Let me tell you a little story. Back in the day my first ever fragrance was CK One. Well I lie – the first ever fragrance I sneakily would have a few spritzes of from my Mum’s cupboard each morning was CK One. Eventually I purchased my own bottle and wore it solidly for two years from the age of 16. I couldn’t get enough of stuff. But now they’re branching out again with the release of a makeup line. Now they have attempted this before, however this time it’s seriously on point…
Cased in pill-shaped packaging with a pop of white to distinguish it from the crowd, matched with rubberised black bottoms (think NARS), the outer certainly has a nice appeal and feels luxe without going down the usual heavy golden route. And a luxe-ish price it has to; £25 for a foundation and £17 for a mascara, puts it just under the heavyweights like YSL and CHANEL. The unique point of this line, is instead of everything splayed out for your perusal the products are broken down into three categories: ‘look real’, ‘define yourself’ and ‘add intensity’. The presentation of a brands products always gets my inner makeup geek excited, and I think these breakdowns actually work well. ‘Look real’, contains skin-like finish formulas of foundations, powders and concealers, ‘define yourself’ focuses on the brows, lashes and cheeks. On a daily basis this is where I’d stop, but for an evening look or those more brave than myself, the ‘add intensity’ category is where to look for shadow quads, lip colours and even nail products.
Rave-worthy releases include the Mascara*, which has a nifty twist top which can squeeze the bristles of the brush together for volume-building or pull them further apart to create length. Not the best for curled lash lovers like myself but a nice idea that actually works. The Brow Pencil + Gel Duo* gets a thumbs up too, it has a waxy pencil on one end to add definition and then a cute tiny brush on the other end that deposits gel through the brows to keep them in place. My favourite out of the bunch is the 3-in-1 Face Makeup*. I’m not into heavy coverage at the moment and this fits that lightweight, breatheable and natural bill perfectly and claims to house your serum, primer and face makeup in one. Now I’m not too sure I’ll be skipping the serum anytime soon, but this blends in beautifully, the shade 200 Fair is a nice match for me and it lasts well.
With all the little added extras – hidden brushes, expanding bristles and multiple claims in one formula, this line was in danger of heading down the gimmicky route, but I have to say it avoids that naff road and instead feels functional and natural – bonus features that we’d all make use of. The range has landed already exclusively on Debenhams.com and CK One counters will be popping up at selected Debenhams stores over the next few months. God, all this talk of CK is making me want to have a whiff of my first-time fragrance and take me back to the good ‘ol days…
*PR Samples
