All posts tagged: beauty review

Clarins Makeup collection debuts in Singapore

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You’re familiar with Clarins’ skincare products; and now it is time to get acquainted with its makeup. Come March 31, the complete Clarins makeup collection will be available at counters in Singapore. Launched in 1991, the makeup products are infused with skincare. The bestsellers include the Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch (a makeup base that “blurs” out wrinkles and fine lines); the Skin Illusion Foundation (with pink algae to hydrate, smooth and tone skin); Lip Comfort Oil (with hazelnut oil to plump and nourish lips);  and the Supra Volume Mascara (contains cassia flower wax to protect and smooth lashes). Eric Antoniotti, Clarins International Artistic and Training Director, shares his favourites and tips with The Beauty Gazette. “Makeup that cares” “You get an instant makeup effect; the perfect complexion, lips, and amazing lashes. And at the same time, you get long-term skincare benefits thanks to the plant extracts in the formulas,” says Antoniotti. For example, the Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base is part skincare, part make-up base. It adds a glow to the skin so it …

Origins Three-Part Harmony

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Origins’ new Three-Part Harmony Soft Cream and Foaming Cream-to-Oil Cleanser, are luxurious additions to the brand’s line-up. The cream is whipped but not exactly lightweight. Thanks to a “micro-droplet technology”, it hydrates the skin intensively but without clogging it up and leaving behind an oily film. The formula contains Tazetta lily bulbs for skin regeneration, white myrtle to purify, and Japanese knot weed to protect and firm. This rich cream also contains shea butter and Vitamin E to keep skin soft and hydrated. Because of its rich and whipped texture, I prefer to use this rich cream at night. It left my skin feeling bouncier, smoothe, moisturised and clear the next morning. The Foaming Cream-to-Oil Cleanser is a soothing cream cleanser for drier skin types. It also creates enough slick for a good facial massage in the shower. Perfect for a gentle morning cleanse (when you don’t have to remove make-up, dirt and excess sebum), and all you need is a comforting cleanser to perk your skin up. These two are currently staples in my …

Shu Uemura Petal Skin Fluid Foundation

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After all these years – five decades to be exact – Shu Uemura is still through and through, a Japanese beauty brand. Even though it is now owned by a French beauty conglomerate. Shu Uemura places plenty of emphasis on the basics, the skin, the blank canvas. Its philosophy: Colours are secondary, and they can only add to one’s beauty if the skin looks flawless. The new Petal Skin Fluid Foundation is not pretentious. It does not contain too much light-reflecting particles to make you glow like a beacon. It just makes your skin look naturally beautiful. With a satin-matte finish, it provides medium to high coverage (redness, pores, uneven skin, acne), a soft radiance, and is relatively long-lasting. Pair it with the Stage Performer Block:Booster for a fresher-looking skin tone, added su protection, and even longer wear.

Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Brightening and Smoothing Moisture Treatment

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To complement its award-winning Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution serum (19 awards, 4 million bottles sold), Kiehl’s has launched its new Brightening and Smoothing Moisture Treatment. The star ingredient in the skin-clarifying Spot Solution is Activated C, a Vitamin C derivative formulated to be more stable and effective in brightening. To create the Smoothing Moisture Treatment, Kiehl’s chemists worked on a gel-cream made with Activated C and Glycolic Acid.   The Glycolic Acid used in the Treatment softens skin without aggravating it (although this ingredient is usually used in harsher peeling products); preparing it to better absorb the Activated C for skin that is more even in tone. To moisturise, peony and white birch extracts are added.   Just a pea-sized amount of this rather slick gel-cream is enough for the entire face. It took some time for me to massage the formula into my skin, as it is relatively thick. But once it was absorbed, my face was left with a satin-matte finish. This makes it perfect as a make-up base. I layered this on …

Gucci Bamboo Limited Edition

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Gucci’s new limited edition EDP is the latest addition to its Bamboo fragrance line-up. The brand says: “Soft and intense at once, the scent blooms with notes of exotic Casablanca Lily and Tahitian Vanilla. Sandalwood and Grey Amber balance the femininity with a woody contrast, to create a statement of strength and sophistication.” The Beauty Gazette: “Fruity with a hint of musk. A relatively sparkling floral with a hint of gourmand notes. Moderate sillage. Slight smokey undertones.”

Aesop’s 30th, and the new Primrose Facial Hydrating Cream

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This month, Aesop marks its third decade in the business. The understated beauty label from Australia was launched from a hair salon in 1987, because its founder Dennis Paphitis wanted haircare products with essential oils that would keep his customers calm. The haircare products proved successful, and he moved on to creating hand and body formulas, as well as skincare. The basic idea behind Aesop? Using fewer but better ingredients in a smarter way. Thirty years on, the brand is famous for its effective formulas (that always soothe frayed nerves with calming scents) packaged in simple pharma-style bottles and tubes. All sold in beautifully distinct boutiques with exceptional interior design – just like how Paphatis designed his original salon as a sanctuary for his clients. It is fitting then that Aesop marks its 30th anniversary with a simple jar of cream. No limited edition collection, no celebrity endorsements, no fancy sets. With sage leaf, rosemary leaf, and lavender stem as the star ingredients, the Primrose Facial Hydrating Cream is made for normal, dry, and stressed …

Lush V-Day collection

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In the world of bath and body care, there are few indulgences like the beautifully-scented soap bars from Lush. This V-Day, the animal cruelty-free label offers a new range of colourful and fun options for bath time (on your own, or with your lover). The Over and Over Bath Bomb ($13) is perfect for a bathtub frolick. It is a cocoa butter coated lime and fennel oil bomb that explodes into a whirl of pink, orange and gold in the tub. The colourful silver-tinted, pastel-hued Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar ($14) is infused with relaxing lavender oil, and sexy neroli for a slick bath time. While the Cupid Bath Bomb ($10) is another option for an indulgent soak in the tub. Blended with rose, bergamot, and violet lead absolute. The new Kiss Me Quick Wash Card ($9) is super fun. Imagine a bar of soap but in the form of a thin business card. Made with fresh apple pulp, lemon and lime oil, and scented with ylang ylang, it is perfect for that getaway vacay with …

Make Up For Ever Artist Acrylip

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Make Up For Ever’s new Acrylip Lip Paint is a must-have for lipstick junkies who love intense lip colours. Dispensed through an ergonomic felt-tip applicator attached to a squeeze-tube, the pigments of this liquid lipstick pack a punch. So all you need is a tiny bit for a lot of colour. This range of rouge leaves the lips with a satin shine when you spread just a small amount all over lips. If you go all out with a thicker layer and apply it with a lip brush, you get a high-shine acrylic finish. Relatively long-lasting, the Acrylip is non-sticky, non-drying, and opaque in a single coat.

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte Lipstick

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This new range of lipsticks from Shu Uemura are easy to wear, and come in bright, poppy shades. Just one or two coats provides full-on colour. The lipsticks have a matte finish, but they also have a creamy texture that does not feel too dry on the lips. However, as with all matte lipsticks, if you don’t exfoliate your pout first, the dry flakey skin will show. I like to prep my lips with a layer of balm first, so that my lips look smoother and more plump when I have a bright shade on. These relatively long-wearing lipsticks also offer a full-on stain, so you have to spend less time touching up the lipstick throughout the day. See swatches here.

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 …