It was my birthday a few weeks back so I’m officially a member of the late-20s club. To most people, that would be perfectly fine, but true to form ever since my birthday I’ve taken it upon myself to take inventory of the multiple ways I’m officially getting ‘old’.
First, is the fact that I can’t eat, nor drink as much as I used to without it showing on my waist, hips and a multiple of other areas I’d rather it didn’t. Then there’s my growing penchant for afternoon naps, not to mention the fact a ‘wild’ Friday night for me now equates to staying up after 10.30pm on my sofa, with a takeaway of some description, binging on whatever I’ve missed on Netflix that week. Rock ‘n’ roll, right?
The biggest trait though – one, which my mother so kindly pointed out recently – is that I’m becoming a stickler for habit and nowhere is that more apparent than where my make-up is concerned. That’s why there’s nothing I hate more than when my favourite products get discontinued.
Trivialise that as much as you want but when you find the perfect shade of lipstick that compliments your skin just so, or that mascara that’s not too wet and not too dry and gives your lashes that wow factor, it can completely change both the way you look and feel.
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”615701″]
It’s happened to me several times in the past. After falling in love with MAC’s perfect coral-toned La Vie En Rouge lipstick, without warning, it disappeared. Then I fell in love with Chanel’s inimitable waterproof mascara; only for that too disappear too. For those of you who aren’t beauty junkies, the only thing I can equate it to is that perfect guy who disappears after a few dates without an explanation.
The good news is that getting your hands on your favourite discontinued products doesn’t mean spending endless hours on eBay because after years of bespoke services only being available in fashion, the beauty world is finally catching up and, thanks to Harvey Nichols, there are a whole host of new services you can take advantage of to fill the void in your make-up bag.
For the whole of March, the British department store has been running a beauty-themed takeover, called A Beautiful Mind, which is all about celebrating the rise bespoke beauty through a series of special pop ups and panel talks with top industry names BeautyMART co-founder Anna Anna-Marie Solowij, Nails Inc founder Thea Green and beauty vlogger Anna Gardner of Vivianna Does Makeup.
Their reasoning? ‘Beauty by its nature should always be bespoke – we all have different skin tones and textures, contrasting eye colours, hair and eyelashes,’ says Harvey Nichols beauty buying director, Daniela Rinaldi. ‘It has taken the beauty industry a long time to explore this but it s rapidly catching up and bespoke beauty is certainly a growing focus for brands globally, from personalised product formulations to tailor-made makeup shades and customisable skincare.’
And it’s about time. ‘I think the one size fits all concept just simply doesn’t cater to customers’ individual needs at all times anymore,’ she tells me. ‘The product can be fantastic but if it’s not right for you then it simply won’t work.’
One of the many pop-ups available in stores is Three Custom Colour, the ultimate service to help you recreate that discontinued lipstick you’ve run out of. All you need is the tiniest swatch of colour for the team to create a similar one for you and the best part is that it only takes 14 days. But it’s not just about recreating old favourites– you can bring anything from a clutch bag or pair of heels you love for them to match a lipstick too. The service isn’t cheap – it costs £60 – but it’s worth if it means getting the shade you’ve been searching for, no?
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”615711″]
Harvey Nichols has also called on our favourite eye-make specialists, Eyeko to run a bespoke mascara bar in store too. Simply turn up and talk to one of the mascara editors on hand, choose the affect you’re trying to achieve and the team will talk you through the different brush types and formulas that would work best for you and there are over 100 combinations to choose from. You can’t really go wrong and as a bonus, your mascara comes engraved and is made on site so you can take it away on the same day.
The pop-ups are only at Harvey Nichols until the end of the month so if you want to get in on the action, you have to move fast.
Hopefully this is only the start for bespoke beauty but something tells me it might be some time before brands start offering these services as de rigueur. So whatever you do, remember to use your favourite lipstick or nail lacquer sparingly. You never know when they might pull a disappearing act.