The weekly wrap up from The Beauty Desk

Sam, one of our amazing Brand Managers, is back with another installment of the weekly ins and outs of bbHQ! Enjoy!

Landed!

I love black. My hair is black, I live in black clothes, my home is decorated in various textures of black, and in fact, the only spot of colour you will find upon my person is my nails. I also live in Melbourne - traditionally the home of the colour challenged!

This week Glamorous Minerals sent me their Gel Eyeliner and Prestige sent their Eye shadow Duo in Zebra. Both products? Black. Excellent!

Gel eyeliners are the next generation in liquid eyeliners. They have a higher pigment and last longer on the eye as they are more flexible and don’t flake like liquid eyeliners. What I loved about the Glamorous Minerals Gel was the brush; it made it very easy to apply. Even our resident liquid eyeliner guru Lucy, gave it the thumbs up!

Prestige Duo Eyeshadow in Zebra is my new go to for a smoky night time eye. A densely pigmented black and white eye shadow, it applies smoothly and blends perfectly and can be used wet and dry. Black on the lid and up into the crease, a little white to highlight under the brow and then Glamorous Minerals Gel Eyeliner completes my smouldering night time look.

Smelling!

For most of this week, I have been in Queensland for work. As fragrance is always my final accessory, I have switched from my warm winter fragrance to something a little fresher for my visit up north. I am wearing pureDKNY Verbena, which you received in your April bellabox. It is so fresh and clean, perfect for a day time fragrance in warmer weather.

Talking About!

Last week we started talking about the origins of Chanel No 5. It is such an interesting story, and we only scratched the surface...

Coco Chanel was only the third couturier to venture into fragrance and like everything else she did, she wanted it to be perfection. She started by wearing the perfume that Ernest Beaux created for her out for dinner to gauge peoples reactions. No 5 was so different to other fragrances on the market at that time, and as Coco was a known style leader, people damanded to know what she was wearing. A very canny marketeer, Madame told people it was just a little scent she had picked up in the south of France. She began by gifting 100 bottles of the perfume to her best customers in the boutique. When her customers asked for more, she would innocently enquire, ‘Oh, do you think I should make my little perfume?’

As the fragrance became more popular, Ernest Beaux was unable to keep up with the production. Concerned that it would be a drain on her couture business, Madame struck a deal with the Wertheimer family who also owned Bourjois, to fund and manufacture the fragrance. They created Parfums Chanel, and Madame owned just 10% of the company. When the Wertheimer family launched fragrances and other products under the Chanel name, Madame felt that she had been taken advantage of. As Chanel No 5 went on to become the best selling perfume of all time, this was a deal that Madame would come to regret. As such, she spent the rest of her life fighting to regain control of her perfume and the fortune it generated.

And there you have it. The full, yet little known story surrounding the world famous Chanel No 5 fragrance as well as all the goss from bb this week - thanks Sam! We hope you enjoyed reading and we will see you next week for another installment of the the weekly wrap up! - Lauren

(Chanel pictures courtesy of modelandshop.com, theyuppiefiles.com)