We recently went to New Look’s press day and coveted pretty much everything they had out (we can be easily pleased sometimes) but one line of interest is the ongoing collaboration between Giles Deacon and New Look called GOLD BY GILES which sees it move into a range of capsule beauty products beyond the initial nail collection of late 2011.
Disorder’s editor, Taylor, and fashion editor, Jade, are the mag’s resident makeup addicts so they’ve kindly road-tested a chunk of the new range.
JADE: I picked the very pink Vixen lipstick (£2.99) to slap on first. When you take the lid the scent of a fruity concoction hits you which I totally loved. It wasn’t as aggressive in colour as it looks but less is always better anyway. It’s got a real stain power to it as well.
The tube lipglaze in Ruby smells of coconuts, which won’t appeal to all, but when I applied this to my lips it made them feel glossy and silky and it managed to stay on for some time. The colour wasn’t a pop but a cute hint. There are better versions out there but at £1.99 it’s hard to find fault, really!
The one product I didn’t want to indefinitely keep in my handbag was the sparkly lip gloss (£2.99) but that’s just a personal preference as it always makes me feel like I’m 14 years old. But for all you girls that love a bit of sparkle in your life then this comes in five candy-esque shades that will no doubt be on hand to brighten your summer dress.
We go onto the cheeks and my personal fave is the highlighter stick (£2.99) in Pleasure, which is an opalescent pearl pink (its sister colour is a gold for the more tanned of you out there) – every girl needs one of these in their life!! Easy to apply and with a light texture, this is a little gem. The blusher is five shade mosaic for a more contoured cheek but sadly the brush included is woefully inadequate for the job. A definite bring your own moment or Gold By Giles have helpfully done their own brush line (blusher brush £5.99).
TAYLOR: Eye makeup is my personal favourite and Gold includes eyeshadows, liquid and pencil liners, false eyelashes, brow pencil and mascara.
Given my busy lifestyle and 18+ hour days, anyone attempting to win me over in the eye makeup range better come bearing the heavy duty goods. The metallic liquid liners (£2.99) are kind of hard to get on without several applications to build up the sparkle but if you want to persevere then at least they’ve got the colours spot on – from gold to a lovely purple – but it’s far too fiddly for moi.
The matt black liquid liner pen (£2.99) is a doddle to apply and the nib is perfect for dramatic thin sweeps or Winehouse style Magic Marker flicks but the staying power is nil. And I mean, bugger all. A few hours and the colour on my cat-eye flicks had faded to a blackish grey but the upper lid line was off. It sent me running back to the gel liners and their mountain goat style hold.
The four eyeshadow palettes (each with a quad within, £3.99) are all sombre, smoky affairs with names like Scandal and Envy. Not quite summer colours but vital once October is upon us. The shadows are easily blendable and a little goes a long way. Perfect.
The lengthening mascara (£2.99) is equipped with one of those annoying molded plastic brushes that clumps (rather than stroking) colour on your lashes. I don’t care what the mascara is meant to do, it’s bristles all the way, the ones that grab your stumpy little lashes and elongate the bastards until you’re fluttering against your eyebrows. So maybe just go with the false eyelashes (in 2 styles, £4.99) to save the fuss. Both sets are on the right side of realistic and will open up your peepers nicely rather than looking like tarantulas have taken up residence on your face.
Last but not least, nails. The polish comes in eight shades ranging from mint green to fire engine red and at £2.99 for a decent sized bottle, it’s a steal. Good texture but I need two days and a night on the tiles before I determine chippability factor. But they look nice so it’s a start. Gold returns with its nail wraps (£5.99) in four eye-catching patterns (my faves are the Zebedee Pink), which I love because unlike polish, no chipping. Leave wraps on too long though and, like me, you’ll find your nails underneath go to pot, so just a warning – no more than two weeks!!
Gold By Giles works as a capsule collection – its unfussy and the palettes are well thought out. The price makes it a real pull, the packaging looks far classier than anything else out there in the same price range but you get what you pay for in the most part. It’s hit and miss on the quality but, again, given those itty bitty price tags I can’t really stomp around and complain too much!
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