estee pure illuminating fantastical lipstick

Estee pure illuminating fantastical lipstick skin#
Estee pure illuminating fantastical lipstick professional#

Lancôme’s L’Absolu Rouge is a lush, sweet rose, as are Yves Saint Laurent’s Rouge Pour Couture and Dior’s Rouge Ultra. Rose, for instance, is a popular choice for European and American beauty brands, given its romantic associations in western culture. Lipsticks are often inflected with floral notes because not only do they marry well with the smell of the waxy base, they also have classical appeal and a glamorous image. The smell can influence not only the first impression of a product, and its desirability, but also its perceived effectiveness: moisturising shampoos like Kérastase Nutritive Bain Satin 2 Complete Nutrition Shampoo rely on creamy floral notes that evoke softness and nourishment, while L’Occitane Citrus Verbena Fresh Shampoo smells like crushed green leaves and lemon peel.

Estee pure illuminating fantastical lipstick professional#

It’s essential to compose an aroma to harmonise with such a base, but since lip-colour ingredients have to be food-grade, the palette of available materials is limited.” Rose essence, violet (in the form of substances called ionones) and powdery notes like heliotropin remain popular choices, giving lipsticks their characteristic aroma.īrands such as Givenchy, Chanel and Dior engage professional “noses” for their lipsticks and creams, and put as much care into crafting those aromas as they do into creating the perfumes for their fine fragrance lines. “Lipstick is a combination of materials with their own pronounced smell, like fat, waxes and emollients. “Scenting lipstick is a big challenge,” says Kari Arienti Hackbarth, a perfumer who has worked for over 30 years designing fragrances for a wide variety of cosmetic products, from shampoos to body creams.

The industry spends millions of pounds on research and development of novel combinations and materials. “For this reason, the smell of lipstick is linked to our nostalgic childhood recollections, and later to sensuality, and these emotions are important in forming our preferences and choices.”īut while a beautiful aroma is the sole raison d’être for a perfume, in the realm of cosmetics and personal care it has an even more complex role. Since lipstick is dosed very lightly with fragrance, she explains, only an intimate encounter like a mother’s kiss or a lover’s embrace allows one to notice it. She confirms that my fascination with the scent of lipstick is not merely a personal quirk. Part of her quest is to understand the way our day-to-day experiences influence our olfactory preferences.

Shyamala Maisondieu, who works for Givaudan, the Swiss manufacturer of flavours and fragrances, composes perfumes for brands such as Tom Ford, Lanvin and Sisley. But just as I had in my childhood, I smelled that lipstick to daydream of glamour. Still reeling, I handed over my entire allowance and left the store without a penny to my name, but with a beautiful, powerful accessory. All those years later at the beauty counter, I was reminded so vividly of my late great-grandmother and her lipstick that I felt her presence.

Estee pure illuminating fantastical lipstick skin#

The make-up worn by the women in my family, the lotions they swept onto their skin and the shampoo they lathered into their hair always intrigued me – but nothing more so than lipstick, with its captivating aroma. When Asya wasn’t around, I furtively sniffed her rouge compact, its fragrance evoking her soft cheeks and melodious laughter. The scent reminded me of my great-grandmother, Asya, who adored rose essence its sweetness enveloped her and always left a rich sillage in her wake. The wave that swept over me was so intense that my eyes welled with tears. I was making swatches of the different tones of pinks and reds on the back of my hand when, suddenly, I became aware of the fragrance of roses. They promised the glamour and sophistication that I desperately craved. I was passing through the local department store in Chicago, aged 15, when an array of shiny, black tubes at the Chanel counter drew my attention. I don’t remember the colour of my first lipstick, but I recall its scent.