Tangs Beauty Journal

I just received the Tangs Beauty Journal, published by Tangs department store. It is a well-edited 52-page magalog featuring makeup and skincare tips, fragrance recommendations, new product launches and various beauty services that are available at Tangs. I believe this is the inaugural issue. I hope Tangs keeps publishing this as it's a useful reference with all the prices of the featured products listed.



Illustrations by Thomas Wee.




Ever wonder what is the bestselling skincare product in Tangs? It's SKII Facial Treatment Essence (S$152). I was quite surprised to see that of the list of 20 top-selling skincare products, eight were from SKII alone while another 5 were from La Mer. The products are not listed in any particular order. The other SKII products are the Facial Treatment Essence, the Whitening Source Derm-Definition (in both 30ml and 50ml sizes), Signs Eye Cream, Facial Treatment Clear Lotion, Facial Treatment Cleanser, Advanced Protect Essence UV and Signs Treatment Totality. The La Mer products are Eye Concentrate, Moisturising Gel Cream, Lifting Face Serum, Concentrate and Eye Balm.



The list of 20 top selling makeup products is dominated by MAC which accounts for half of the list: Studio Perfect Foundation, Small Eyeshadow, Select Sheer/Pressed Powder, Lustre Lipstick, Satin Lipstick, Amplified Lipstick, Sheertone Shimmer Blush, Pwder Blush, Studio Fix Foundation and Powerpoint Eye Pencil. Other products that made the list: Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Reflect, Dior Addict High Colour lipstick, Benefit Dr Feelgood Mattifying Face Balm, Benefit Some Kind-a Gorgeous Cream-to-Powder Foundation, Benefit Lip & Cheek Stain, YSL Radiant Touch, Shu Uemura Mousse UV UnderBase, Shu Uemura Pressed Eye Shadow, Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick and Lancome MaquiCake UV Infinite Compact.

The top 10 women's fragrances are (in no particular order): Dior Addict 2, Chloe A Sense of Chloe EDP, Lancome Miracle, DKNY Be Delicious, Dior J'adore, Marc Jacobs Daisy, Lancome Tresor, Burberry Brit Sheer, Chanel Chance and Chanel Coco Mademoiselle.



I was also excited to see the new fragrances that will be launching at Tangs soon, such as Sarah Jessica Parker Covet Pure Bloom (50ml, $95), Ralph Lauren Notorious (75ml, $148), Marc Jacob Daisy Deluxe (100ml, $160) EDP, Calvin Klein Secret Obsession (100ml, $130) and Narcisco Rodriguez For Her Pure Reflection (limited edition, $157, 100ml). I'm sure I'll be picking up some of these for the holiday season!



Also launching at Tangs is Bulgari's new prestige skincare line ($130-$490).


Check out this new Dior Eye Couture Palette (S$66) which will be available from 5 October.



If you're an Ipsa fan, you may be interested to know that there is a Citibank cardmember's promo for October where you can receive a travel kit worth $63 with a $100 purchase. The kit includes deluxe sample sizes of Metabolizer White, Preparing Clear Lotion, Cleansing Milky Foam and sample sachets of Redefiner Skin Clear-ize Clay and Protector Day Shelter.

Weekly List

I thought it would be fun to do a list of random things, both makeup-related and non-makeup related, as a round up of my week :-) I'd love to hear my readers' lists in the comments section!

Makeup purchased: The Body Shop Shimmer Bricks #17 Deadly Night Shades and #6

Product used up: Ettusais Acne Aqua Shooter Oil Control 50ml. This was average but at least it did not leave a sticky feeling like Ettusais' other products did on my skin.

Product thrown out: Tarte Cheek Stains in Cloud 9, Doll Face and Bronze Goddess. As much as I love Tarte, these were an utter disappointment mostly due to the lack of pigment for Cloud 9 and Doll Face. I got tired of wiping the leakages from these Cheek Stains and since I knew I was never going to use these up, I tossed them. Did it hurt? Yup, even though they were more than 2 years old.

Most used makeup item: MAC lipglass in Jampacked.

Item that impressed me the most: MAC nail polish in Illegal Purple. Gorgeous shade that lasted 10 days on me without chipping! Not sure if that is due to the MAC nail polish or the Kiss top coat that I used though.

Disappointing makeup item: MAC lipglass in Rich & Ripe. It was just blah, waste of my $27.

