OK, so the last time Beauty Bible was this excited about a make-up line was when Hubert de Givenchy launched his signature range. (And actually, we were pretty thrilled by Paul & Joe when that came out, too.) But Une – unveiled at teatime today by the same folk who make Bourjois - is something very special indeed: a range which could well inspire the wannabe-natural beauty to throw out her entire kit and start again, but might just also give mainstream brands like Bobbi Brown a run for its money. The shade range, you see, is natural in both ways: 13 out of 16 Une creations are Ecocert-certified natural/organic (so no parabens/petrochemicals and packed with plant/mineral ingredients), with the most wearable colours imaginable. And the textures are so goof-proof that even when applied with fingers it is literally impossible to make a mistake. (We tried. We really tried. All of which raised a few eyebrows on the train home this evening.) It’s a huge collection – 175 different items altogether. We pretty much want them all, but particular favourites include softly blendable Nude Eyes Shadow and Breezy Cheeks Blush (and we just love the stubby brush for stippling on the cream formulation), plus Sheer Lips Balm – a hint of colour (and a hint of green tomato fragrance – all-natural, since there are no synthetic scents in Une). The Absolute Blacks Kohl is ideal for that rock-chick eye, and blondes in particular will love the lightest shade of Eye Brow Pencils. We can't even decide which foundation we prefer: Skin-Glow (deliciously dewy) or Skin-Matt (as it sounds), while the Soft Minerals Powder Foundation is a must-try for mineral make-up-lovers. We could go on (you may have noticed this is our longest-ever blog posting) and we’ll ‘tweet’ when we’ve tried the mascaras, as mascara is the ultimate natural make-up challenge). But just to say: anyone whose heart was broken when Origins withdrew their entire make-up line a couple of years ago – well, Une will piece it back together.
Naturally (in every way), our testers for The Green Beauty Bible will be putting it through its paces – but we can’t think of Une good reason why they won’t fall for it just as we have… Astonishingly it's priced from just £7.99-13.99 tops. Where to find it? By September, Une will be in 205 Boots stores – and apparently, it’s already quietly on sale in Huddersfied. Lucky Huddersfield…www.unebeauty.com (the site gives a great, animated run-down of the products and you can sign up for the newsletter here too).
