All posts filed under: Features

Net-a-Porter celebrates five years of beauty

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Last evening, luxury e-tailer Net-a-Porter marked its fifth anniversary in beauty. Its global beauty director Newby Hands was in Singapore to meet tastemakers, brand owners and beauty junkies to share the e-tailer’s latest offerings and market insights. Local celebrity makeup artist Clarence Lee; and Nicolas Travis, founder of homegrown skincare label Allies of Skin shared their beauty tips at the cosy session in the swanky attic of a members’-only club. When Net-a-Porter was launched five years ago, its offerings were meant to complement the shopping habits of its fashion consumers. Sophisticated, cosmopolitan, and discerning, these women have deep pockets but demanded mainly classic colours and effective skincare that would fit their jet setting and professional lifestyles, says Hands. The latest beauty trends and shades were not necessarily their priorities. “They may buy their bags and shoes in the latest pastel spring shades, but not the makeup in those colours,” she lets on. Starting out with just 10 cult beauty labels that were not well-known internationally but offered quality formulas, #NetaBeauty did not aim to be Sephora. …

Start the Lunar Year of the Dog with the right beauty essentials

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Before the celebrations for Chinese New Year draws to a close, here are The Beauty Gazette’s picks this Spring for an auspicious start to 2018. Yves Saint Laurent Beaute Blush Volupte Hope & Joy Edition – for its limited edition collectible packaging with red blooms against a radiant gold. Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Liquid Lip Crayon – one-swipe long-lasting pigmented formula that is non-drying. Lightweight but just a gentle glide would get you an intense shade. One of the best lipsticks we’ve ever used. (Both pictured above) SK-II Facial Treatment Essence – an iconic and effective skincare formula in a limited edition, auspicious scarlet. Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Dirty Thirty Limited Edition Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Trophy Wife – Because there’s always reason to own another, especially when it is in shimmering gold. Chanel Le Vernis for Spring Summer 2018 – Bright and poppy colours inspired by the idyllic seaside city of Naples, Italy. Pictures: The Beauty Gazette, Fenty Beauty, Chanel Beauty

Marc Jacobs Beauty 2.0

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When Marc Jacobs Beauty was launched in 2013 with its sleek and shiny black lacquer-finish packaging, and true-to-makeup-artist formulas, it changed the luxury cosmetics game for the LVMH-owned Sephora and Kendo. With Jacobs’ signature quirky-edgy-sexy-sophisticate aesthetic, and quality products, the brand impressed beauty junkies amd flew off the shelves. Fast forward five years, the brand still holds its own (it has 1.8 million followers on Instagram); but it needed a new spin to keep beauty shoppers excited. In the face of immense competition, from runaway cult indie brands to those built entirely on pop culture, beauty brands have to reinvent themselves almost constantly. New formulas, another pretty face, fancy packaging, limited edition products; the works. But instead of trying too hard; Marc Jacobs Beauty stayed true and simply went down the tried-and-tested route of associating itself with the top makeup artists in the business. Such as the legendary Dick Page, and Diane Kendal. Marc Jacobs Beauty also signed on a bevy of the top makeup artists in showbiz as Global Industry Ambassadors; and boy, is …

Makeup for Asian Faces: 2018

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Cut-crease? Winged-tip? Cupid’s bow? What’s that? To better reflect the contents of this article, the title should probably be changed to Makeup for East Asian women – the Chinese, Mongolians, Japanese and Koreans – with smaller eyes, single eyelids (or very shallow double eye lids), finer browbones and thinner lips. There is so much online content and makeup tutorials dedicated to women with large, deepset eyes, and poutier lips (injected or not); and barely any for women with different facial features. Although South Korea’s Allure does a pretty good job breaking down the makeup tips for women with smaller eyes and lips. And steal a few tips from these women with delicate features and an A+ makeup game. Single, hooded lids Eye makeup (liner and shadow) pretty much disappears when these women open their eyes fully. The space between their peepers and brows are also narrower. So just keep the makeup simple with subtle eye-widening contouring of the socket in neutral hues, a lash of mascara and liner. Clear complexion is key. Brows kept full. …

How to have better skin instantly: 7 things to do

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These may seem obvious but you are probably too lazy to do them. So here’s a reminder to add these steps to your regular skincare routine, for fresher and clearer skin in 2018. 1. Exfoliate with a washcloth at least three times a week. Go for 100 per cent cotton cloths, and slough away the dead skin while washing your face. Exfoliate either in the morning or evening. You’ll have less flakey dead skin and blackheads. 2. Unclog pores with a micellar lotion or makeup remover. Every night. No stinting on this step. Especially when you slather on longwearing foundation and sunscreen. Biore makeup remover wipes, Sephora makeup removers, and Bioderma’s micellar lotion are our go-tos. 3. Invest in a magnifying mirror. A seven-time magnification glass will let you clearly see all those clogged pores. So you will conscientiously practice points 1 and 2. 4. Use a skin-softening lotion as the first step of your skincare application routine. This will really amp up the efficacy and absorption of the skincare products applied afterwards. We like …