Lemming of the week: Urban Decay Book of Shadows (but I think this will pass as I'm not a big fan of cardboard palettes)

Favourite non-makeup buy: Blythe 2009 schedule book!

Online orders: Amazon.com order for the last season of House, Weeds, Smallville, Boston Legal, Gossip Girl and Gray's Anatomy. My first Sweetscentcandles.com order with 20% off code 'bones' (good for 28-30 Sep only)

Fragrance that I'm loving: Vera Wang Princess. This actually turned out nicer on me than I had expected. I was worried that it would be a scrubber or give me a headache but the slightly spicy notes made this more interesting.

Fragrance CP that I'm waiting for: Jo Malone Verbenas of Provence. I'm hoping to get Sweet Lime & Cedar too!

Great blog discovery: My Women Stuff, a beauty blog by a lady based in Malaysia. Check out her very interesting report on Lancome Maquicake UV Infinite Powder Foundation and see pics of how it remains dry even when dunked in water!

Magazines purchased: Allure, Smitten, Bea's Up. I thought the Allure cover photo of Ellen Pompeo was quite badly done as she looked totally washed out. The photos insides were much better though. And there were Clinique samples of its Black Honey Almost Lipstick and an eye cream!

Over-indulgence of the week: Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream, Marks & Spencer thai chilli and beef chips and Old Chang Kee chilli crab curry puffs!

Favourite song: Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape

Resolutions for next week: To make it to yoga class at least twice. Even once would be good. Not get so stressed out by people at work. To stay away from the Tangs 12% rebate event!

Majolica Majorca Launch in SE Asia

Majolica Majorca has just launched its international website in English. Check it out here! As reported earlier, MM will be launched in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. It is already available in Kuala Lumpur at the KLCC but no sight of it in the Watsons stores in Singapore yet. According to the store location page, MM will be stocked at a whopping 28 Watsons stores in Singapore alone! Hopefully, it'll arrive soon as I know many Singaporean ladies have been waiting for it impatiently.



I probably won't be getting any items myself as I have pretty much all I want from MM already but it's always good to see an 'old friend' :-) Now if only Plaza Style would open a store here...

Canmake New Collection

Canmake will release a small colour makeup collection on 7 October in Japan.

1. Cheek Gradation: #5 Peach (840yen)
2. Pop'n'Jelly Gloss: #8 Strawberry Syrup and #9 Strawberry Milk (567yen)
3. Colorful Nails: Revamped nail polish line with 7 shades. (378yen)
4. Make Me Happy: Sugar Berry with notes of strawberry, blueberry and raspberry (1575yen, 30ml)



Canmake also added a new shade to its Four Shiny Eyes palette line in September, #4 Berry Compote.

Aube Couture

Picked up some more info on the revamping of Aube in December. The new brand will be called Aube Couture with point makeup (i.e. eyeshadows, lipsticks etc.) to be launched in December and the base makeup line (foundations etc.) will be launched next March. The packaging is supposed to be more gorgeous and elaborate compared to Aube, with some rhinestones, similar to Esprique Precious and Coffret D'Or.

It looks like the mega-brand trend that Shiseido started with Maquillage, and followed by Kanebo with Coffret D'Or and Kose with Esprique Precious, is here to stay.

Coffret D'Or Spring '09

We are barely into autumn yet and yet, holiday collections news seem to be gushing out everywhere. But actually what I look forward most all year are the spring collections as the major Japanese brands tend to put out their largest collections for the year in spring.

Here's what Coffret D'Or has lined up for Spring '09, according to 2Channel:

1. Shine Drape Rouge (Color): 8 shades
2. Shine Drape Rouge (Glow): 8 shades
3. Essence Lip Base
4. Lip Make Liner: 6 shades
5. Lip Make Liner Holder
6. Shine Accent Eyes: 5 palettes in #1 Orange, #2 Pink, #3 Green, #4 Purple and #5 Beige Variations



The shade on top (A) is the highlight shade, on the right (B) is the Medium Color; on the left (C) is the Shadow Color and in the centre (D) is the shiny Gel Liner which contains "Crystal Tear Pearl" for a sparkly effect. Unfortunately, the shade combinations don't look that outstanding or unique enough to tempt me. But nonetheless, props to Coffret D'Or for putting in a shiny Gel Liner instead of sticking to the standard powder eyeshadow quad or powder eyeshadow trio with a cream base/liner. The palettes may look more interesting in person so I would advise checking these out at the counter if you have access to one.





