Beauty: The cover star that really hits the spot 

This just-launched concealer with added skincare goodies is a revelation

When it comes down to it, concealer is the key make-up product for me. It lifts my face and makes it look fresher and less tired. In my case it isn’t so much about under-eye dark circles, more darkness at the inner corner of my eyes. Once covered up it makes the world of difference, so much so that I’d go as far as to say it makes me look younger.

There are many good options on the market, but a newcomer has me well and truly won over. Bid a welcome to Monika Blunder Beauty Blunder Cover (£45, cultbeauty.co.uk), a neat play on words with this Hollywood make-up artist’s own name. It has a wonderfully creamy texture but isn’t too heavy. In fact, it contains so many skincare and moisturising ingredients that it feels more like a tinted face cream: there’s anti-inflammatory arnica to reduce redness, plus edelweiss for firmness. There’s also aloe vera to plump and hydrate and rosemary extract to calm. It is also vegan.

But it’s the end result that I really care about. Because this concealer is so easy to blend it melts in and fuses with your skin tone to seamlessly cover imperfections (there are 14 shades). I use it as a concealer-cum-foundation, just lightly covering dark spots and slight redness to even out my complexion. It’s often all I need coverage-wise, especially in warmer weather. More than this, all its skincare richness means that Blunder Cover leaves my skin looking juicy. Yes, I know that £45 is at the more expensive end of concealer pricing, but it comes in a large pot that should last ages.

If you want inexpensive, then I still love Elf Cosmetics Hydrating Camo Concealer (£6, elfcosmetics.co.uk) but I’m happy Blundering on with my new find.

@edwinaingschambers

 

 

A fragrance icon reinvented

Chanel No 5, one of the greatest – and surely the most iconic – fragrances ever made, marks its centenary this year. It’s my mother’s favourite and her non-negotiable Christmas gift every year. Of course, she’s of that generation that remembers rationing and thinks of fragrances as a highly precious commodity. Although she’s too young to have had a returning Second World War soldier bring it back for her from France, she would have witnessed such glamorous acts of devotion and still treats her bottles like love tokens. But to remain the world’s bestselling fragrance, you have to stay relevant.

So Chanel has created its limited-edition Factory 5 collection, taking the packaging of everyday household items (such as shoe polish, an oil can, tins of paint), transforming their exteriors with a Chanel No 5 makeover and filling them with shower gel, body oil, soap and bath tablets. In total, 17 products have been put through this pop-art prism. It’s Chanel’s version of Warhol’s Campbell’s soup tin – which is appropriate as, in 1985, the brand collaborated with him on an ad campaign for the fragrance.

From £40, from Chanel boutiques, Selfridges and selfridges.com.