TBG Makeup Picks 2017

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As 2017 draws to an end, The Beauty Gazette looks back at the makeup launches that made our hearts flutter and emptied our purses. Click on the links for the deets. In 2017, @Badgalriri (popstar Rihanna for the uninitiated) launched her makeup collection after toying with the idea for years after the limited edition pieces she created with M.A.C in 2013. The on-trend Millennial-pink, and for-every-skin-tone marketing strategy hit the jackpot, and blew every other new masstige makeup brand launch this year out of the water. A high protection tinted suncream that evens out the skin tone with a porcelain finish, and glow. Wear it on its own or as a foundation primer. Smooth, blendable texture; good pigment, beautiful shades that all match in one palette. Not surprising that this is always sold out. This luxurious cushion gives skin a lovely soft-matte glow. It has a unique liquid-to-powder texture for a satiny, lightweight finish. Because who doesn’t love Tom Ford’s decadently luxurious lipsticks? These are sheer, but still sexy, moisturising, dreamily smooth to apply, and …

Clarins Double Serum 8th Generation

TBG Skincare Picks 2017

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Skincare products launched in 2017 that are TBG-approved, so worth your time and money. Click on the highlighted links for the deets. Find out more about this night cream that gives the skin an improved glow and clarity overnight. Read on for further details on the Rice Power serum that soaked and hydrated the skin most effectively. TBG’s favourite face oil of 2017. A sheet mask made with Gore-Tex? We’re in. A surprisingly good soft cream TBG fell for. An iconic beauty formula made even better in 2017. A multi-purpose mask-moisturiser-primer, with a most interesting texture. The best pulpy sheet mask at a great price. A customisable, modular mask for that instant, long-lasting glow. Pamper those peepers with these potent skincare patches.

Her hair and the red carpet: Lupita Nyong’O makes a political statement

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Last Saturday, Kenyan-Mexican actress literally stormed the red carpet at the world premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi with her stunning emerald and sequinned slashed-to-the-thigh Halpern dress; and mini afro. That mini afro, styled in Nyong O’s natural hair texture, is a refreshing change from the usual (artificially) sleek and shiny locks of black women in the entertainmant spotlight. (Think Naomi Campbell, Nicki Minaj, Tyra Banks, Kerry Washington.) Clearly, Nyong O’s preferred hairstyle is a political statement (which applies to everything else in Trump’s America these days), and a nod to her belief in propogating diverse definitions of beauty. She had made her stand clear in an Instagram post in November, when she flamed Grazia UK for putting her on the cover but cropping out the kinky frizzy curls. In her post, she wrote: “As I have made clear so often in the past with every fiber of my being, I embrace my natural heritage and despite having grown up thinking light skin, and straight, silky hair were the standards of beauty, I now …

Laneige Delights Pop Holiday Collection 2017

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There are many reasons to love the year-end Holiday launches. And limited edition shades and value-for-money deals are just a few of them. Laneige’s year-end collection for 2017 ticks all the right boxes. First up, you get a good deal. Like this Holiday Sleeping Mask Set ($39): A set of three mini sleeping mask jars for plump skin. Next, the colours are pretty. Case in point: The Holiday Ideal Shadow Quad – Flash Gold Pop (S$42) : Sparkly and pearlescent eyeshadow for the office and drinks. Holiday Cushion Blusher – Roly Pink Pop (S$32): For an airbrushed flush and glow. Holiday Two Tone Tint Lip Bar – No.1 Lovely Pop and No.2 Chic Pop (S$32 each): Laneige’s signature two-tone lip bar, infused with its Lip Sleeping Mask ingredients to keep the pout moisturised and hydrated. The two looks that you can create from this set of makeup are wearable for both the boardroom and that Tinder date. Available at all Laneige stores, Lazada and Zalora. Photos: Laneige

Puredistance: Parfums with excellent sillage

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When you have creatives at the helm of a fragrance label – instead of shrewd marketers out to make a quick buck – you get a nice range of standout perfumes. At Puredistance, the scents are noteworthy for their long-lasting sillage due to an exceptionally high content of perfume oil. All seven Parfum de Extrait in the range contain between 25 and 38 per cent of perfume, “hence the higher cost and prices”, explains the brand’s founder Jan Ewoud Vos. His rationale for using so much perfume oil in the juices: they fuse with the skin’s natural scent for longer. Prices of Puredistance parfums start from 175 euros for 17.5ml. Pick a crystal and 24 carat gold flacon and prices go up to 1,890 euros for 17.5ml. “As I give a perfumer a brief, I also give them an unlimited budget and time,” says Vos, who is also a photographer. This freedom is rare in the tightly-controlled perfume industry where profit margins rule the day. For that reason, when Vos announced in 2007 that he …