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I didn\u2019t expect to enter 2020 without Bourjois, the 156-year\u2011old French cosmetics house once helmed by the owners of Chanel, then by Coty, the US company that announced in the run-up to Christmas that Bourjois would withdraw from the UK market. I didn\u2019t see it coming, and that\u2019s essentially the problem: we take iconic brands for granted, comforted by their constant but unassuming presence, like the hum of an extractor fan or Huw Edwards. But how often do we buy them? When was the last time you browsed their macaron\u2011like pastel pots of blusher and shadow, or tried their best-in-category Healthy Mix foundation?<\/p>\n
There are a number of reasons why the mid-price, high street makeup brands, such as Revlon, L\u2019Oreal Paris, Rimmel London and Bourjois, are jostling for our attention in the UK: a surge of interest in skincare ingredients; an explosive growth in the market; the rise of very cheap makeup (Revolution, MUA and so on) and the simultaneous boom in high luxury, cult and vegan products. But, as much as I\u2019m instinctively excited and intrigued by cool new brands, I often find the products to be not a patch on their heritage equivalents.<\/p>\n
If Rimmel London Jelly Blush<\/strong> (\u00a37.99) cost three times the price, there\u2019d be a stampede for it. This odd but idiot-proof, bouncy-to-the\u2011touch cheek colour (imagine poking your finger in a jam jar, only without the stickiness) glides on smoothly to give a very pretty, slightly dewy flush. Melon Madness is perfect with a nude lipstick.<\/p>\n Related: <\/span>Heaven scent: Jo Malone\u2019s perfume at Zara prices | Sali Hughes<\/p>\n Revlon\u2019s new Colorstay Brow Tint<\/strong> ( \u00a37.99) is truly brilliant. The brush is perfectly shaped and sized to fill in brow gaps naturally, hair by hair, without the maddening ink\u2011flow problem you get with many brow pens (I\u2019m broadly a fan, but am forever stopping, mid\u2011stroke, to return them to a vertical position and shake frantically). The ink itself is unmovable \u2013 no smudging or fading until you do a substantial cleanse. I\u2019d like more shades though, please.<\/p>\n As for Bourjois, at the time of writing, some stock remains online. If you are bereft without the lauded Healthy Mix foundation, the nearest equivalent \u2013 in terms of the thin formula, light coverage and dewy, healthy, hydrated-looking finish \u2013 is (the superior, in my view, and racially inclusive) Mac Studio Face and Body Foundation<\/strong>. It seems much pricier at \u00a330 for 120ml, but actually, when you look at the cost per millilitre, is cheaper than Bourjois and its high street stablemates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n