It's New. In June. At MECCA.
May 28 | 5 minute read
Words by Izzy Wight
Pop Star Makeup
Between Charli XCX’s much-discussed 'Rock Music’ track, a new Olivia Rodrigo album and the Addison Rae of it all, it’s been a big month for the pop girlies (and the playlists at MECCA HQ). There’s something sweetly nostalgic about old-school pop stardom. And, as the owner of a small fortune’s worth of shimmery eyeshadow, I’m planning to channel Gen Z’s resident divas with fun, OTT makeup for absolutely no reason at all.
If you aren’t already in possession of too many glittery shadows, the Euphoria x Half Magic is really all you need. Featuring six sparkling, colour-shifting shadows, it’s the easiest way to do a wet-look eye (à la Charli). Finish with lashings of Urban Decay’s Tube Job Mascara – if you’re feeling it, take the look even further into music-video territory with shades like Auburn Red and Bleached Platinum (incredible in contrast with a dark, glistening shadow).
For a more early ’00s, Olivia-Rodrigo-girl-next-door look, Charlotte Tilbury’s Exagger-Eyes Easy Eyeshadow Sticks are swipe-on cream shadows designed to create bigger, brighter, doe-like eyes. Try a wash of a neutral shade on your lid, with a lighter shimmer right to the centre. Finish with a generous coat of MECCA MAX’s recently relaunched Gloss Boss in ‘Star Power’ – it’s the perfect pop star peachy-pink.
Peptides and Ceramides, Oh My!
After meeting Glow Recipe’s co-founder Christine Chang, I will put literally whatever she recommends on my face (her skin was, and I cannot emphasise this enough, unreal) – and that includes the brand’s new K-Beauty inspired Watermelon Milk Peptide Glow Cushion Cream. Packed with smoothing, radiance-boosting peptides and soothing ceramides, it promises up to 100 hours (!) of dewy, hydrated skin.
From the liquid oxygen-powered, highly efficacious skincare brand Element Eight, the O2 Exosome Eight Active Essence is an advanced mist designed to bring lasting balance back to off-kilter skin. If your skin is feeling the seasonal shift, a few spritzes of the Active Essence over Dr Barbara Sturm’s potent Peptide Serum will restore it back to strongest, healthiest-looking state – and keep it there.
Brighter, Better, Stronger
Can someone bring out the tiny violins, please? After being hit with the obligatory almost-winter sickness, I began to fantasise about how I would restore my hair, face and body back to glowing health after spending days in the same pair of sweatpants. Here’s what I settled on...
A rigorous, almost-militant everything shower, followed by Gisou’s Honey Milk Active Repair Leave-in Conditioner Mist for smooth, glossy strands, and Sol de Janeiro’s Body Badalada Skin Refresh Water Lotion for skin that smells like a guava-coconut-vanilla soft-serve.
Next, an instant skin refresh with Omorovicza’s Acid Milk. Created with a blend of four exfoliating acids (glycolic, lactic, salicylic and azelaic), the milky leave-on tonic smooths away dull and dead skin for a born-again glow. Finally, I’m bringing life back into my cheeks with a quick blonzing routine (a sunkissed mix of bronzer and blush, for the uninitiated): Morphe’s Cheek Thrills Bronze Duos, swirled together with Glossier’s cream-to-powder Cloud Paint Plush Blush.
Scents in Full Bloom
Inspired by the feeling of a misty, dew-covered early morning, Maison Margiela's REPLICA Up at Dawn EDT is one of my favourite rose scents in a while. It’s delicate, sweet and captivating, much like Floral Street’s Bridgerton-inspired Enchanted Masquerade Perfume Mist. Layer together for the olfactive equivalent of a Lana Del Rey floral wreath in your hair.
