Model Kaia Gerber inspiring our party season makeup. Image credit: Instagram/kaiagerber

I’ve been wanting to start this weekly letter from the beauty desk at GRAZIA for weeks now, but in truth just haven’t found the time. But one place where time typically comes in excess is at the airport, so this initial instalment comes to you from Dubai as I wait to board a flight to Paris. I’m heading there with Hermès – a brand that epitomes luxury in the most fantastical sense – so to say that I’m hugely excited for all that’s to come this week would be a gross understatement. There will be plenty of coverage on grazia.com – both Hermès-related and some Parisian musings in general – so please read at your disposal.

Travel is of course a great time to experiment, beauty-wise. Typically I downsize my skincare and makeup edit, but on this occasion I’ve packed more than I need with the intention of doing a lot whilst appearing effortless, which is quintessentially the French way, non? I tend to dip in and out of new products when flying, but my very best advice (other than drinking a lot of water) is to pack hydrocolloid bandages (pimple patches) if you’re prone to breaking out, as I am. Put them on any blemishes (existing or new) as soon as you take off. It will firstly protect them from fingers and recycled air, but also help them to heal over the duration of the flight. A hyaluronic packed sleeping/invisible face mask is also great. Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask is my top high end pick, whereas Neutrogena do the best pods that are highly effective, cheap, and so easy to pack. I put mine in a cup of ice and slather on for a real pep up. I actually find that refrigerating skincare while travelling is one of the easiest tricks in the book. I wrote about a few of the ways in which you can utilise its powers here. I plan to film my “descending” skincare routine on the next leg, so stay tuned for the breakdown on the GRAZIA Instagram channel. If you’re a less is more kind of traveller, I’ve written about easy, discreet inflight beauty before as well.

My parting words will be about party makeup – something I always feel so passionate about but never really get in to. Whether I’m going to brunch or to a boardroom meeting I tend to fall into the same old tinted moisturiser/brow gel/lip balm situation, so I really want to break old habits and have more fun with makeup this festive season. There’s so many easy products that are devoid of all “I don’t have time” excuses. I’ve got my saved folder full of references, including this purple eye from Kaia Gerber and this delicious chrome shadow courtesy of Gigi Hadid. As for products, Kat Von D’s new Crush Creamfoil shadows, Marc Jacobs coloured liquid liners and the new Tom Ford Ultra Shine Lip Gloss are all on my “to try” list. I wrote a wrap up of existing favourites here, but the thing with beauty is there’s always something new, so I think a few short video tutorials are in order so I stand good on my word.

In essence, I want this weekly newsletter to be a quick wrap up of what I’m doing, learning, and trying in the beauty space at the time. Our print magazine is biannual, and while it’s the most beautiful display of beauty in an editorial sense, I miss the short direct line of communication, hence the catalyst for starting this! I’ll refer back to stuff featured online that week, as well as touching on trends and tips. It will typically go live Friday’s, but seeing as it took me a month to write this first instalment, two days late doesn’t seem so bad. But if there’s anything you’d like to hear more (or less) of, please sound off in the comments below.

Until we meet in Paris next Friday…

Em

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