Experimentalists will go wild for Morphe’s 35Y Artistry Palette (£28), which it describes as 35 ‘dialled-up’ pastels .
Sisley’s Phyto-Blush Twists (£60, sisley-paris.com) are winningly fresh. Ditto Glossier’s Balm Dotcom (£14, glossier.com). Strawberry is the latest, Mango an apricot-rose, but I am besotted with Lavender.
RACE YOU TO IT!
New, and really rather epic, Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara (£23.20, lookfantastic.com) was launched last week. It’s the brand’s most dramatic mascara to date. Zigzag it on to create longer, fuller‑looking lashes without clumping or smudging. Its 2 per cent bonding complex allows 17 times more volume after two coats. Awesome.
MY ICON OF THE WEEK
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway, 41, looks after her skin by wearing La Roche-Posay SPFon a daily basis
The star of Mothers’ Instinct, 41, boasts a London facialist — massage queen Su‑Man Hsu (from £260, su-man.com). Beyond this, La Roche-Posay SPF is a non-negotiable (from £16, boots.com). Anne also admires Chantecaille Bio Lifting Mask (£152) and Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick (£62, both at cultbeauty.co.uk).
FIVE SKIN SOOTHERS
(£50, dior.com)
Now in pink houndstooth check to celebrate the hit balm’s first birthday.
(£12, boots.com) Accelerates healing, improving recovery from surgery, peels and sunburn
(£38, skinstitut.co.uk)
An intense, ceramide salve, calming skin prone to eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis.
(£16, marksandspencer.com)
Softens lips, soothes hands, nourishes cuticles and protects from windburn.
(£18, everyandone.com)
With squalane and vitamin F to wash, cleanse, shave, soothe and moisturise.
COSMETIC CRAVING
The joy of a bubble bath is unsurpassed.
Yet said suds can prove drying. Past a certain age, our time in the tub has to be as nourishing — and relaxing — as possible, which is why so many of us opt for aromatherapy oils.
Neal’s Yard Beauty Sleep Foaming Bath (£19, nealsyardremedies.com) brings the two together: yielding a luxurious froth that won’t parch skin, with divine ylang ylang, patchouli and clary sage essential oils to help unwind you before bedtime. It smells sublime.
I wish I could say more about its heady delights, only my boyfriend keeps stealing my supplies, so I lack expertise.
I’m insisting he stock us both up immediately, or my revenge will be bloody and terrible.