FACE PAINT

Finally, a Good Makeup Palette for the Woman on the Go

It’s compact, it’s cute and it’s less than $100! All from cult organic beauty line Kirsten Kjaer Weis.


Best Performances 2017 - Marion Cotillard
Photographs by Craig McDean. Styled by Edward Enninful. Hair by Orlando Pita for Orlando Pita Play; makeup by Peter Philips for Dior. Manicures by Michelle Saunders for Essie at Forward Artists. Set design by Piers Hanmer.

Makeup palettes tend to be either for super fans or for professionals. However, despite their advantages of convenience, they tend to fail those of us who put a premium on skincare over color.

Still, every busy woman could use could use the proverbial seasonal makeup bag to streamline meeting-packed mornings and back-to-back cocktail party evenings. That’s exactly what makeup artist Kirsten Kjaer Weis had in mind when she created her eponymous organic and sustainable beauty line. Fans of Kjaer Weis know that her packaging is no joke.

The refillable entities are designed by Marc Atlan, the creative director who counts luxury labels like Dior, Tom Ford, and Prada as client. Like with any refined product, you feel the weight in your hands. The foundation is legendary, the blushes dreamy. But, with a few purchases under your belt, your makeup bag can quite heavy.

With those devotees in mind, Kjaer Weis asked design wiz Atlan to create a kit that would hold a cream foundation, two cream blushes (or highlighters), a lip tint, and two eye shadows. Ta-da! In essence, that is the Collector’s Kit. Plus, it all comes in a neat, perhaps even adorable, little red book.

Not only is the resulting jewel box of a kit lightweight, but it is also practical. The magnetic pockets allows women to customize their kits, which is rare, as most kits come packaged with pre-selected product. For instance, you can include bronzer and highlighter or two blushes here. Most makeup palettes, on the other hand, are either all powder or all cream, but all the face products in Kjaer Weis’s Collector’s Kit are cream formulas that melt into the skin while the eye shadows come as a powder to prevent excessive creasing.

You can also play with these options, and change them as needed, and refill at your own pace. The kit closes with the satisfying click of “a Mercedes car door.” That also means you can travel with it on the go, on the back of a Mercedes or a cab. Date books may have gone out of style, but Kjaer Weis is making a case for their return.

Kjaer Weis Collectors Kit, $76 (makeup sold separately), kjaerweis.com

The Ultimate Shopping Guide to the Best New Beauty Products for Fall

That santal scent that everyone wears just met its match. Rodin’s unisex eau de toilette blurs gender lines with geranium, the ever-popular men’s flower, and iris, an Upper East Side lady’s go-to.

Rodin 3, $170, nordstrom.com

Trade in your summer lip oil for this autumnal option, which conditions lips, while imparting a shiny tint.

Chantecaille Lip Sleek, $38, neimanmarcus.com

Virtue’s formula packs bioidentical keratin that sticks where strands need it, rather than washing down the drain.

Virtue Recovery Shampoo and Conditioner, from $15 – 40, virtuelabs.com

After burning herself in the kitchen, founder Sally Kim blended the perfect cocktail of marine collagen, probiotics, and biotin to heal burns from the inside. The matcha flavor makes for an easy antioxidant-packed swap for that afternoon coffee.

Crushed Tonic, $115 for 30 crushes, crushedtonic.com

Danish beauty vet Avonda Urben set out to share a bit Scandinavia’s carefree culture with some very practical products. The pH balanced wash cleanses, tones and soothes the bikini area, because skin is skin.

The Perfect V VV Cream Gentle Wash, $21, theperfectv.com

The grab-and-go ease of a foundation stick never meant that blending would be easy. Luckily for us, Nars added an antimicrobial blender to the other side of their matte formula that can be washed or replaced as needed. Let the taxi makeup application commence.

NARS Velvet Matte Foundation Stick, $45, sephora.com

Because brushing your teeth should be as ritualized as the rest of your routine, Aesop added their own chic variety to the mix with sea buckthorn to soothe gums.

Aesop Toothpaste, $17, aesop.com

Wearing skirts after Labor Day just got less stress-inducing. The botanical blend will brighten and bronze gambs for a subtle gleam.

Votre Vu Silk Stockings, $38, votrevu.com (available in September)

Ben Gorhman keeps making scent easier to sport. A drop of the alcohol-based formula quashes bacteria, for an aromatic post-subway application.

Byredo Vetvyer Rinse-Free Hand Wash, $30, neimanmarcus.com

As air pollution is an ever-growing issue, Verso’s mist acts as a magnet for skin aging particles, and can be spritzed on either a clean face or a fully painted one.

Verso Anti-Pollution Mist, $47, barneys.com

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