Ambre Botanicals
Ambre Botanicals is the latest skincare label fighting the cause on the natural cosmetics front. Barely a month old, the British company produces its skin and bodycare offerings from pure, natural ingredients by hand in small batches from its base in London’s Finsbury Park. The ingredients, which include macerated plant, fruit and seed oils, are cold pressed to preserve their nutrients and contain no added water for pure formulations. With products ranging from a hydrating pumpkin seed face cream to a soothing herb garden body scrub, infused with eucalyptus, basil and clary sage, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a favourite.
Available from Content, 14 Bulstrode Street, London; Tel: 44.20 3075 1066; www.ambrebotanicals.com; www.beingcontent.com
Writers: Pei-Ru Keh and Rosa Bertoli
Caudalie ‘Corps Divin’ treatment
With its long-established reverence for French grapes, Caudalie has always been regarded as the beauty brand that pioneered the use of anti-oxidizing grape-seed polyphenols in skincare. Since founders Mathilde and Bertrand Thomas moved to New York City, the company has taken on a more urban approach to beauty and is using its spa within the Plaza Hotel as a testing ground. Its latest launch is a sumptuous dry body oil, made from grape, hibiscus, sesame and argan oils and boosted with its signature polyphenols. This is accompanied by an equally indulgent treatment, which first refines skin with a Cabernet scrub made from grape seeds, brown sugar, grape seed oil and honey, before the body oil is massaged in. Nourishing and regenerative, the oil is quickly absorbed so that patrons can venture back out into the city without shiny skin.
Available at Caudalie Vinotherapie spa at The Plaza Hotel, 1 West 58th Street, New York, NY 10019; www.caudalie.com
Kure Bazaar Ecological Nail Polish
The Americans have long been ahead of their European counterparts on the all-natural nail polish path - until now. Hailing from France, Kure Bazaar offers a line of bright and beautiful nail polishes that not only boasts an 85% natural formula based on wood pulp, wheat, corn and potatoes, but also comes in a comprehensive palette, ranging from the pastels to naturals and a selection of denim-inspired shades.
www.kurebazaar.com
Le Labo bag
To make the equisite oil used in Le Labo’s Rose 31 fragrance, rose petals are hand-picked at dawn (when still covered in dew) and steamed within 24 hours. To celebrate the process and the people who make it all happen, Le Labo has partnered with LA-based photographer/designer Heather Heron on 300 limited edition messenger bags, inspired by the same bags used by pickers in the rose fields of Grasse. The bags are made from rare conveyor belt fabric, with straps sourced from vintage military garments. Each bag is dyed and assembled by hand, and stencilled with paint, infused with drops of the valuable oil.
store.lelabofragrances.com
Lipstick Queen Liptropolis
The latest effort from Lipstick Queen founder Poppy King takes the form of a lipstick library: a series of lipstick trios that tell stories through her favoured medium. The first volume, titled Liptropolis and inspired by Fritz Lang’s 1927 feature film Metropolis, is dedicated to the lips of Manhattan, her current home. The set identifies the shades worn in three Big Apple neighborhoods: a boisterous red for Soho, a demure nude for the Upper East Side, and a refined, lustrous peachy for Central Park.
Available at www.spacenk.co.uk; www.lipstickqueen.com
Ys Uzac
Set up in 2011, Swiss perfume label Ys Uzac is a collaboration between perfumer Vincent Micotti and graphic designer, Vera S Yeah. The partners in life and work have created a collection of four distinctive fragrances that bring together contrasting ingredients. The romantic Lale is a complex blend of wintersweet, bergamot and saffron; the sophisticated Pohadka pairs green shiso leaves with jasmine and tobacco; Métaboles is a bold composition of tomato leaves, liquorice and sandalwood; while the feminine Monodie blends red mandarin and rhubarb with caramel. In a particularly evocative gesture, each bottle is accompanied by a poem and beautifully wrapped in origami-inspired packaging.
www.ysuzac.com
James Read self-tanning range
Self-tanning might be considered superfluous in the height of summer, but for our friends in the Southern hemisphere (and fellow inhabitants of the British isles), we’re here to share a discovery that you can depend on. Backstage regular James Read has revealed his eponymous tanning range, which includes a hydrating liquid tan, a lightweight body moisturiser with a hint of tan for a natural, gradual glow, and a velvety wash-off formula for those who can’t commit. In addition to a gradual tan facial moisturiser, the innovative line also includes a tan in a pen for hard-to-reach corners and a BB cream with tan, which perfects and protects the complexion while nurturing a golden glow.
www.jamesreadtan.com
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