How to Look Like a Left-Bank Parisienne: This New Makeup Collection Makes It Easy

“It’s nice to be playful,” says Lola Rykiel, the consummate Parisienne who is a poster child for the seemingly national impulse to avoid a singular beauty look. “Some days no makeup, some days a red lip, some days a liner—it’s more theatrical and surprising.” This impulsive, uncontrived approach to makeup was inherited from her grandmother, Sonia, of the namesake Boulevard Saint-Germain–bred fashion house for which Lola now acts as communications director. Citing her grandmother’s affinity for the “pretty, sensual, and very much alive” women who pepper Toulouse-Lautrec paintings and reverberated on her runways, it was only natural that one day the label would distill that alluring French essence into a beauty collection.

For the task, Sonia Rykiel artistic director Julie de Libran teamed up with Lancôme makeup guru Lisa Eldridge to develop a well-edited 12-piece collaboration, which made its debut in Vogue‘s July issue. “It’s very Left Bank,” says Lola of the final collection, which features packaging by yet another French icon, the street artist André, who cast each package in iconic Rykiel stripes and graffiti squiggles depicting the accoutrements of the city’s cafe culture.

What’s inside is every bit as modern while remaining true to the house’s DNA: There are watercolor eye palettes arriving in matte and glimmering lamé-shot shades of eggplant, rose, and taupe shadow or, for those who prefer a classic smoky eye, hues of moss, midnight, and silver; cushion compacts filled with rosy blush that’s sheer enough to be foolproof while recalling the flush-cheeked femme fatales of Rykiel’s ’70s heyday; and playful lip crayons that look made for writing a billet doux in bold red pigment on a lover’s mirror before zipping out the door, while nail colors come in a spectrum of red, white, and blue, punctuated with one delightful off-kilter khaki shade. Departing on a note of mystery? It’s the French girl way.

The Sonia Rykiel x Lancôme collection debuts August in stores; currently available online; lancome-usa.com

 

The post How to Look Like a Left-Bank Parisienne: This New Makeup Collection Makes It Easy appeared first on Vogue.