It might be sweltering outside but summer is very much over (sad!) and with its end comes a new monthly instalment of the dolled-up cousin to our flagship fashion bulletin What’s In Fashion (not sad!). Every month, we’re here to deliver the go-tos and lowdowns and need-to-knows of the beauty industry, the concealers worth queueing for, the weird and wonderful trends taking over TikTok, sexy new scents, nifty beauty hacks and whatever new wellness witchery Gwyn and pals are getting up to. You get the vibe. Dive into this month’s!
SKINCARE
Noble Panacea
As every skincare savant knows, Noble Panacea is one of those cult brands that is very much worth the hype. And, never one to rest on their laurels, this month that hype is extending further, with the expansion of Noble’s Brilliant and Absolute collections. The newest launches are a pair of oils – Glow Hydration and Nourishing Lift Oil, launching in September and October respectively – but not just any old oils. NP are known for their science focused releases and these are no exceptions. For the first time ever, this is an oil which actually hydrates the skin, thanks to the incorporation of water soluble ingredients. One of them is the impressively titled Organic Super Molecule Vessel, 10,000 times smaller than a skin cell and built from biodegradable renewable carbohydrates and fatty acids. Honestly it kind of goes over our heads too. But it sounds techy, doesn’t it. And it does make your face look very nice. Love science, it’s great! RL
Haider Ackermann x Augustinus Bader
Haider Ackermann is known for many things. He’s one of the world’s most talented designers, having design held roles at Berluti and recently collanorating with Jean Paul Gaultier; he’s BFFs with Tilda Swinton; he famously set up Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner. Is there anything this man can’t do? The latest string in his bow is taking the fashion industry’s favourite skincare product, Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream, to the dizzying heights of haute couture. As the second designer to collaborate with the German skincare brand beloved for its one-size-fits-all moisturisers, Haider follows in the footsteps of Victoria Beckham with his own take on the high-tech, science-first skincare. Designing limited-edition chrome vessels that speak to his dedication to line, fluidity, and futuristic materials, the collab comes with a campaign starring his longtime muse Saskia de Brauw splatted with a silver sci-fi splatter of Rich Cream. Naturally, tout le monde showed up to celebrate the launch of the collab in New York: Timothee and Kylie, Sofia Coppola, Oscar Isaac, Jared Leto, Paloma Elsesser, Amelia Gray, Karen Elson, and even i-D’s own Alastair McKimm. As if you needed any convincing to buy a bottle, let it be the reassurance that you’re in good company. OA
Hero product: Sarah Chapman ‘Digital Shield’
For years, Sarah Chapman has been the go-to facialist for the A-list, who flock to her Skinesis clinic in Chelsea for her artful combinations of skincare, technology and massage. Good luck getting a booking — see you there in 2025. Instead, you can simply indulge in her own line of skincare products and alien-like massage contraptions for achieving that sculpted Hadid look. Our favourite? The ‘Digital Shield’, an essential for any city dweller. Ideal for modern city life — in which simply stepping out of the door will shorten your life expectancy — the Digital Shield moisturiser protects your complexion from atmospheric and digital aggressors as it is infused with anti-pollution actives that effectively form a shield on the skin’s surface. Plus, B-Circadin and CobioDefender EM to defend against blue light (again, ideal for those of us glued to our screens). Fortifying your skin with cell-boosting complexes, it works to counteract the look of sleep-deprivation (What is about people who live in cities constantly complaining about sleep?) by instantly diffusing and neutralising yellow tones and dullness. All in all, a perfect product for those of us struggling with the burnout of urban life. We need all the help we can get, after all. OA
COSMETICS
Rabanne Beauty
A new era in beauty launched this past weekend as Paco Rabanne finally dropped their uber-sleek, metallic inspired line of makeup and skincare. Launching in Selfridges this past weekend, the impressive, gender-neutral collection includes everything from shimmery eyeshadow palettes, hydrating foundations and even spray on glitter (just in time for this glorious heatwave, after a summer that’s left your skin looking decidedly un-glowy). Rabanne Makeup comes in striking, high–gloss gold, silver metallic and mirrored packaging, lifting inspiration from the characteristic metal details and kinetic silhouettes of The Maison’s avant–garde fashion legacy. To coincide with this launch, the brand have also announced British beauty mogul Diane Kendal as Rabanne Beauty Creative Director. Diane will be showcasing the new range at Paco Rabanne’s SS24 show. Until then you can check out the full line of Paco Rabanne beauty here. RL
FRAGRANCE
Byredo Rouge Chaotique
If there’s one thing we need in this unseasonably fabulous weather, it’s a good perfume. Specifically because London does not have enough air con facilities and everyone smells quite sweaty. You need a fragrance that’s rich, an opulent, deep, powerful aroma. Something to withstand the chaos of a beer garden in 32 degree heat. Enter Byredo’s first oud gourmand fragrance in the Night Veils collection, the appropriately named Rouge Chaotique. Inspired by jammy red fruits, electrified with vibrant emotion, the bottle is animalistic and sensual, with top notes of saffron, blackcurrant and bergamot, and a tangent of spiced leather. Perfect for the chaos and sensuality of an Indian summer, tbh. Although it would also be nice to have air con. Buy here. RL
TRENDS
Bimbo vampires
It might be the beginnings of September, but we’re already (naturally) excited about spooky season and Halloween. TikTok seems to be the same, if the platform’s bimbo vampire make-up trend is anything to go by. A darker, grungier take on the Y2K inspired ‘nu bimbo’ look that’s trended on and off for the past couple of years, the bimbo vampire palette is full of plums and purples, with Christina Ricci 90s inspired red lips and big, Betty Boop eyeliner. Chanel Le Vernis and Clinique Black Honey are required hero products here. It’s essentially a girlie goth look, one inspired by the aesthetics of movies like Jennifer’s Body and The Love Witch. Invented by creator Hannah E Johnson who calls it the look for fall, this is a more glam, shimmering take on the traditional vamp. Honestly we’re into it. RL
HARDCORE
WTF is traptox?
