Author: Beauty Gazette

For Beloved Girl Mineral Cloud-Silk Mask

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Taiwanese beauty label For Beloved One is one of the first Asian brands to be stocked in Sephora stores, and for good reason. Its bio-cellulose masks are award-winning, as they plump up the skin immediately and give it long-lasting hydration. (Bio-cellulose is a material that doctors use to treat the skin of burn victims, as the thick material seals up and protects the raw skin so that it heals faster.) Most sheet masks don’t provide much moisture beyond the next 30 minutes. For Beloved One’s bio-cellulose masks do not dry up on the skin like regular sheet masks, even after I left it on for more than an hour. Afterwards, my skin is left feeling supple, tighter, and brighter for the entire day. But For Beloved One Bio-Cellulose masks are pricey. Now, to make its products more accessible to younger consumers, the more affordable For Beloved Girl will be launched in Singapore in April. The range debuts with a series of masks made with a thin, “cloud-silk” cotton material infused with a serum of hyaluronic …

Tom Ford Beauty’s new space at Robinsons Raffles City

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The new and improved beauty floor of Robinsons Raffles City Singapore is giving the one at Tangs Orchard a run for its money.  The Robinsons store at City Hall has always been a crowd-puller due to its close proximity to the MRT station, and a rather good mix of F&B and retail tenants in the rest of the Raffles City Shopping Centre.  Now, the new Tom Ford Beauty counter at Robinsons Raffles City adds swank and class to the department store’s recently-expanded beauty floor. So you have one more option – apart from  Tom Ford Beauty at Tangs Orchard, and the Tom Ford flagship boutique at Marina Bay Sands – when you desperately need to stock up on the Private Blend juices and delectable lipsticks.

Wella SP Luxe Oil range

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If you spend hundreds each time at the salon to get that picture-perfect (permed/ coloured/ bleached/ highlighted/ balayaged) locks, haircare products from the supermarket shelves just won’t cut it.  When your hair has undergone so much chemical treatment, regular shampoo and hair masks are inadequate in treating the dryness, frizziness, and other signs of damage. That is why I always invest in good professional haircare products. They may be pricier, but they make my hairstyle (colour and texture, especially) look salon-fresh for longer. Wella’s signature Luxe Oil SP range is a trio that works for me. I bleach my hair once every couple of months. And the products keep my hair supple, conditioned, smooth. The mask sinks right into my dehydrated locks without weighing it down; while the oil slicks frizziness, and keep flyaways in place. With a good haircut from my regular stylist, and the Wella Luxe Oil SP collection, I spend less time getting my hair ready in the mornings, and bad hair days are almost non-existent ✌🏻️

Eyes Wide Open:  Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery Eye Mask

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If you didn’t get a good night’s rest, the tell-tale signs are around your eyes. Dry, crepey skin with fine lines caused by dehydration, along with the puffiness and dark circles, tells everyone that you stayed up too late (working/ watching videos on Youtube/ Facebook-ing/ scrolling through Insta/ online shopping/ swiping left/ Netflix-ing/ all of the above). Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair serum is famous for making your skin look like you had enough sleep when you didn’t. And now, the brand is taking things one step further with an ANR eye mask. To keep the formula fresh, the liquid is kept separate from the eye mask pads in each sachet. All you have to do is break the liquid out if its section so it soaks up the pads. Then place the infused pads on the undereye area for 10 minutes. The ANR Concentrated Recovery Eye Mask is made with lady thistle and white birch extracts to soothe and de-puff skin; as well as hyaluronic acid and rice bran extract to moisturise and firm …

TBG Interview: Marc Chaya, CEO and co-founder, Francis Kurkdjian

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The celebrated perfumer Francis Kurkdjian is one of the biggest names in the rarefied world of French noses. Kurkdjian’s claim to fame was Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male, which he concocted at the age of 26. The award-winning perfumer went on to create many other distinctive juices with his signature juicy, sexy, yet fresh and delicately feminine accords. The Beauty Gazette loves loves loves Guerlain Rose Barbare (2005), Carven Le Parfum (2013), Elie Saab Le Parfum (2011), and My Burberry (2014). In 2009, Kurkdjian launched his eponymous perfume house with businessman Marc Chaya. To kickstart 2017, Kurkdjian adds Aqua Celestia to his signature Aqua Universalis (2009) and Aqua Vitae (2013) line-up. The juice is described as having “a fresh, colorful and generous top note accord that resonates with the sunny radiance of mimosa blossoms from Provence and a celestial whisper of musk”. The Beauty Gazette finds out more about the essence of Maison Francis Kurkdjian from the brand’s CEO and co-founder, Marc Chaya.   How did you first meet Francis Kurkdjian? I met Francis some 10 years …

