There might not be much cause to celebrate but a splash of lockdown lippy could make you feel back in the game
Women may be wearing less lipstick in the age of the face covering, but during boring weeks stuck indoors, a splash of bold colour is cheering and helps many of us feel temporarily back in the game. Finding the right classic red, wintery berry tone or 90s chocolate brown (a huge trend online) can be risky without testers, so make the most of modern tech by using virtual try-on tools. MAC Cosmetics allows visitors to upload a selfie and try on as many of its uncomparable 800 lipsticks as you fancy. Bare Minerals has a similar service for its lipsticks, while Bobbi Brown extends the idea to eyeshadows and L’Oréal Paris to entire makeovers, on their respective UK sites. All fun, useful and with zero commitment to buy.
If you’re not sure where to start, several brands have attempted to preserve on-counter jobs by diverting as many of their artists as possible to an online space, where they can provide video or live-chat consultations on skincare and makeup. Most of the big brands have this facility on their e-commerce sites, as does multi brand retailer Cult Beauty (10am-6pm). The SpaceNK website invites you to throw your question out to the wider Space NK community of customers, while large beauty enthusiast groups on Facebook (mine is Sali Hughes: Get The Look, but there are hundreds to choose from) are a font of ideas and personal recommendations.