WE TRY, YOU BUY.
What it is: The Roller Liner ($39) is Benefit’s third Roller product, after the Roller Lash mascara and Roller Eye Bright Pencil eyeliner. The liquid eyeliner with a felt tip is billed as 24-hour long-wearing, waterproof, smudge-proof and flake-proof, one that won't budge even on oily eyelids.
Ask a Makeup Artist
Q: I used a new powder blusher that didn’t blend well, and now I have a pink patch on my cheek. What’s the best way to fix it without having to remove all my makeup?
A: Makeup artist Melissa Yeo (top) says that if you want to avoid looking like Padme from Star Wars, you should first use a setting powder on top of your foundation. Brush off the excess powder, then apply the blusher. This helps reduce skin dampness, especially if you have oily skin, and minimises streaking.
If you haven’t done this and your blusher looks patchy, apply loose powder over it to soften the colour, then blend out the patch, she adds.
It’s also useful to have a buffing brush on hand, says makeup artist Sha Shamsi, if you need to apply more blusher to even out the application. Lightly tap the blusher onto your cheeks, working from the outside in.
For easy-to-blend powder blushers, try Cosme Decorte Powder Blush RD401 ($50) and Shiseido Minimalist Whippedpowder Blush ($48). – LZY
The Clay Cleanser That Purifies Without Drying
The Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Cleanser has three clays – French green, bentonite and white – to draw out impurities such as oil, dirt and pollution, as well as makeup and sunscreen. The brand has found a way to counteract the notoriously drying effects of clay, which can irritate dry and/or sensitive skin – it has added rice and olive oil esters to the cleanser, so that your skin doesn’t feel stripped of moisture after rinsing off. It is gentle enough for all skin types, and it costs $52. – CT
Getting “Phygital” with Beauty
That means physical (see, touch, smell) and digital (tech-enabled), and it’s what’s offered at Nomadx, the multilabel concept store in Plaza Singapura that provides shopper profiling, interactive product walls, and automated store assistance with smart mirrors. These two beauty labels have set up shop there too:
By Peapods
Background: Founded in late 2017 by two expatriate friends from South Korea and Malaysia.
Speciality: Natural, eco-conscious skincare and aromatherapy products from Korea.
Look out for: Skincare from Spatulaworks ($24-$99), made fresh every month from natural ingredients and free of alcohol, artifi cial perfume and synthetic preservatives – so it needs to be used up within six months. The products are shipped from South Korea only when an order is placed.
Oo La Lab
Background: Local artisan fragrance company established in 2016.
Speciality: Niche perfumes that have a local bent. Think fragrances inspired by artists from the Laneway music festival and scents that evoke the tropics and the Orient.
Look out for: Its mixology service lets you customise your own fragrance. You can also purchase its Eau de Parfum Oo La Lab Mixology Kit ($188) to experiment with making your own scents at home. – GYH
The Serum for Very Dry, Stressed Skin
The New Doubleduty Lipsticks
We see a lot of lipsticks day in, day out. So we’re always thrilled to come across one that does more and gives us more bang for our buck. This month, we found three:
1. Dior’s Lip Glow To The Max is a glossy lipstick that adapts to the pH level of your lips, to bring out a natural flush. Combined with the candy-swirl colour and iridescent gloss, it gives a shade that’s yours alone. In seven shades, $48 each.
2. Nivea’s Crayon Lipstick is a lipstick and lip balm. The brand has combined its popular Lip Care balm with intense colour pigments to form this lipstick balm – a first for Nivea. In two shades, $7.90 each.
3. YSL Beaute’s Volupte Plump-in-colour is a lipstick and lip plumper. The lipstick has a base similar to the brand’s cult favourite Rouge Volupte Shine, but with a black plumping heart in the middle. The heart has peppermint oil, glycol, and black pearl powder to give lips a tingly sensation and a fuller, shinier pout. In eight shades, $52 each. – CT
The Cacao Solution
It’s not just a chocolate fix. It also fixes wrinkles, sagging skin and blue light pollution. Cocoa peptides and cacao extracts work hard in Chantecaille’s Bio Lifting Serum + ($460) and Sisley’s Sisleya Anti-wrinkle Concentrated Serum ($620).
Cocoa peptides in the Chantecaille serum restore the skin’s lipid barrier (the layer that prevents water from evaporating) to keep hydration in. They also break down adipose tissue (lo ose fats) for a firming effect, and create a protective shield against blue light.
As for Sisleya, cacao extracts jump-start “sleeping” collagen-coding genes (chromosomes that create collagen) that may fall dormant because of ageing, or lifestyle and environmental stress. The cells are “awakened” to produce more collagen to firm saggy skin, the cause of wrinkles. – CT
"WE TRY, YOU BUY"
The Lavender tinted Sunscreen That Works as Makeup
What it is: Sunplay claims its Skin Aqua Tone Up UV Essence SPF50/PA++++ is the first of its kind. It protects from the sun while the lavender tint takes away skin dullness. Lavender is a mix of two colours: pink, which neutralises sallowness; and blue, which makes skin more translucent. Together, they lift shadows so that your face immediately looks brighter – the same way a colour correcting concealer would work. The sunscreen also has fine pearl particles for a gentle illuminating effect.
Verdict: “I was wary at first – would it leave a lilac cast on my skin? Well, it didn’t. It was lightweight and blended easily into my skin. Its colour-correcting capabilities brightened the darker areas of my face – the sides of my nose, my chin and the corners of my mouth. My skin looked rosier. I particularly liked how, as it was a sunscreen and colour corrector in one, it saved me an extra skincare step. Best part? I used less concealer than usual. It costs $27.90.” – CT
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