The five signs you’re a middle-class beauty cliché
Ever looked at a friend’s make up bag and mistaken it for your own? It’s easily done. Sales of makeup and fragrance are up and it turns out we all want the same thing - Charlotte Tilbury magic cream and a brush from Jones Road, Bobbi Brown’s brilliant collection of basics.
It’s the lipstick effect - going for feelgood fixes that will lift the mood without breaking the bank. 2023 is the year we will "reclaim ourselves”, according to a new report by John Lewis. That means makeup products that need to work harder to win us over, like glitzy refillable Rouge Hermes, which defends its hefty £62 price tag by classifying its exquisitely colourful lipstick cases as collectable ‘objects d'art - owning must surely boost serotonin levels.
Once word of a wonder product gets out, the middle classes jump on the bandwagon. Here are the middle class beauty clichés (and why they are worth adopting).
Pass the lip oil
Tinted balms took the place of lipstick during the pandemic offering a boost of moisture with just enough colour to help one feel ‘put together’ - and the sentiment has stuck. With the look of a gloss and the care of a balm, sales of tinted lip oils have risen dramatically (150% according to the retailer) ever since face coverings have slipped.
Some can come off as greasy, so it’s important to get this one right. Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil, £30, is deemed by aficionados to be one of the best and comes in clear and six sheer colours. Shade 001 Pink suits everyone.
You’re awaiting a Charlotte Tilbury delivery
If there’s ever been a makeup brand to bridge the gap between young and old so successfully it’s Charlotte Tilbury, the unapologetically bougie makeup line whose products have seen a 222% increase last year at John Lewis alone.
The makeup artist and friend of Kate Moss, who built an empire on enticing consumers to get the ‘Tilbury glow’ told The Telegraph the brand’s likeability is down to the easy-to-apply formulations which harness “the best technology in the world,” along with the feelgood factor that the rose gold encased products impart. Stalwarts will already have Tilbury’s Magic Cream and Hollywood Flawless Filter.
New must-haves include the Hollywood Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighter £38, and Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand, £29, a liquid blush with ‘lumi-blur technology’ for a soft focus effect that looks as flattering on Gen X as Gen Z. All refillable, of course.
Mushrooms have replaced your CBD drops
Mushrooms have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries for their ‘magic’ properties. Recently, Cordyceps, a chinese fungus, has been embraced by endurance athletes to improve athletic performance, whereas Four Sigmatic’s Mushroom Ground Coffee is giving the eye-wateringly expensive Matcha a run for its money.
In skincare, Origins Mega Mushroom range has been flying off shelves as Tomas Warwick predicts that “fungi are about to take over the beauty world” due to their powerful antioxidant properties that help calm and fight inflammation and irritation, while also having a brightening effect on pigmentation. Dermalogica and Shiseido are two others using mushrooms in their face creams.
Foundation is so last year
Contouring one’s face into oblivion with a plethora of products is trending on social media, but out here in the real world we are opting for tinted moisturisers, radiance enhancing primers and tinted SPFs in place of traditional foundations. IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream SPF50, £33, continues to soar. Newbies showing promise this year include Summer Fridays Sheer Skin Tint, £40, and Beauty Pie’s All-in-Wonder Tinted Illuminating Primer (Nude Glow).
Though, the real star to invest in is the buffing brush which gives any ordinary skin tint a seamless, professional finish. Jones Road The Everything Brush, £40, speaks for itself.
You’re following TikTok tutorials
TikTok has finally caught the attention of a more mature audience, mainly for its quick and easy tutorials that time poor beauty enthusiasts find useful and addictive. “We’ve seen a strong uplift in TikTok beauty that takes no more than 10 minutes,” says Tomas Warwick.
Let’s be honest, if you’re still ploughing through nine steps of skincare morning and night like Kim Kardashian purports to do (and you can too if you purchase her Skkn by Kim Complete Collection at the bargain price of £670) then you’re missing a trick. Even if you’ve got the dosh, popping on a pair of eye patches at your desk or applying a hair mask while you take a bath is all it takes to win the day.