There will also be three gel liners in black, brown and grey; a mascara that can be removed with warm water in black and brown; lipglosses in pink, red and orange; and a face highlighter. The collection should launch in late December.

Beaute de Kose Christmas Coffret

Beaute de Kose will launch its Christmas coffret set on 21 November in Japan. The Antique Modern Gold-themed set includes two Eye Fantasist cream eyeshadows BE355 and BE356, a Rouge Fantasist Aqua Vinyl BE386, Glitter Mascara GO001 with multi-color glitter (mini size) and a Face Color BR300 with a lovely snowflake motif. The colours are not the most original but look suitable for most skintones.

The set will retail for 5250yen, which is a great deal considering that the Eye Fantasist usually retails for 2625yen each. Here are some pics from 2Channel.

Estee Lauder Holiday Event

Estee Lauder will be holding a Holiday Blockbuster Spectacular event at the VIvocity Central Court B from 6 October to 12 October. If you're a fan of its annual holiday blockbuster makeup set, you can get the 2008 set for S$98 with any $100 purchase. You can also get a makeover with purchase of a $80 voucher that is fully redeemable for products at either Tangs Orchard or Tangs Vivocity.

Anna Sui Holiday '08

Anna Sui will release its Holiday collection on 6 November in Japan. That's only a few weeks away! The collection includes three Eye Color Accent duos (2625yen each) and a Nail Color Collection which has two kits, each includes three Mini Nail Color 5ml and a Mini Top Coat G in a black vinyl pouch with Anna Sui's butterfly logo. The nail kits are 4200yen each.

Bihada Ichizoku 3rd Anniversary

To commemorate its third anniversary, Bihada Ichizoku has released a set of masks that includes a clear lip gloss, the three sheet masks from the regular line and a new Sheet Mask DX that is available only as part of this set (1850yen). As this is limited edition and a great deal (the sheet masks usually retail for 450yen each), not to mention you get to try out four different masks, this is definitely worth buying if you have the chance! Sheet Mask DX is made with moisturising ingredients such as royal jelly extract.



Bihada Ichizoku is a popular manga-inspired line of skincare that can be found in most Japanese drugstores.

Mini Bourjois Dose de Nacres

On my trip to Tokyo in June, I picked up three Mini Bourjois Dose de Nacres, which are loose powder eyeshadows in tiny pots in an array of gorgeous shimmery tones. The shimmer is a nice metallic glimmer without any chunky glitter bits. I love these for their affordability, silky finish, and funky palette of dark, pale and bright shades. One of my favourites is #9 which is a lovely smokey plum burgundy.

Five new shades will be released in Japan on 26 September where they retail for 630yen each. I'm guessing the five shades are #11 to #15 which are already available on Ulta.com in the US, where they retail for US$8 each.

Ettusais Holiday '08

Ettusais will release its limited edition Holiday '08 collection on 13 November in Japan. It includes Crystal Tear Eyeliner, which is a shimmery gel eyeliner in 2 shades (1260yen, 4g), and Crystal Tear Eyelash, three designs of rhinestone-studded false eyelashes (1050yen).

Biteki, Voce & Maquia November

Biteki's November issue features tutorials on 'real' makeup that reflects your personality, eye makeup techniques for single-lidded and double-lidded ladies and tips for reviving the softness of your skin. It also comes with a Sofina Beaute four-colour pen and memo pad set. Biteki will also report on the Christmas collections in its next issue due out on 23 October.


The theme of Voce's November issue is "Bath Time Beauty" featuring tips on how to pamper yourself at bath time, celebrities' bath rituals and detailed testing of the top five powder foundations and top five liquid foundations for Autumn/Winter. Voce will include its annual pull-out catalog of the Christmas collections in its next issue also due out on 23 October.



Maquia features actress Fukatsu Eri (who just co-starred with Kimura Takuya in the J-drama "Change") on the cover with features on new A/W foundations from 43 brands, comparisons of popular mascaras and skincare tips for keeping skin moisturised. This issue also comes with a Kanebo Impress Concentrate Mask and a reversible scrunchy. Maquia's December issue will also include a Christmas collections catalog.

Luxasia Warehouse Sale Part Deux

Since it was the last day of the Luxasia warehouse sale, I dropped by to see if there were any last-minute bargains to be had. The prices on some perfumes such as Bulgari Au The Rouge were slashed further but unfortunately, others that I was eyeing like Bulgari Extreme were not.

