All posts tagged: Tried and tested

YSL Beauty All Hours Foundation Stick

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The new YSL Beauty All Hours Foundation Stick is a winner. Foundation crayons are usually a miss. Because they are solid, the texture can be too dry. So when you apply it directly onto the skin, it drags, is patchy and streaky; and difficult to blend. But YSL Beauty’s new formula is nothing like that. It is creamy – but not too soft to make a mess – so it glides on the skin, and is easy to blend. Leaving skin with a satin-matte finish, it offers medium to high coverage. It is relatively long-lasting too. Draw strokes on cheek bones, along the nose bridge, chin, forehead, and blend with fingertips. Perfect for touch-ups at mid-day, travelling, or mornings where you are pressed for time and can only wear makeup at the back of a car.

“Perfectly Undone Pout”: Urban Decay’s Lo-Fi Lip Mousse

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Think of it as a shadow for the lips. Urban Decay’s new powdery matte Lo-Fi Lip Mousse is perfect for a fuss-free pout. Just dip fingertips into the pot and pat on lips. Keep it subtle for the gym or easy lazy days. Or layer it on for a stylish bolder “undone” look with a little ombre effect. Just blend the colour from the inner lip towards the outer lip with fingertips. The colour is subtle upon application, but easily buildable and stains for a natural and long-lasting effect. Glide the mousse on cheeks and lids to add more colour to the face. This product comes in a handy little pot (much like eyeshadow) and easy to slip into the tiniest of bags for on-the-go touch-ups.

Mamonde Creamy Tint Lip Squeeze

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The makeup colours by Korean beauty brands are not always pastel, light and subtle, as Mamonde’s Creamy Tint Lip Squeeze range proves. Calling it a “tint” is an understatement. The colours are pigmented and intense, while the formula is creamy. A tiny blob goes a long way, and is best applied with fingertips or a lip brush. First squeeze the product on the back of the hand, and pick the colour up in small portions for even application. The Creamy Tint is surprisingly long-lasting and has a satin-shine finish. Watch this clip to see how the product works.

Sunday Riley topsellers review: Good Genes, CEO, Tidal, Luna

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Every once in a while, you need new skincare formulas to perk up your beauty routine. Potent potions that will re-set the skin. Sunday Riley’s bestselling products are good options as they work on the basics of good skincare. Exfoliate Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment Made with purified lactic acid to rid skin of dead cells for smoother and fresher-looking skin. Results are immediate. Also reduces the appearance of fine lines, spots; and evens out the skin tone over time. This treatment may sting a little, especially on sensitive skin. If so, use it as a mask once or twice a week. Use Vitamin C C.E.O Rapid Flash Brightening Serum Containing 15 per cent stable vitamin C that is also oil-soluble, this serum treats dark spots. Leaves skin radiant and more supple. A saccharide isomerate extract which is water-binding and an emollient, also reduces the appearance of pores. Hydrate Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream A gel moisturiser made with purified alpha-arbutin to brighten and even out the skin tone; papaya enzyme that exfoliates; two …

Sunday Riley: Treats for the skin

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Good genes for great skin can come in a bottle. At least, according to the cult skincare label Sunday Riley. One bestseller of this US-based beauty brand is its Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment. The multi-award-winning formula exfoliates skin to clarify and smoothen instantly. Apparently, it is also a go-to for celebrities and models who need an instant skin-boost before shows. Apart from Good Genes, the Sunday Riley skincare line is also famous for its intensely colourful face oils that are as potent as they look.   The eponymous brand was founded by Sunday Riley, a cosmetic chemist, almost a decade ago. Today, the brand is available in 12 countries and cities, as it launches in Sephora stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. At her Sephora launch party in Singapore, Sunday Riley shared her thoughts on the brand, the products, and her own skincare routine with The Beauty Gazette. I have a special relationship with each product because I formulate them.  It takes me six months to a year to make each …

Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum Mist

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A good facial mist is always useful. As the first step of the skincare routine to soften skin As the finishing step for makeup, to add glow to the skin Over makeup at the middle of the day to hydrate skin. On the plane to refresh tired skin Sulwhasoo’s new First Care Activating Serum Mist is a spin-off from its iconic Activating Serum. The mist has an oil-and-essence water formula that boosts absorption. It contains the brand’s signature Jaum Balancing Complex that promises to add vitality, firmness, and clarity to the skin. Ingredients include jojoba seed oil, olive, honey and walnut extracts.

Laneige Stained Glass Stick

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This range could just be one of the best lipstick balms on the market. Laneige’s new Stained Glass Stick lippies are very moisturising with a melt-on texture that coats lips evenly with a hint of colour. Each shade is flattering on Asian skin tones, and has a high-shine finish that is rarely achieved by a lipstick/balm formula. The slim lipstick bullet makes application easy-breezy. Although the Glass Stick is not very long-lasting, it stains the lips to keep the face from looking washed-out. Available in 10 shades. The light blue No.1 Blue Topaz goes on clear, while the rest glide on with varying shade of pink, coral, red and plum.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream, Wonder Glow Primer, Magic Foundation

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You can always tell the difference when a cosmetic brand is made with the thought process of a beauty industry veteran. After all, some of the biggest beauty brands today were the brainchild of top makeup artists of their generation. The eponymous brand of makeup guru Charlotte Tilbury seems set to be a classic beauty brand for years to come. At least based on the formulas reviewed for this post. The Magic Cream has legendary status. Apparently Tilbury uses her special custom-made blend to perk up and firm the tired skin of supermodels and celebrities backstage. Whipped with shea butter, aloe vera, camellia seed oil, damascena rose, sunflower seed oil, the cream seems heavy at first touch but blends so well into the skin. No need for an additional serum layer underneath. With SPF15, you don’t even need to layer sunscreen on top (unless you intend to spend long hours under the sun). As a base for beautifully made-up skin, Tilbury created the Wonder Glow Instant Soft-Focus Beauty Flash Primer. Use it three ways: under …

Laneige Water Bank range: Upgraded

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Moisturised, hydrated, supple, dewy skin. The signature Korean beauty look is built entirely on the skincare routine that soaks skin in moisture and oils. So Laneige has stepped up its flagship Water Bank collection with the extracts of water cress, kale, beetroot, and garden cress. The star products of the lightweight moisturising range are the Hydro Essence and Gel Cream (for combination skin); and Moisture Essence and Moisture Cream (for drier skin). Look out for the Water Bank Quick Hydro Pen as well. It is the perfect handy skincare tool for those random dry patches on the cheeks or undereye area that appear in the middle of the day. Just click the pen to dispense a gel cream, and apply. Also contains extracts of artichoke, lima beans and brussel sprouts.

Iles Formula Haircare

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Tired of haircare that cannot instantly repair her celebrity clients’ hair for red carpet appearances, hairstylist Wendy Iles decided to make her own. Iles Formula is sulfate-, paraben- and silicone-free. The Haute Performance Shampoo lathers well, and cleanses my bleached and dyed hair well without stripping it of the oils and colour. The Haute Performance Conditioner is the star product as it is made with silk proteins from Japan, a technology that seals and smoothes hair cuticles, as well as tucuma palm and macrobola tree seeds from the Amazon rain forest. The Finishing Serum works like a vitamin shot for the hair: nut oils, silk, ceramide. When used together, the trio gave me soft, voluminous and frizz-free locks. Most haircare products leave my chemically-treated hair stiff and dry, which I usually have to smoothen with at least two other kinds of leave-in haircare serums. I also love how the Haute Performance range is perfumed with pleasant white-flower and white musk accords, adding a touch of luxury to my me-time in the bathroom. Iles Formula is …