It is said that it is far more satisfying to buy a work of art if there is passion and excitement behind the piece; if the artist lives and breathes his work. Well, that is pretty much how I would sum up Nicolas Degennes, makeup and colour artistic director of Givenchy (who I recently got to meet, and speak to AND get a picture with!!)
Let me take a step back here – when we received an invitation to be flown down to Cape Town for the launch of the new Givenchy make-up range, I properly did a ‘lame-excited’ dance… Because: Givenchy!
Sam was unfortunately not able to attend with me (owing to a recent arrival) so without my partner-in-crime, and fellow beauty junkie, I hopped on a plane very early one morning in late September with an excited grin on my face.
The team from ASCO had us transported to The Beautifull Life Building in Bree Street, where we sipped on champagne and nibbled on delicious canapés before watching Nicolas transform model’s faces using the new Givenchy products by ‘playing’ with textures and light.
Rose and Mbali from ASCO
It was a feast for the eyes to see such exquisite, high-end beauty products in action. Apart from one or two select items in my make-up bag, I tend to experiment more with drug-store products; never fully appreciating the high-end ranges. Until now, that is.
Not only did the Givenchy items look amazing, I was completely blown away by the technology behind the products; each item’s exterior carefully designed to align itself to the fashion side of the brand (leather, studs, black, white and nudes) while the science behind the textures and colours are a culmination of months, even years of research and testing – think butter-soft products that become one with your skin.
Nicolas, who has been part of the Givenchy team since 2000, was most certainly one of the most interesting people I have had the pleasure of meeting; he truly believes in the beauty of women and that make-up is here to enhance our natural glow as opposed to covering it up.
It is about glow, light and texture and how they work together for you. I love to work and ‘play’ with my hands and fingers as if I am experimenting like a child. As opposed to hiding behind it, it should be about ENHANCING you; mixing textures, light and colour in a game of subtle experiments.
I love his outlook on make-up, the face and women in general. We exist in a ‘theatre of life’ where you can choose to be any character you want at any given time and makeup should be used as a tool that allows you to live that.
sporting some electric blue eye-liner
Nicolas’ view on woman is that we are all superheroes; we hold the power and freedom of femininity while juggling a variety of different personas throughout our lives. This is why the name behind the new collection so aptly fits together with his vision: SuperStellar.
The most iconic product from the new collection is Le Prisme Superstellar Eyeshadow Palette (Limited Edition) – the casing symbolizing the belt of a superwoman, while the three shadows in the palette are presented in a star formation. The shadow is ‘unbaked’ which helps provide an enhanced pigment, while the formulation is a cream-powder hybrid and thus can go on wet or dry, depending on the intensity you want to achieve.
I was extremely spoilt with some goodies on the day – my absolute favourite being a personalised Le Rouge Perfecto Lip Balm. It is the most sold product of the entire Givenchy range; one is sold every five seconds. Not only does the product moisturise and plump the lip but its clever formula adapts to the pH of your lip creating the perfect nude pink, depending on your skin.
Givenchy products are available at Edgars and Stuttafords counters across the country. After my experience with these products, I would highly recommend you try some of them out, especially the ones from their new collection. I doubt you will be disappointed.
PS. A massive thank you to everyone who was involved in this event – I felt very lucky to have been part of it.