All posts tagged: skincare

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 ✌🏻️

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 …