Iconic Beauty with YSL
This blog post contains affiliate links and gifted products
If you follow me on socials, you’ll have seen how excited I was to have the opportunity to work with YSL Beauty. For a small blogger that often feels like they’re shouting into the void, this was big time for me!
The team were keen to send over their Beauty Icons for me to try out, and I was more than happy to give them honest and fair reviews. You’ll know by now that I’m always honest about what I think of products, and just because these have a big name backing them – they’re no different.
When the parcel came, firstly I was just so overwhelmed with their generosity. You don’t expect that a brand so synonymous with luxury beauty are at all interested in your opinions – but here we are!
The first product I was keen to try out was their Pure Shots glycolic acid treatment. The day my products arrived had been a particularly long and difficult day, so I was keen to try out a new serum before bed and I was more than impressed with this!
My previous experience with glycolic acid wasn’t incredible; I’d tried out the Pixi dupe from Lacura (don’t come for me) and Sunday Riley’s Good Genes, but neither had blown me away.
This, however is a whole different ball game.
The dual phase formula means that you need to give it a good shake before using, once pumped out, it’s super runny so it’s a race against time to catch it and apply to your face! It’s probably not the thing for a beauty blogger to admit, but I find the tingle of a chemical exfoliant reassuring and so I do find myself reaching for it most nights. The Pure Shots range has been repackaged in order to improve its impact on the environment – the acrylic outer portion now houses a refillable inner section that can be ordered independently in order to reduce the amount of plastic waste from products. I already know that I’ll be reordering this when it runs out as it’s become a total staple in my routine.
The next product is one of the YSL Icons that I genuinely didn’t really want to need. For years now I’ve worn makeup and typically skip the primer stage as I’ve always found them to make my face feel a bit too ‘thick’ with makeup – of course I was going to give the Touche Éclait Blur Primer a decent trial, and annoyingly I love it!
The Blur Primer utilises the same light diffusion technology as the Touche Éclait Illuminating Pen but in a clear gel formula that glides over skin to allow for smooth application of foundation. The primer boosts radiance and gives the impression of radiant, bright skin. Basically, this primer works pretty damn hard.
The matching foundation is also a super-hardworking product. The YSL Touche Eclat Le Taint Foundation has an SPF of 22 to protect and perfect. Now enriched with glycerin and mallow flower, this medium coverage foundation offers a weightless feel married with 24 hour hydration to offer a long-lasting, flawless finish. I can honestly say that I spent around a decade looking for the perfect foundation, and I think this little glass bottle has encapsulated it perfectly. The last year and a half has had our foundation working harder than ever with the addition of face masks into the mix, so it’s been a great opportunity to trial how hard-wearing the product is.
The Touche Eclait Illuminator Pen is quite honestly the weakest link within the YSL Icons range. I know I’m probably alienating half of my readers here, but I’m afraid I only speak the truth! I can’t quite figure out whether it wants to be a concealer or a highlighter, and I find the formulation to be pretty drying once applied on skin. If your skin errs on the oilier side, I think this might suit you better. That said, when applied it does give skin a nice glow without looking too glittery which I know is a difficult line to tread.
Also included in my gift from YSL Beauty was their Volume Effect Mascara in black, this mascara promises to provide instant volume and add length to create a false-lash effect.
The walnut leaf in the formula helps to deepen the carbon-black shade in order to enhance the effect on lashes.
This ingredient has been sustainably sourced from the Ourika Gardens which I mentioned in this blog post here.
Of course, it isn’t enough to just look the part – when it comes to iconic products you need to smell the part too. YSL Beauty boasts two iconic fragrances – known across the world and frequently topping ‘most popular lists’, Libre and Black Opium.
The French word for ‘free’, Libre gives a nod towards YSL’s most central value, Freedom. In the modern day, freedom on the contemporary woman looks strong, bold and authentic. The blend of Moroccan orange blossom, and lavender create a long-lasting, almost androgynous scent that is fresh and distinctive. Crisp and floral, this scent is perfect for spring but is also complimented by headier autumn and winter spices.
The second fragrance that was sent over from YSL Beauty was Black Opium. This was a completely new scent to me but one that I was well aware of due to the hype and popularity surrounding it. Touted as ‘addictive and energising’, Black Opium is one of the best-selling scents in the UK and it’s easy to understand why. From an initial whiff of black coffee to the more exotic floral notes and deep wood notes, the Black Opium scent is both unique and intriguing.