First there was botox, and the beauty industry saw it and said ‘this is fine’. And then there was ‘baby botox’. And then there was botox nose jobs. And then there was masseter botox. And now, there is traptox. Allow us to explain – an amalgam of trapezius and botox, traptox injects filler into the trap muscles (the shoulders and back of your neck). The effect is meant to make your neck look longer and slimmer, essentially shrinking the trap muscles into lack of use. It’s also supposedly meant to be good for back and neck pain, by encouraging temporary muscle atrophy. It’s interesting, actually, that traptox has emerged now, in the post-Barbie beautysphere… a movie about a doll with an impossibly swan-like, slender neck inspiring the rise of traptox? Who could have predicted this! Perhaps the next injectable microtrend will be removable heads, Barbie-style. RL
Are fillers really over?
A stone’s throw from Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, Milan’s well-heeled glitterati (as well as many clients fresh from Linate) can be found at Studio Borbon. This is no ordinary clinic — here, the medical scrubs are custom Prada — and the signature treatments on offer combine regenerative medicine with surgery and non-invasive treatments. Welcome to the world of Dr Giulio Borbon known for ‘subtle regenerative medicine and surgery’. His signature is the Pro-fill treatment, a supposed alternative in our paint by numbers filler era. In an age of widespread misinformation on social media, it’s never been harder to know the truth when it comes to tweakments. So, this week, we caught up with Dr Borbon to get an expert’s advice on everything you need to know if you think you want fillers – and why the ‘Quiet Luxury movement’ is just as relevant to aesthetic medicine as it is to fashion.
We’ve seen a boom in volumising treatments, but perhaps are now seeing a shift towards a sleeker, more streamlined sense of ‘clean’ beauty. Is this something you’ve noticed?
I think we are seeing an increase in patient awareness. Many people have realized that aesthetic medicine can be highly distorting even if the treatments are erroneously perceived as minimally invasive and modifying. New generations and well-educated patients do not won’t radical changes but radical improvements. I accompany and advise patients, we do not push them to undergo treatments and we do not sell fillers. We only treat patients if we are aligned on a natural respectful result. At the same time, we do not demonize those who have expectations that are not in line with our results. I often make a comparison with fashion: there’s Prada and there’s Philipp Plein — both make clothes but with concepts and products suited to different audiences.
Do you think alternatives to the classic dermal fillers is on the rise?
Yes finally! For too long, hyaluronic acid has been the only filler used by most doctors. In my opinion, hyaluronic acid has characteristics that do not make it suitable for all parts of the face and has more limited indications compared to its wide diffusion. Hyaluronic acid attracts a lot of water, weighing down and projecting the areas where it is injected. Before giving an injection we doctors must ask ourselves what kind of result we want to obtain. I use many “alternative” fillers to hyaluronic acid which have different characteristics, some do not attract water without projecting it but distend the area, like calcium hydroxypapatite, others have newer technologies which contain active ingredients which stimulate the endogenous production of collagen which becomes the filler.
Hyaluronic acid remains a good material to use in the appropriate areas (lips, static parts of the face) by choosing and knowing well the characteristics of the product to be injected. Let’s say that not all jobs done with hyaluronic acid alone are done badly but almost all unnatural and distorted results are due to too much hyaluronic acid.
Can you talk a little about Pro-fill? What is it and what can it be used for? Pro-fill is a facial harmonization technique through the injection with advanced fillers of the lower third of the face. I developed and patented Pro-fill a few years ago thinking about the main and real needs of patients. By modifying the volumes of the chin, jawline and mandibular angle and therefore slightly modifying the relationship between the chin, nose and lips, it is often possible to obtain a harmonious result without going to volumize more expressive areas of the face and which are often exaggeratedly injected mid-face.
I developed Pro-fill thinking about the different needs of males and females in fact using different materials. You can always feminize or masculinize the face without changing the expression and mobility of the face. We are now studying how Pro-fill has a major impact on improving photogenicity, it not only harmonizes in reality but also in photos or videos where everything is amplified by the camera lens.
How long does it last?
After the first session the result lasts for 14 to 18 months. When the second session is done, less materials are usually used because the new fillers increase the production of collagen and bone matrix, making further volumization less necessary but only definition.
What should people know before getting it?
Pro-fill is a minimally invasive technique that is performed under local anesthesia with atraumatic cannulas. No preparation is necessary. The post-treatment is very simple, the technique has been developed thinking about the anatomy of the injected areas with minimum downtime and the return to society can be almost immediate.
What’s your advice for anyone contemplating a tweakment?
Don’t trust doctors who always say yes. OA