All The New Makeup And Skincare That Came Into Office This Week — September 9-13, 2019

I tried all the makeup and skincare that landed in office this past week.

AESOP SEEKING SILENCE FACIAL HYDRATOR

Here’s a new moisturiser from Aesop; the packaging describes it as a “lightweight, hydrating fluid formulated to bring a sense of calm to sensitive skin.” There’s no doubt that Aesop’s packaging is beautiful. Simple, but beautiful. While I’m a fan of the way the product looks, jars aren’t exactly the most hygienic — so I’ve labelled it with a discard date according to the “6M” instruction (discard six months from opening).

This product has an almost watery gel-cream texture that spreads very easily, sinks in to skin comfortably, and leaves a sightly tacky finish. It’s selling point for me is its addictive scent; what I’m smelling is the Bisabolol ingredient — a derivative from chamomile essential oil that is anti-inflammatory and calming on skin. There’s also Ginger Root that has excellent antioxidant and anti-ageing properties, and promotes overall skin health; and Squalane, known to help balance skin’s oil production, and is hence good for acne and eczema-prone skin.

As part of my beauty regime, this cream sat well under makeup, with no pilling at all, and my skin felt hydrated throughout the day.

When it comes to skincare, it must pass my “first try” test for me to add it to my makeup box (because there’s no space!); I must like it enough on my first try, if not it ends up as a body lotion or enters a donation pile. Congrats to this moisturiser! It was delightful and now joins the box! I give this five out of five stars!

aesop seeking silence facial hydrator, $80 (60ml), available sep 30, 2019.

SHISEIDO HANATSUBAKI HAKE POLISHING FACE BRUSH

This brush makes me think of a cross between Shiseido’s Daiya Fude Face Duo brush and shu uemura’s Petal 55 brush. I love the smooth and soft red bristles and find it interesting that they are separated into four “petals”, which the brand claims eliminates skipping or streaking.

There are grooves in the handle to provide better grip, but it still took me some getting used to, because the handle really is quite short, and I’m used to the long, firm handle of the Daiya Fude Face Duo brush (still my favourite face brush!). This polishing face brush is a good quality foundation brush that works well (at the time of writing this, the brush is sold out at Sephora online); but I’m sticking to Shiseido’s Daiya Fude for ease of use.

SHISEIDO HANATSUBAKI HAKE POLISHING FACE BRUSH, $63, AVAILABLE AT SEPHORA.SG.

SHISEIDO SYNCHRO SKIN SELF-REFRESHING FOUNDATION

I’ve been looking forward to trying this liquid foundation; it has what the brand calls “self-refreshing” properties, which I believe is due to the patent-pending “Smart Correcting Powder” ingredient in the formula.

First impressions: it provides medium coverage and has a semi-matte, slightly powdery finish. It is fluid, but not as liquid as other foundations like Dior Backstage Face & Body Foundation, and the upcoming Sisley Phyto-Teint. I do like that it’s not extremely creamy so it spreads easily on skin and gives me good control — I can apply as little or as much as I want each time. I added on an extra layer for sun spots and areas with pigmentation, and the foundation sinked in seamlessly providing the extra coverage needed. Overall, it did a nice job of evening out my skin and looked natural under indoor and outdoor lighting.

Verdict: This is undoubtedly a good liquid foundation, but it does not stand out in a sea of good liquid foundations, of which there are so many: Dior Forever Skin Glow ($85), Chanel Ultra Le Teint ($88), Sisley Phyto-Teint Ultra Eclat ($110), and Laura Mercier Flawless Lumiere Radiance Perfecting Foundation ($80). What it does have over these other foundations, is that it costs a bit less.

SHISEIDO synchro skin self-refreshing foundation, $74 (30ml), available in 12 shades at SEPHORA.SG.

SHISEIDO TSUTSU FUDE CONCEALER BRUSH

I love the short handle and compact size of this brush; plus the short round, tapered brush head is a delight to use. It buffs concealer onto dark eye rings and larger areas of pigmentation well, and it can be used for spot concealing by tapping the tip of the brush onto the blemish. This is one of the best concealer brushes I’ve ever tried and I’d recommend everyone to add this to their makeup box.

SHISEIDO tsutsu fude concealer brush, $34, available at SEPHORA.SG.

BENEFIT BOI-ING CAKELESS CONCEALER

I have to be careful with this concealer because a little goes a long way. It’s a fairly thick, high-coverage cream that dries down to a semi-powdery finish. I love the quirky “eraser” packaging and the claim that it doesn’t cake or crack on the skin. So far so good. Instead of applying it directly with the sponge applicator (it’ll be too thick!)`, I used the new Shiseido concealer brush — they worked together well.

benefit boi-ing cakeless concealer, $39 (5ml), available in 12 shades at SEPHORA.SG. mini size, $23 (3ml), available in 4 shades at SEPHORA.SG.

URBAN DECAY NAKED HONEY EYESHADOW PALETTE

Here’s another gorgeous Naked palette and there’s really nothing bad to say about it. The Naked eyeshadow palettes are my gold standard of eyeshadow shades and formulas; every colour is highly pigmented, incredibly soft and blendable, and the various shades are really very beautiful on skin — the Honey palette features wearable golds, ambers and rich chocolate browns.

I can already imagine the conversation: “What are you wearing?” Me: “Swarm, Hive and Sting.” Like I said, nothing bad to say here.

URBAN DECAY NAKED HONEY EYESHADOW PALETTE, $83 AT SEPHORA.SG.

NARS HIGH-PIGMENT LONGWEAR EYELINER

I took one swipe of the Gran Via shade (intense black), and thought to myself, “wow!”. And I haven’t thought that of a pencil eyeliner in a long time. This glides on smooth and super intense, and actually sticks to the waterline!

The press release says it’s humidity-, sweat-, water-, and transfer-resistant and I believe it; it lasted on my waterline for almost an entire day with just one touch-up — and through our (recently) mucky weather.

And once I decide to keep something, I label it immediately.

NARS HIGH-PIGMENT LONGWEAR EYELINER, $36, AVAILABLE IN 16 SHADES AT NARS BOUTIQUES.

BURBERRY KISSES LIP LACQUER

I’m not a lipstick girl but I do like Burberry lip products; their Lip Velvet Crush and Lip Velvet Lipstick give beautiful finishes, and since I’m not a fan of the matte look, this new high-shine liquid lipstick works well for me.

The flocky sponge wand offers precise application of the product, and the formula feels moisturising and comfortable on lips. There are 12 bold shades including a nude that almost matches the colour of my natural lip.

burberry kisses lip lacquer, $44, available in 12 shades at SEPHORA.SG.