From the MECCA Group Chat: New Scents and Just the Right Amount of Goth

March 20 | 4 minute read

Words by Izzy Wight

They say change is as good as a holiday. While it depends on the holiday in question (as good as a Euro summer? I’m not sure), I understand the sentiment – trying something new is the best way to get out of a rut. So if your beauty routine is feeling tired, join us in shaking it up. This week, we’re testing new brands, fresh fragrances, limited-edition ‘skincare smoothies’ and makeup from the dark side.

New season scents

Fragrance is one of the most effective ways to lift your beauty mood, and what better brand to do it than our latest arrival, The Maker? Inspired by the boutique New York hotel of the same name, The Maker fragrances are romantic, emotive and reminiscent of a more relaxed, free-spirited era – scents I could imagine worn by Stevie Nicks or Jane Birkin. A perfect balance of masculine and feminine, Lover Eau de Parfum is what I envisage to be the scent of a French muse: juicy fig, creamy vanilla, spicy black pepper and rich sandalwood.

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Goth-ify your life

Since reading How to Be Goth by author and (fittingly) beauty writer Tish Weinstock, I’ve felt compelled to pluck my eyebrows into obscurity, cover my lids in glossy, inky black liner and paint my lips shades of bruised berry and opaque oxblood. And I’m not the only one! The subculture of modern macabre has been spilling out over TVs (Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), social media feeds (Lady Gaga’s Mayhem, Gabbriette – just in general) and runways (Dilara Findikoglu, Rick Owens) everywhere.

A plummy, wine-stained cheek can act as a subtle nod to the goth aesthetic, without frightening your coworkers. Yves Saint Laurent’s buildable, blurring Make Me Blush powder in Nude Lavalliere is the perfect cool-toned, purple-y nude for a softly chiseled cheek.

Better yet, go all-out with MAC’s Macximal Silky Matte Lipstick in Bare Macximal – a deep, rich browny-red. Freshly applied, it’s creamy enough to blend out, so go for a diffused, gradient look with the darker shade first, and a slightly lighter red in the centre of your lips. Most importantly, set everything with a mist for all-day perfection. Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray is the shortcut to unmovable makeup and just the right amount of dewiness.

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The recipe for radiant skin

What’s even better than a Boost Juice smoothie, you ask? A Drunk Elephant one – it’s a little of everything your skin needs in one step. As Giorgi, MECCA’s skincare education manager, explains, “Drunk Elephant formulations are biocompatible, meaning they can be mixed together and you still get the full benefit of every single product – versus the usual approach of layering.”

For this week only, we’ve launched four limited-edition, radiance-boosting skin smoothies encased in the coveted Mello Marula Puffer Pouch. While each set boasts different skincare benefits (eg. the Favourite Sun Smoothie for bronzed, healthy-looking skin; the Day is Young Smoothie for firmer, hydrated skin) my personal pick is the Saving Face Smoothie. Featuring the Lala Retro™ Whipped Cream and T.L.C. Framboos™ Glycolic Night Serum, it’s a hard-working PM duo that leaves you with smoother, clearer, brighter skin in the morning.