There are all sorts of reason why makeup lovers love makeup. And nostalgia is one of the greats. How many of us can remember watching our mums apply their makeup? For me, the original Chloé perfume bottle is unforgettable; long before the brand became 20-something hip with handbags and such, there was a perfume bottle in my mums bathroom cupboard that screamed glamour. And there was a matching scented talc powder with a huge, fluffy, peach-toned, satin-ribbon handled puff – generations before nudey-peach-millennial pink would reenter the universe.
Now, most women don’t use glamorous talc powders these days – safe to say it’s one product that’s not looking good for a come back, but the memory nonetheless is of pure wonder for a child in her mothers bathroom cabinet. So nostalgia, I was saying, is a beauty-lovers cryptonite.
Enter Lancôme’s L’Absolu Rouge lipstick. There are many reasons I was going to buy this lipstick regardless, but once I smelt it, that unmistakeable scent of my mother’s lipstick, I was already at the cashier. I said to my boyfriend that evening, “Smell this, doesn’t it just smell the perfect smell of your mother’s makeup?!” To my surprise, and perhaps merely to indulge me, he agreed. Ok so scent-memory aside, this is a great lipstick. Makeup historians (or Lisa Eldridge) can tell me that this lipstick is actually nothing like those produced in decades gone by, most likely the formula has changed and evolved, and then, there is the chic and satisfying packaging that brings joy with every use; a rounded tube with no sharp edges, gold buttons to click and lids that pop up and down etc, all very cool. The formula is creamy, glossy and rich and perfect on the lips. No, it’s not all matte Kylie Jenner-esque and that’s like music to my dried-out lips. Longevity is surprisingly good, but to be honest who hates reapplying when it’s such a joy to pull out of your clutch and use? The neutral rose pink shade 354 Rose Rhapsodie is a gloriously perky pink-nude that lifts you up just enough without screaming “LIPSTICK!” to the people you pass on the street. Our mums got it right folks, and so have Lancôme decades later.