Here are the best beauty launches this month.
YSL BEAUTY TOUCHE ÉCLAT LE TEINT CRÈME
$98 (25ml), available in 6 shades at YSL Beauty boutiques.
The YSL Touche Éclat is known for their concealer/highlighter wand; and as a cult beauty product, it’s no surprise that it has spawned an entire line of makeup. The latest is this liquid foundation that just launched this month, and is the brand’s first full coverage foundation with radiance.
With high coverage liquid foundations, the texture usually feels heavy and rich, while the finish is very matte and often appears “flat”. With Le Teint Crème, the product is light; fluid but not drippy, and blends onto skin very smoothly. The finish is semi-matte, and it reflects light beautifully on the high points of the face, accentuating cheekbones and creating a natural, fresh and glowy effect, which lasted the entire day for me.
There are two key ingredients in the formula that contribute to making the product so comfortable to use: marigold bloom, which has calming, anti-inflammatory benefits, and mallow flower from the YSL Beauty Ourika gardens; an ingredient that hydrates and softens skin, protects it from pollution, and in this liquid foundation, illuminates it.
At $98, this product is on the pricier side for liquid foundations, but only very little is needed at one time to cover the whole face, so this bottle should last for some time (at least a year for me). It’s currently available in store (YSL Beauté stores at ION Orchard, VivoCity, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Metro Paragon, TANGS at TANG Plaza, BHG Bugis, and Takashimaya S.C.), and should be going online soon.
CHANEL HYDRA BEAUTY CAMELLIA REPAIR MASK
$102 (50g), available at CHANEL Beauty boutiques and counters, and through the CHANEL e-concierge service
Last September, we reviewed a month of Chanel Hydra Beauty skincare, and the results were impressive. You can read it here. This month, there’s a new, interesting addition to the line in the form of a repair mask.
This isn’t any ordinary mask; it has a multitude of uses: to “wake up” skin in the morning; to replenish and calm skin after a workout; to treat targeted areas that feel dry and dehydrated; to give skin a burst of radiance before an important date or event; and of course as a sleep mask just before going to bed. It treats skin by infusing it with a burst of hydrating and nourishing ingredients, including: Camellia japonica, which intensely hydrates, plumps, and smoothes skin; and blue ginger extract from Madagascar, a powerful antioxidant that regulates the skin’s natural self-defense system.
What’s truly special about this product is its texture; it is smooth, soft and velvety, almost like a balm, but it’s still a cream. It also feels soft and comfortable on the skin, cocooning it with a balmy layer that feels cool to the touch. I particularly love that it dries down to a velvety-matte finish that is “pillow-proof” and works well under makeup. After the first night of using this mask, I woke up to skin that looked fresher and more awake than normal. This is a good investment to have on hand for skin emergencies when it looks dull, tired and lack of rest.
SHU UEMURA ULTIME8∞ SUBLIME BEAUTY CLEANSING OIL-IN-FOAM
$65 (150ml), available online at TANGS, Metro and Robinsons.
The shu uemura cleansing oil is my holy grail of face cleaners and it’s the only thing I use to wash my face and remove makeup every day. Each year like clockwork, the brand introduces a new variant to the line, and for this year, it’s in the form of a radical texture for a cleansing oil — a foam.
shu uemura has taken their best-selling ultime8∞ formula, and added an emulsifier that allows the solution to lather up into a light, luxurious fluffy foam. The product feels soft and comfortable on the skin, and it melts light makeup effectively. It’s really the perfect balance of oil and foam, and like all cleansing oils, skin feels moisturised and soft after rinsing.
I would recommend this for lighter makeup days as it’s not as “concentrated” as the full-fledged cleansing oil variant (this one easily dissolves heavy makeup in just one application). For the oil-in-foam cleanser, it’s actually pretty perfect for users who haven’t tried cleansing oils before and are curious about them; or for those with sensitive skin, because this formula feels incredibly light and gentle. I’ve now switched to using this in the morning, and the oil version at night.
GIVENCHY PRISME LIBRE LOOSE POWDER
$90 (4 x 3g), available online at Sephora.sg.
Each of these loose powders come in a jar with four different powder shades; they are meant to colour correct and enhance skin tone. The shade I have here is 02 Satin Blanc, which is a mix of pastel pink and light brown colours.
The powder transfers onto the puff in the shape of the Givenchy logo, and smooths over the skin mixing these shades together. You’ll love it because the powder is ultra-fine, super soft and incredibly smooth. It feels like a cloud over the skin. The finish is lovely too; it mattifies and removes shine, and has a blurring effect that makes pores appear smaller. This is a nice last step to a makeup regime.
DIORSHOW 24H STYLO INTENSE WATERPROOF EYELINER
$39, available online at Sephora.sg.
This pencil eyeliner is simple and sleek, and has a sponge tip on the other end for blending, and a hidden sharpener to make a nice pointy end anytime you need one and to keep it hygienic.
When I drew it on the back of my hand, I couldn’t rub it off or wash it with soap and water; it took my oil cleanser to fully remove it. On oily eyelids, the line stays the entire day; it only comes off slightly along the watery under-eye area, but still outperforms most other eyeliners in this category.
ARMANI BEAUTY ECSTASY MIRROR
$57, available online at TANGS
As its name implies, this lip lacquer is very shiny. But what makes it extra special is that it is extremely comfortable to wear. It feels hydrating on the lips, and imparts a beautiful glossy lip colour that’s a cross between a liquid lipstick and a lip stain.
Even the soft sponge applicator feels nice on the lips. More importantly, it makes the colour really easy to apply. All the shades on the TANGS website are very wearable. The one shown below is shade 503, a pretty, dusty rose.
DYSON CORRALE STRAIGHTENER (PURPLE/BLACK)
$699, available online at dyson.com.sg
We first got our hands on the new Dyson hair straightener last month, and were very impressed by it. It was gentler on hair than other straighteners, and super easy to use. It’s cordless — but not terribly heavy — and there are three temperature settings that are shown on a small LED screen.
This is the purple/black version that is exclusively available online at the Dyson website. It’s a gorgeous matte purple case with black accents.
HOURGLASS UNLOCKED INSTANT EXTENSIONS MASCARA
$49, available in-store at TANGS
Mascaras that promise to lengthen usually have little fibres that attach to the lashes; the press release for this one says that there are lightweight fibres in the formula, but they are so small that I can only see them when I stare hard at the brush. But what’s surprising is that this mascara not only lengthens lashes, but it’s clump-free, applies smooth and evenly, and comes out in an intense black shade — and all this in just one sweep. I love it.
JO MALONE LONDON ENGLISH PEAR & FREESIA BODY & HAND WASH
$115 (500ml), available at Jo Malone London boutiques and through the Jo Malone London Concierge Service (call 97329737, 11.30am to 8pm)
Jo Malone scents work because they are subtle, and smell like nature. English Pear & Freesia is one the brand’s most popular and iconic scents, and it’s now available as a body and hand wash. The texture of the product is a clear gel that transforms into a rich lather under water, and when rinsed off, leaves the skin feeling clean and smooth. It’s a straightforward product and luxurious; and while it’s hard to justify paying more than $100 for a hand (or body) wash, it makes a great gift for mum.
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