All posts tagged: features

Estee Lauder raises awareness on breast cancer: 25 years on

Every October, Estee Lauder goes all out to bring attention to breast cancer.  In 1992, Evelyn Lauder, the daughter-in-law of the brand’s founder, launched a campaign to encourage women to take better care of their bodies and health. She handed out pink ribbons at the brand’s counters, and later founded the non-profit Breast Cancer Research Foundation to benefit research on the disease. Today, Estee Lauder continues its good work.  More than $70 million has been raised to fund breast cancer research, education and medical services. This month, it rolls out limited edition pink products, with a portion of the proceeds going to the foundation.  Our pick from the lot: the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum with the pink ribbon keychain ($163), $20 from each bottle sold benefits the foundation. Breast Cancer Examination tips:  – Women above the age of 20 should do a self-examination of their breasts every month. Those aged above 40 should get a clinical breast examination once a year; while those 50 and above are encouraged to go for a mammogram …

Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty launches at Sephora Ion, Singapore on Sept 8

Here are some Wild Thoughts. Popstar royalty Rihanna will be launching her long-awaited makeup collection, Fenty Beauty, on September 8, 10am at Sephora Ion, in Singapore.   The cosmetics line is a collaboration with LVMH’s Kendo division, which also helms the other runaway hits: the makeup brands of Kat Von D  and Marc Jacobs. The teasers on social media so far show Shine-Bright-Like-A-Diamond (and a million bucks) highlighters; and subtly flattering eyeshadows and lippies for all  skin tones.  Watch the just-released campaign here. And get ready to claw your way through the crowds to get your hands on the collection. Or fill your cart here. Sept 8 update: The range comprises of – 40 shades of Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation (S$50) 1 universal Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer (S$48) 30 magnetic Match Stix Skinsticks, in both matte and shimmer finishes to contour, correct, conceal, highlight and blush (S$37) 6 cream-powder hybrid Killawatt Freestyle Highlighters for face and eyes (S$50) Invisimatte Blotting Powder (S$44) Invisimatte Blotting Paper (S$26) 1 universal lip gloss known as Gloss …

Laneige X YCH Collab

The latest Laneige Meets Fashion collection stars Korean designer YCH. The edgy polka-dotted line is Laneige’s fourth fashion collaboration  The limited edition LANEIGE X YCH collection will pre-launch from 28 August to 3 September 2017 at Plaza Singapura, Main Atrium, Level 1 and will subsequently be available from 4 September 2017 onwards at all LANEIGE boutiques and counters, LAZADA Singapore and ZALORA Singapor

Kiehl’s launches Apothecary Preparations in Singapore

A hundred and sixty-six years ago, the first Kiehl’s formulas were sold out of an apothecary in New York’s East Village. Today, the skincare label is harking back to tradition and offering customised skincare products.  After a consultation with the beauty assistant where you identify your top two skin concerns, you go home with a bottle of Skin Strengthening Concentrate and two tubes of Targeted Complexes. Mix the Complexes with the Concentrate on your own before use. The Concentrate is made up of 35 per cent squalane, and 20 per cent skin lipid complex (oils of apricot, coriander, blackcurrant, echium oils).  The Complexes:  Wrinkle-Reducing Complex with retinol concentrate & pro-retinol (vitamin A palmitate) Texture Refining Complex with an unsaturated fatty acid blend including glyceryl oleate, glyceryl linoleate and glyceryl linolenate; and lipohydroxy acid (a salicylic derivative) Visible Redness Neutralising Complex with sunflower seed extract and vitamin E Pore Minimising Complex with samphira extract and salicylic acid Brightening complex with vitamin C and scotch pine extract Available at Tangs, Tang Plaza; and Takashimaya. Photos: Kiehl’s

Pat McGrath Labs Dark Star 006 UltraViolet Blue Review

“WARNING: UltraViolet Blue pigment can cause a temporary staining of the skin.” We have not come across any eyeshadows with a warning label, until the legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath‘s Dark Star 006 UltraViolet Blue. Then again, so many things about this set of eyeshadows are different. 1) The packaging: With the holographic bag and sequins as stuffing, it is a visual feast from the get-go. Perhaps this is eyeshadow the aliens would wear? 2) The pigment: The star of this set is obviously the UltraViolet Blue shadow. This is pure metallic sparkling blue pigment. Full-on colour in one swipe with finger or brush. Use with eye makeup primer to prevent staining of the skin, says the instructions. The others; Astral White, Mercury and Dark Matter pigments, do not disappoint. These sparkly metallic colours come through easily. We have never seen a darker black eyeshadow 👌🏻. Buildable and blendable. The lighter colours are beautiful as highlights or all over the lids. And all with minimal fallout, so it does not get messy during application. The …

