Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

Anne Hathaway at the Met Ball

How such creative people with so much money (and freebies) at their disposal manage to make such a potentially interesting, fun event so boring is beyond me. Maybe it's all the drugs?

One highlight for  me amongst the Met Ball monotony was Anne Hathaway's look. Anne is the kind of girl whom I used to find extraordinarily beautiful, like a young Nigella Lawson. Recently, I've found that she either looks very pretty or downright awkward. (As someone who tends to look very goofy indeed in candid shots, I know how annoying this can be.)

But it was great to see her working the '60s retro look - and resembling Nigella more than ever - at the Met Ball. I loved the hair, and the makeup was perfect, even if the dress was just so-so. Lancôme did Anne's makeup - here's the rundown from their PR department:

Celebrity makeup artist Leslie Lopez gave Hathaway her ultra-glamorous, ultra-dramatic look, with smokey eyes as the focal point. Leslie swept Lancôme Color Design Eyeshadow in Statuesque over the entire eyelid, dabbed Color Design Eyeshadow in Daylight on the brow bone and finished with several coats of Lancôme L'Extreme Mascara in Black. Anne’s sheer, neutral colored lipstick--Lancôme L’Absolu Rouge Lipstick in Couture Suede—was the perfect finishing touch.

Aside: Anne Hathaway was college roommates with one of my friends, who reported that there is absolutely no juicy gossip or anything weird about the actress. How tragic!

Lancôme Définicils loyalty

I've used and loved this mascara since I was a teenager, but for some reason I always try other mascaras and think I'm going to find better. It's never really worked out that way.

Recently, I went back to Définicils again after a very underwhelming trial of Dior DiorShow (in fairness, I think my expectations were unrealistic). Happily, I discovered another reason to love this product: It washes off almost completely without any eye makeup remover being used. (I use Clean & Clear Foaming Facial Cleanser for Sensitive Skin morning and night.) After washing my face, one cotton ball and a bit of my trusty Target Eye Makeup Remover will get rid of every trace of mascara. With all other mascaras I've used, it takes at least two soaked cotton balls. Doesn't seem like a big difference, but little things like this matter to me.

I'm Blushing

For reasons that elude me, we've recently wound up with a lot of blush in the bathroom. Nearly all of them have been brought in by my daughter Tafv (now I know where her money goes), including Clinique Touch Blush in Sweet Clover, a moussey blush that's a breeze to apply and looks quite natural, and Revlon Cream Blush in what may be First Blush, though it's hard to tell, now that the plastic cover has fallen off and the blush itself is full of both divots and some iridescence with which I don't think it began its life. This blush is of an unforgiving nature, a clay-like consistency that reminds me of the tubes of spent lipstick my grandmother would give me to play with. My recent contribution to the blush collection was a tiny tube of Almay smart shade blush, in Natural. Since I don't read magazines that feature a lot of cosmetic ads, I was unaware that this blush doesn't actually have any color when it comes out of the tube. From the copy on Almay's site: 

With smart shade^® blush, there’s no more guessing about how to find your perfect blush shade. This revolutionary blush contains microscopic shade-sensing color beads that are activated when you smooth it on—transforming into a shade that perfectly complements your skin tone.

I was not under the impression that a) choosing a shade of blush had heretofore proved such a conundrum to so many, and b) that the point was to complement one's skin tone. I intend no irony or disrespect when I say, unless her eyesight is severely impaired, I don't know a woman who doesn't like to have some input into what her blush looks like, though such opinion is moot, as the smart shade blush, isn't. It's just boring.

A long preamble to the blush I really want to write about and actually get excited about applying, Chanel Joues Contraste, which we have in two shades, Nude and (be still my heart) Horizon, the latter a rosy-fingers-of-dawn hue that, brushed on once, gives a nubile glow; brushed on twice, makes you look like a haute couture doll, at once playful and dramatic. The brushes that come with the blush are weeny and have in any case been misplaced, and really it's much more fun to poof on the Horizon with a Lancome All-Over Powder Brush, though I don't think we have the #20, but an equivalent that came in a with-purchase Lancome goodie bag. These bags arrive on our doorstep every couple of months, courtesy of my mother-in-law, who I guess must use a lot of Lancome. Why the most recent booty also included the two full-size Joues Contraste, I've yet to ask.