Porcelain skincare

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Homegrown local brand Porcelain is best known for its deep cleansing and skin-clarifying facials.  Its owner is also a huge proponent of make-up free skin; and she has great skin as proof of the quality of her own products and services. I gave Porcelain’s three gel formulas over a shot over the festive period, and I liked the results.  My favourite is the Pure Botanical Soothing Gel that contains aloe vera gel and herbal extracts to hydrate, heal, and protect. Once the gel was massaged into my skin, it left it tight, firm, and matte. My pores also looked visibly tighter. Over the weeks, this gel also helped to make my skin looked clearer.  However, I prefer to apply a more moisturising serum or cream on top of the gel, so that my skin feels less tight. Because the gel’s texture is light and barely-there, it also works well to lock in moisture under a make-up base. Both the Balance Hydraclear Gel (for treating acne-prone skin, contains willow bark extract, cupaucu seed butter, witch hazel extract, …

Limited Edition Chinese New Year skincare

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When brands rejuvenate their tried-and-tested formulas with limited edition packaging, they are clearly rewarding the  beauty junkies and enticing new users. So besides the sparkly shiny happy Holiday sets, the latest special Chinese New Year offerings are as coveted. Especially when they come with matching red packets to up-your style game over the New Year. Estee Lauder’s sexy metallic red Advanced Night Repair serum is available at Estee Lauder Singapore counters for a limited period. This serum is perfect for keeping skin supple while you stay up through those late nights this festive period. ANR always keeps my skin looking more awake than I really am. While Origins’ Make A Difference Plus Rejuvenating Treatment is a lightweight gel moisturiser that locks in moisture, and made all the better with a stylish rooster illustration ✌🏻️

His story: Roland Chow and Singapore’s early hairdressing scene

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In the mid-1970s, when the teenaged Eugene Ong decided that he wanted to become a hairstylist, he looked to the prominent industry veteran Roland Chow as a role model.  “Then, almost all hairdressers were women. And Roland was so glamorous, all my friends’ mothers were always talking about him,” recalls Ong, the director and founder of Urbanhair.  “Women of a certain social standing all had their hair done by him.” Through serendipity, Ong’s first apprenticeship was with Christine Wah, Chow’s top assistant.  “Christine would tell me how exclusive his salon was. Roland even had a drawn curtain around each client for their privacy.” The curtains were also there for another reason. The hair maestro did not want observers to “steal” his skills; only the privileged few could watch  him in action, recalls Ong. Born into the upper crust of Shanghainese society in 1926, Chow fled to Singapore in 1949 to seek refuge from the communists.  Chow first made a name for himself as a fashion designer; he was often described as the “Mr Dior of …

Got swag?: South Korea’s top men’s grooming label – Swagger

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Founded in 2011, Swagger is one men’s grooming label from the land of K-Pop to look out for. Featured in many magazine titles in South Korea, such as GQ, Dazed, Men’s Health, Esquire and Arena, Swagger offers a wide range of products that are all made without parabens. Most of the ingredients are also sourced from Australia. As with many K-beauty products, it is clear that the Swagger range is made with careful thought for men’s grooming needs. Like the Face Optimizer, a multi-purpose formula that is a toner, lotion and essence all-in-one. It is lightweight but promises to moisturise and repair skin. Or the Eyebrow Maker, a fuss-free brow powder pen for natural-looking manly brows. The Beauty Gazette’s other picks: Complemented by its Face Changer Sheet Masks that leaves skin supple, the Face Terminator is a tinted all-in-one BB cream that evens out the complexion subtly and offers SPF50+/PA+++. Lightweight and gives skin a matte finish. The Shot Caller Fragrance Shower Gel, bottled in a container shaped like a whiskey flacon. Pretty packaging aside, it …

Clarins White Plus Pure Translucency

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Clarins is one of those rare European brands that already had its finger on the pulse of skin-brightening trends from way back when; 20 years to be exact. It started in 1996 with the Whitening Essence, and now into its seventh variation for 2017, the White Plus Pure Translucency. The star of the latest range is the antioxidant-rich acerola fruit, which resembles a cherry. While doing extensive research on how melanin production takes place in the skin (which leads to dark spots), Clarins scientists also discovered the potent benefits of the acerola. The fruit contains polyphenols, antioxidants that help to protect the plants from damaging UV rays. Apparently, the younger the fruit, the more polyphenols it contains; therefore Clarins harvests the early fruits and freezes them to get the best extracts. These extracts proved to reduce melanin production by almost 25 per cent during in vitro tests. There are six new formulas in Clarins’ White Plus Pure Translucency collection. The Brightening Creamy Mousse Cleanser is lovely. Lightly scented with an uplifting floral fragrance, the cleanser …