Dr Barbara Sturm skincare review

Popular with Hollywood celebrities, Dr Barbara Sturm is a German doctor who turned her expertise in orthopaedics into innovative solutions for an aesthetic practice and skincare line. She is known for her MC1 “blood cream”, for which a trip to her clinic is necessary. Fortunately, Dr Sturm also has a superb skincare line that is now available on Net-A-Porter. When we met over lunch last week for a tete a tete, she urged me to try only her products for a week, just to see what a difference it would make to my skin. And I’m glad I did. The made-in-Germany line is relatively simple, with all the basics to keep the skin healthy. The Eye Cream is a lightweight creme containing macadamia seed oil, antioxidant-rich purslane ferment extract, glycerin, radish root ferment. It is absorbed easily and immediately plumps up the skin; and leaving it so the entire day. The skin on my undereye area gets crepe-y and dry extremely easily, so I am pretty impressed with this eye cream. The Hyaluronic Serum is …

Dr Barbara Sturm and her skincare line: 6 things to know

“I’m the Mother of customised skincare,” declares Dr Barbara Sturm, the German orthopaedic surgeon-turned anti-ageing skin expert. Instead of sounding arrogant, she is actually just matter-of-fact. The doctor is after all, the word-of-mouth go-to for some of the most beautiful and ageless in Hollywood, young and older: from Cher and Jennifer Aniston to Rosie Huntington-Whitley, Irina Shayk and Hailey Baldwin.  In 2003, she pioneered a method that uses one’s blood for a customised anti-ageing face cream, the MC1 or “Blood Cream”. In a nutshell, here’s how it works: she puts a vial of your blood through a “mechanical stimulation” process to trick the cells into thinking that it needs to produce wound-healing proteins.  “The resulting concentration of anti interleukin-1 and transforming growth factor (TGF) beta is 140 times higher than what you would have in the body,” says Dr Sturm. She adds the concentration into a tub of moisturiser, and there is the customised face cream. (Primarily, the use of your own blood is for hygiene purposes.) The doctor created the MC1 when she was …

Project Wellness 2017: For healthy skin, eyes and teeth

Last weekend, the inaugural Project Wellness panel session that aims to connect doctors to the public was held at the co-working space Trehaus. The Doctors on the panel – Dr Goh Seng Heng, pioneering laser treatment expert; Dr Marlene Teo, periodontology specialist at TP Dental Surgeons; and Dr Livia Teo, oculoplastics consultant at the Singapore National Eye Centre – discussed the effects of sleep, stress, and sugar on the skin, eyes and teeth. The Beauty Gazette reports on their tips. Sleep Dr Goh Seng Heng: When you lack quality sleep, you get dark eye rings, bags and pigmentation around the eyes because the skin in the area is very thin; blood flow is sluggish, and the active pigment cells there go into overdrive to produce melanin. And as the skin is tired, it will lack clarity, smoothness, and glow. Eczema may be triggered too. For those with serious pigmentation around the eyes, try non-ablative lasers that could lighten the darkness by 50 per cent over three weeks of 20 to 30 sessions. Choose competent doctors …

Laneige Ideal Shadow Quad and Blush Duo

Laneige has proven that while it may be a K Beauty brand that (like most Korean beauty exports) focuses more on its skincare options, it can hold its own with colour cosmetics too. The new Laneige Ideal Shadow Quad ($42 each) is now available in 10 palettes, from a risque red-themed quartet named No.10 Red Fox Fur, and pretty masala-hued No.7 Rosebay Garden to handy matte neutrals like No.6 Soft Powder. The powders are fine and smooth, easy to blend and layer with moderate pigment power; just the way most Asian women prefer it. The Laneige Ideal Blush Duo collection ($39 each) also features a cute peach and mint blush palette, literally named No.2 Peach Mint. The mint shade looks translucent on skin, brightens and mattifies. No.4 California Coral is a pretty peachy duo; while the No.6 Wood Blossom is perfect for subtle contouring (again, subtlety is always key for Laneige). Watch this clip for a closer look of TBG’s picks from the lot. ​​

Pat McGrath Labs now available on Net-a-Porter

The magical coveted makeup potions by the queen of editorial and backstage makeup Pat McGrath are now available on luxury e-tailer Net-a-Porter. In 2015, McGrath announced the launch of her first product, a pot of liquid gold pigment Gold 001 through Instagram where she has more than a million followers. She has since gone on to launch at least three other product ranges from seductive molten metallic eyeshadow to sparkly glittering lip kits in limited releases. These come with mixing spatulas and solutions that turn the makeup weather-proof; all with that exquisite high-fashion finish seen in McGrath’s work in the Vogue pages and on runways. In a recent FT article, she declared: “My goal is to create make-up that’s so addictive, once someone lays eyes on it they get so panicked it might sell out they run out of their house in just a trench coat to get their hands on it. “And for me, it’s about glitter, sparkle and something completely new”. And indeed, beauty junkies mesmerised by images of the makeup products on McGrath’s …