'Korres, set up in 1996, is a Greek skincare brand with roots in Athens’ first ever Homeopathic Pharmacy. Based on its pharmacy experience in over 3,000 homeopathic remedies of herbal origin, Korres is focusing on primary and applied research regarding natural ingredients and formulae. The company today offers a natural and certified organic skin & hair care range, a make-up line as well as suncare products and herbal preparations.'
I’ve been lucky enough to have their colour collection products for their Autumn/Winter 2010 'look' sent to me recently and I have to say I am very impressed. My initial thought is that the collection is a very classy affair; no outrageous colours here, but make no mistake this does not mean boring. The colours are very wearable and versatile easily moving from a natural daytime look into a more dramatic evening look, just by increasing the intensity of the layers and making the eyes even smokier!
First up we have three of their eye shadows, these are priced at a very reasonable £11 each an are created with Sunflower and Evening Primrose Oil so they care for the delicate eye area whilst also creating a stunning visual!
Below is a quote from their press statement that outlines what they want to achieve with their AW10 eye selection.
“With defined eyes rapidly taking centre stage this season, KORRES pushes boundaries to reinvent winter’s inevitability - smoky eyes – based on natural metallic brown and golden tones.”
The textures of the eye shadows are beautiful; the 2 browns (28 and 36) are quite metallic, but not in a trashy way and more importantly they are long lasting.
The mid brown shade (28) actually has a slight bronze/deep gold hue to it and in my opinion is the more metallic out of the 2 browns, stunning.
The darker brown (36) actually looks like deliciously dark chocolate with the slightest hint of a metallic shimmer, perfect.
Then there’s the ‘Nude 15’ shade which to me is perfect for applying as your base colour if you’re looking for something natural as it seems more matte than the other 2 – but not cakey at all.
These shadows can both be applied as subtly or as strongly as you desire, you just layer them up to your desired intensity as the pigment in these product allows for this perfectly. Using an eye shadow brush (especially with slightly longer bristles) gives a much finer layer I have found, but if you’re looking for a stronger colour then maybe use either a sponge tipped applicator, or a brush with shorter bristles that gives a more dense, pigmented colour.
Applying them was made easy by their rich velvety texture too, and I loved that when using these there didn’t seem to be much product dropping onto the rest of my face – bonus!
The Korres ‘Provitamin B5 and Rice Bran Mascara’ (£14.00) in brown (2) promises to lengthen your lashes whilst giving volume and deep colour to your lashes and it really does, I loved the look of my lashes with this on them. I would usually wear black mascara as a lot of brown mascaras don’t have the deep rich colour that I require, but not so with this product. I now feel I can wear a brown mascara without it looking wishy washy.
Their eyeliner (‘brown 2’ £7.00) is a revelation to me, it goes on smoothly is able to be smudged into a softer, smokier finish but then stays put. In the past I have found eyeliners to either stay put, but not be soft enough to smudge or to smudge but then not stay put. It was always the case that I could have one but not the other, so this is a fantastic find for me.
The liner also has antioxidant protection in the form of macadamia nut oil and vitamin E and revitalising properties from Meadowfoam seed oil. I love this as it gives the liner dual purpose, meaning that not only does it look good; it’s also good for the eye area and whilst this doesn’t mean you should go ahead and throw out all your eye care products, it does mean that you may not feel so guilty for wearing it a lot, or even if you do the unthinkable and fall asleep in your makeup. Come on; we’ve all done it, haven’t we?
Zea Mays Powder Blush (‘Natural 15’ £16.50) is a velvety blush with corn starch powder particles, for a luminous effect and a smooth and even finish. I admit that when I opened this I didn’t think it looked anything special but after putting it on my face I found that it made my skin glow beautifully, in a really natural, healthy way. It wasn’t heavy, didn’t clog and even more importantly lasted for a whole day of shopping.
Last but by no means least we have their chosen lipstick for AW10 is ‘Nude 34’ (£15), a light beige with a slight hint of pink. It’s the kind of colour you should be wearing if you want to try out nude lips but are worried the full on nude look may not suit you. This is, in my opinion, because of that very slight hint of pink that just makes it that bit more wearable for the average person. It’s not glossy, it is very creamy though so it’s not totally matte either, this means it is longer lasting when being worn and again, more wearable in my opinion.
I adore that pretty much all their products not only have their primary function in making your face look fab, but also that they all appear to have some kind of benefit to the condition of the area it is intended for. There’s the Sunflower and evening primrose that care for the delicate eye area in the eye shadows, Provitamin B5 in the mascara that strengthens lashes and guava extract in the lipstick that offers yet more antioxidant protection. They seem to do all this without compromising the products main functions, as makeup.
One thing I can say for sure is that this selection from Korres is a total triumph in my book.
