Napoleon Perdis Cosmetics

I recently attended a wedding and had my make-​up done pre-​show at Napoleon. I hadn’t actually heard of Napoleon Perdis before (I’m from Canada and the brand hasn’t made it overseas yet), but my partner’s mum and all the ladies from his family were spending the morning getting their make-​up done at Napoleon, so I headed along.
As with most brands, there is a minimum charge for product spending, rather than an actual charge for the service (so, you have to spend $ 89 on products to cover your make-​up application). With an $ 89 spend, it’s dearer than most brands, but the products are quite expensive and you can generally cover the cost with two product purchases.
Normally, I only wear cruelty-​free make-​up with all natural ingredients (particularly for foundations and skin care), so I made sure to do some research on Napoleon Perddis before the big day. Very surprisingly, they don’t list their ingredients on any of their product packages or on their site (this is the only make-​up company I have come across that does this). I took that to mean they the products must be full of some nasty chemicals, and after doing some research, I found out I was right. Napoleon products contain chemicals similar to most other brands, but the fact that they don’t like their ingredients just didn’t sit well with me, so I decided not to purchase any skin or face products, even though they are heavily pushed by staff.
The store is lovely and all of the staff are friendly and knowledgeable. My make-​up application took about an hour, and the woman who did it seemed to genuinely listen to my questions and concerns about how certain products and colours would look on me. My skin tends to get dry and make-​up can ‘cake’ on it, so she took the time to test out a couple different foundations with different consistencies to find the right one, which I really appreciated.
When the process was finished, I did look very beautiful, if I may say so myself. For my purchases, I chose a lipstick and an eyeshadow quad. At $ 35, I wasn’t totally sold on the lipstick, but figured I’d need to touch it up during the wedding. Sure enough, I was very correct. During every trip to the bathroom (which is many, for a pregnant lady such as myself) I found I needed to re-​apply the lipstick and sure enough, my lipstains could be found on every drinking glass I came near. Though the colour is just lovely, I am quite disappointed with the staying power of the lipstick.
The eyeshadow is more impressive, though at $ 62, I wouldn’t say it is great value. The colours are lovely, but the packaging doesn’t seem as though it will hold up because it’s very flimsy. As well, the applicator that it comes with is of the drug-​store variety, so you have to apply it with a brush in order to blend the colours and have a smooth application. Though this is true for most eyeshadows, I would expect a better applicator for $ 62.
The day ended up being long and lovely, and I am happy to say that my make-​up lasted through the night (bar the lipstick). It looked great in photos, but in real life the foundation started to cake, as it was quite thick and heavily applied. At the end of the night, my fake eyelashes came off easily and were in such a condition that I saved and re-​used them (huzzah!). When I had completely washed and dried my face though, I was disappointed to find that my cheeks were already breaking out in pimples due to the heavy foundation (I do have very sensitive skin, so most people probably wouldn’t have this reaction, but I do feel that it speaks to the quality of ingredients and weight of the foundations).
Overall, I was impressed with the store and staff and I was happy to have make-​up that looked amazing in photos. However, I wasn’t happy with the quality of the products, particularly considering the price.

I absolutely love this concept store. I’ve been buying Napoleon Perdis for years but have never been to a concept store. The service was wonderful and there was so much to see, clothes, jewellery, bags and of course make up. I love the make up stations with Napoleon’s version of director’s chairs. I had my make up done and Belinda did an amazing job. She answered lots of questions, one of which I’ve been asking Napoleon staff in different stores for a long while — she clearly knows her stuff! Next time I’m in Melbourne I am def visiting the concept store again. All staff were much nicer here than David Jones earlier today.

If you’re a female aged between 20 – 35 and you haven’t heard of Napoleon Perdis, his make-​up artistry talents, suite of cosmetic products and chain of high-​end stores world-​wide, you’re either just not into this sort of thing, or you’ve never seen Australia’s Next Top Model.
It’s safe to say NP was the first Australian make-​up artist to make it International and to launch his own range, and establish his own boutique cosmetic stores around the globe.
NP cosmetics are, in a word, FAB. The foundations are silky, glide on to your skin and literally make you look flawless, without the Kim K overkill effect. He also produces and stocks a large range of theatrical and runway make-​up trends, making it the perfect place to shop for a dress up party or to really make a statement on your next night out.
The NP beauty bar in Melbs Central has all the latest and greatest NP products in the best shopping centre in the CBD.