Beauty

We treat makeup, skincare and icon shades as texts you can read, not just things you put on your face. We pull apart shade names, campaign words and product architecture to ask what they’re saying about femininity, power, race, class and good taste—and how you can enjoy beauty while staying critically awake.

Hermès Ginseng Biloba: A root that remembers, a leaf that forgets

Hermès has added another chapter to its Hermessence library: Ginseng Biloba, a woody, radiant eau de parfum that pairs the textured earthiness of ginseng root with the luminous, almost translucent green of gingko biloba. Launched into a collection that began in 2004, it arrives in the house's emblematic lantern bottle, capped in leather with saddle stitching and an engraved saddle nail — a small, tactile seal between skin and scent.

3 min read

Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu is a crush you can walk through

Chanel has turned a private feeling — the rush of a crush — into a public, walkable world: Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu, a new amber fragrance launched on Gabrielle Chanel's birthday, now anchors a Tai Hang takeover of murals, galleries, cafés and floral installations. The question quietly hanging over the neighbourhood is simple: when a house turns attraction into an urban olfactory journey, what kind of woman is it inviting to perform desire in public?

3 min read