Less is still more

Okay, I know I’m risking the wrath of the nation here, but I’m just going to throw it out there: Delta just hit my ‘do not’ list. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving her new Delta Goodgracious sexpot vibe, but that Little Bo Peep meets Maggie Tabberer get up at the Cup yesterday? Overdone.

The white wide-brimmed hat and cocktail gloves were chic, and the sharp collar was as stylish as the full skirt on her frock. But together they went a little OTT for me. And while I couldn’t fault her face or hairdo, the whole thing got me thinking about Coco Chanel and the most famous of all her rules. 

As the grande dame of chic herself used to say: Take one thing off before you leave the house. True, Coco was pre the art of layering hadn’t heard of boho-chic, but I think her advice still rings true today – even with make-up.

Straight up, I can think of three cases where less is definitely more…

Starting with foundation. We all know about the mask mistake, so why do so many of us still make it? Because we confuse face base with concealer. One of the best lessons a make-up artist ever gave me is simple, yet seminal: Apply concealer to camouflage and ask your foundation only to even out your skin tone and texture. The very trademark of a top-notch foundation should be that you don’t need a trowel to make it work. And that you can’t see it when it does.

Likewise your lashes. A great mascara should lift, curl, define or lengthen with all its might – with minimal effort from you. So if you’re layering yourself into clumpy ‘spider legs’ in search of a fat flutter, you might just be asking too much from your mascara. What you really need is less of the right product if you want more lashes.

Then there’s the first law of feature focus: eyes or lips and moderation everywhere in between. Sure, the rules are meant to be broken by the bold (and supermodels with support teams), but for most of us, channeling a little Chanel is the line between fabulous and faux pas. So what needs to go? With me it’s usually the extra flourish of eyeliner, or my urge for a little bit more blush.

And with Delta I think it was the collar. I’m sorry, but I do. Wrath, ensue…