Lancome Paris trip

We were followed by at least one videographer at all times during last month's trip - between all the cameras we had on us, there must be hundreds of hours of footage. Lancome condensed it into this fun montage:

Lancôme Paris trip FAQ

  L’Institut Lancôme 
  Originally uploaded by dynamist.

So, why exactly did Lancôme fly you to Paris and treat you to a five-star luxury break there?

Good question! I wasn't quite sure until the second day I was there. It turns out that Lancôme is launching a website about magnificent women around the world - Magnifique Women - and is trying to build a community of women around the globe who can support one another in achieving great things in their offline communities. The site launches next week, but we got a sneak preview in Paris, and the whole thing is admirably bare of Lancôme branding. That said, it is a Flash site, about which - trust me - I made my strongly held views known.

Is that it?

Not quite. 

Lancôme Trésor chandelier

  L’Institut Lancôme 
  Originally uploaded by dynamist.

Trésor is one of the perfumes I remember my grandmother wearing, so I have always had a bit of a soft spot for it. This chandelier made of Trésor bottles, which I spotted at L’Institut Lancôme in Paris last week, is mind-blowingly gorgeous. I suspect it's the only one in the world (unless L’Institut Lancôme in New York has one, too).

Beauties: Juliette Binoche

  Juliette Binoche 
  Originally uploaded by dynamist.

When you see, close up, someone as stunning as she is, you have to scratch your head even more at the WAGs, Jordans, and Brooke Hogans of the world. This is beauty, as the French say, nonpareil.

Other adjectives which came to mind:

elegant
simple
glowing
knock-out

She can't need that much help from Lancome. (Indeed, she told us she uses products with a very light hand.)

More soon.

In Paris with Lancome

  In the "backyard" of Café d'Homme 
  Originally uploaded by dynamist.

I'm too tired to type (it's almost 3.30 AM here), so you get this video entry instead:

Live from windy, rainy Paris

  Chanel flagship store, Paris 
  Originally uploaded by dynamist.

I've been flown over by Lancome to take part in some events this week - details of which are still mostly a mystery to me. But I was intrigued enough to come over and dig deeper.

What I do know is this: Lancome has installed me in a gorgeous 5-star hotel (Hotel Costes) for three nights, will be treating me to many fabulous meals and a party, and is gifting me with a very special trip to one of my favorite cities in the world.

I want you to know that, too, because I believe our readers have the right to be fully informed as to any circumstances which could possibly influence what we write about a company. Frankly, I don't wish to argue with anyone as to whether or not I can be completely objective about a brand which is treating me so specially. That is for you to judge for yourself, based on what you know of me, this blog, and our credibility.

Already I am here, writing about Lancome, so to some extent the trip has had an effect on what I write. But I promise, as ever, to bring you my honest thoughts about their products and overall value for customers.

Plus, I'd love to know if you have any questions for the powers that be at Lancome. Leave them in the comments here if you do.

Au revoir for now!

love/indifference/hate

Love:

the cooler, but not cold, weather (long sleeves, scarves, but no frostbite - yet)
those custom-designed, hand-made fixtures (spotted at a party at Lightborne Studios)
Diesel Fuel for Life* (it's really grown on me)
that I am going to New York City next week
that I am going to LA for Thanksgiving
rediscovering hair products from my arsenal (always nice to get out of a rut)
Plackers* flossing picks (never get caught between your teeth)
Lancome Definicils (for life, I tell you)

Indifference:

that I am going to London for only two nights (work)
Alterna Caviar Shampoo with Age Control Complex* (overpriced, under-delivers)

Hate:
Dropping and shattering my Physicians Formula pressed powder* into a million billion pieces and dust that gets EVERYWHERE (for obvious reasons)
my skin
the in-between, growing-out status of my hair

Nothing very important on any of these lists, but yes, I am still alive.

*denotes products I received for free, from corporate PR