Royalty Interest

Soft grayish mauve may sound like a better color story for a salmon than a human face, but not when Guerlain is in charge. The colors in their fall cosmetics collection are so special and otherworldly and difficult to describe, they’re borderline esoteric. Imagine the following tableau: From your handbag you pull out a be-tassled velvetine pouch embossed with a traditional Balkan floral motif, inside which lives a large plum compact. You open up this treasure and reapply your winter rose lip gloss, maybe even touching up your softly metallic and iridescent taupe eyeshadow. Who cares if it’s not polite? This deserves to be adored in public. And people notice this kind of stuff. They think, Who on Isis’s fertile earth does she think she is, some kind of Bulgarian royalty? Duh! That’s the whole point of the collectors’ series Volga Princess ($69), this particular eye and lip palette, as well as the rest of their Slavic Beauty collection. Other highlights include a smaller and more hot-tempered eye palette in sparkling shades of raisin, crimson and two kinds of burnt gold ($56), plus a soft and smudgy plum retractable eyeliner ($29) and matching limited-edition mascara ($35). At Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman.

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