Fans of minimalist beauty looks and drugstore makeup are about to be delighted. Isabel Marant – queen of French elegance, creator of the wedge sneaker trend, jewel of the designer fashion world – has teamed up with L’Oreal Paris for a five piece on-the-go makeup collection, available today exclusively in the UK, on FeelUnique.com. (Don’t worry, it’s only $3.95 to ship to the USA – no minimum!)
A little background on your new friend, Izzy: Her mother was a German model, but her father was a French photographer, and she cites him as having had the biggest influence upon her style.
Isabel was the girl in your class who wore repurposed, eccentric outfits with reckless abandon. She used to steal her father’s clothing and turn them into provocative, sophisticated looks that would now befit the French girl stereotype.
At 14, she started to sew and by 16, it became her first stream of income, and by age 21, after fashion school, she began to work on her own collections.
Isabel Marant designs aren’t known for having a typically feminine look, in fact quite the opposite. But somehow, her styling, fabric choices, thoughtful shapes, and tailoring make her designs the epitome of feminine simplicity. They’re the kind of garments that look boring until you put them on a body, and then they come to life.
Here are some of Isabel Marant’s designs in action. She’s a favorite among celebrities, and it’s easy to see why!
Similarly to her runway aesthetic, Isabel Marant’s five contributions to L’Oreal Paris are paired down, minimalistic, and would each fall into the “must-have beauty staples” category. The collection is called “Wanted” and the inspiration for it comes from Isabel’s own runway designs.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”Vogue UK” link=”https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/isabel-marant-loreal-make-up-collection” color=”#26eefb” class=”” size=””]The inspiration is my autumn/winter 2018 collection, which is cowboyish: the “Wanted” posters from the Wild West that we have reinterpreted in a modern way. And black on white is the signature! The words “Smile”, “Shine”, “Amaze” are a lift me up to women using my products. And it is also a small touch of humour. We had fun in thinking about those sentences.[/perfectpullquote]
The redesigned package is a welcome change-up to L’Oreal Paris’ regular look. Everything is a semi-matte black with one word in big, bold, white letters. It all fits the Isabel Marant style so well, I love that they took a risk and departed from their historically recognizable packaging to try something new.
Here are the five products from the Isabel Marant x L’Oreal Paris collection:
SMOKE: A simple but deadly eyeshadow duo that tempts you into using black and deep, smokey green in your everyday makeup looks. The suggested look involves running the black along the outer half of the lid and popping the inner corners with the green.
£12.99 / $17.28 at FeelUnique
SMILE: L’Oreal Paris Color Riche lipstick in seven new matte shades. Isabel Marant’s favorite lipsticks are red, and her favorite product from this collection are these lipsticks. There are two plum shades, a couple of nudes, and “three different reds for that bold lip you spot brightening a grey day on the Paris streets.” So romantic.
£9.99 / $13.29 at FeelUnique
WANTED: A clear mascara that can be used to amp up lash shine or to clean up eyebrows. Since the collection is meant to be grab-n-go, repurposing the products within the collection is totally encouraged. This applicator is a little bit smaller than your average mascara brush, more like a brow tint brush, so application for each is easy-peasy.
£12.99 / $17.28 at FeelUnique
SHINE: This is an Anytime Glow Highlighter pot and it might be the most hyped up product in the entire collection. While the lipsticks are great, and the eye duo is gorgeous, this “beautifier” will add a stunning, gentle glow to your face, eyes, or lips. It’s a natural-looking pink-peach shade and it goes on rather sheer to make it adaptable to many skin tones.
£10.99 / $14.62 at FeelUnique
AMAZE: Last but not least, this pH-activated lip and cheek tint is the capstone of multi-use items in this collection. Start by using it overtop bare lips for a shiny pink gloss, then tap it across cheekbones and blend it with your finger for a little extra flush.
£8.99 / $11.96 at FeelUnique
As far as capsule collections go, this one is more interesting than the vast majority I’ve seen. The fact that nearly every product has a dual purpose, and is in a color that may not be in your collection already is a huge boon to the fashion community.
Marant the iconic “French girl” that everyone in fashion is always striving to emulate. The difference is, though, that while everyone else is trying really, really hard to look like someone else, Isabel Marant is just sticking to what she thinks looks good to her.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”Telegraph” link=”https://www.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/make-up/isabel-marant-launches-beauty-collection-prices-899/” color=”#26eefb” class=”” size=””]“Parisian style is not about social-media perfection, it is a natural elegance: super-natural for the day with statement updates for the night – a dark eye or a bright red lip. But never both at the same time.”[/perfectpullquote]
The prices are a little higher than your typical drugstore makeup, of course, but that’s somewhat to be expected from this kind of high-end partnership. That super-special packaging may tilt the scales as to whether it’s worth the extra few dollars to you. Additionally, since you’re shipping all the way from the UK, you might want to convince a friend or two to jump in on the order with you so that $3.95 shipping goes as far as it can.
Personally, I’m kind of surprised as how interested in this little collection I am! Usually, neither L’Oreal nor limited time collaborations can lure me into spending money on makeup, but this is makeup that I don’t already have. Truly! Sure, maybe I have a few lipstick shades (that’s where the lure of the packaging comes into play…), but the brow and mascara gloss, the gorgeous eye duo, and the illuminator balm are three items that might even be missing from my makeup collection.