Brumeux from Cozycot had mentioned that she waited a few hours yesterday for Lanvin Eclat D'Arpege to be stocked at the sale so that piqued my curiosity. I tried it today and loved it so I ended up getting the 100ml version for $75. (30ml was $40, 50ml was $55.) 75% of reviewers on Makeupalley said that they would buy it again so this seems like a winner. Thanks for the great recommendation, Brumeux! :-)

Also picked up J Lo Miami Glow Golden Sparkle Shower Gel 200ml and Sexy Skin Body Lotion 200ml as these were going for the bargain price of only $5 each, down from the original sale price of $10. That's even cheaper than Body Shop shower gels! I don't own any J Lo perfumes but I got interested in Miami Glow after reading that it's a great coconut, beach scent, but unfortunately the Miami Glow perfume was not available at the sale.

Kenzo haul at Metro sale

I dropped by Metro department store yesterday which was having a one-day-only 20% sale storewide. The store, especially the beauty floor, was absolutely teeming with women who were all there to stock up on prestige beauty brands which otherwise are hardly ever discounted. Other department stores in Singapore offer at best, 6% to 12% rebates on their credit cards so Metro's 20% sale is actually the best deal as some of the beauty brands are directly discounted while for the brands that are price-controlled such as Estee Lauder, Shiseido and Kanebo, Metro gives out credit vouchers that can be used on other brands.

The Kenzo counter was offering the usual selection of skincare and fragrance miniature GWPs. With purchase of $200, you can get a white jewellery case but my room is already too cluttered to keep accumulating such bulky stuff so I decided to get L'eau by Kenzo EDT 100ml ($105) and the Clearwater Gel ($56) which is a hydrating and relaxing face lotion. Total damage after the discount = $128.80.



This was enough to qualify for the GWP with purchases of $160, a furry white pouch with a full size Clear Eyelid-and-Lash Gel (eye makeup remover) 100ml, Rice Steam Enveloping Velvety Wash 50ml, Cream with a Zing 3ml, Face Phenomenon (moisturising serum) 2ml and a Day & Night kit comprising Vital-Ice Cream 15ml, Ice-cold Eye Cream 5ml, Cosmic Cosmetic Cream 15ml and Relaxing Whipped Cream 5ml. The furry pouch is super soft and very well-padded, which is excellent for storing fragile beauty items.



Don't you just love sales? :-)

Kesalan Patharan Holiday Coffret

Kesalan Patharan has updated its website with its Christmas coffret, Party Color Eyes (7350yen). The coffret will be released on 24 October in Japan and it includes:

1. Eye Color S X08G gold and X08B brown
2. Pure Pearl Varie X08: gold loose powder
3. Eye Make Brush
4. Screw Brush
5. Lower Lash: mascara for the lower lashes
6. Cleanse Cleanse 30ml: makeup cleansing oil
7. Pouch




I'm not a big fan of gold and brown tones so this set won't be on my holiday shopping list as it doesn't really wow me. But it's still a good option to consider as it works out to getting 8 items for less than 1000yen each.

Shu Uemura Holiday '08

Here are some more pics of Shu Uemura's Holiday '08 collection, done in collaboration with Japanese photographer Ninagawa Mika. Release date is 1 November in Japan.

1. Christmas Kit 2008: Choice of Fluid Foundation or Cream Foundation (full size), choice of UV Under Base Mousse or Under Base Cream (full size), Depsea Water Rose 13ml, 2 Petal Sponges, sponge case and vanity pouch



2. Eye Color Palette (6825yen; US$65 in the US): 3 palettes, each featuring 7 powder eyeshadows and a cream eyeliner.

Midnight Winter Sakura



Adorned Marguerite



Secret Luscious Rose



3. Gloss Unlimited Mini Trio Delicious Rose (4200yen): 3 limited edition shades of Gloss Unlimited in Candy Orange, Candy Pink, and Red. Comes in a rose-print pouch.



4. Makeup Box (26,250yen): limited edition train case



5. Portable Brush Set



6. Rouge Unlimited: in Petal Brown Beige, Petal Orange Beige and Petal Pink Beige.



It looks like the US will be getting some additional items, including a Gloss Unlimited Mini Trio Seductive Gerbera (with lipgloss shades in Gold, Pink, and Wine Red; US$40) with a different print on the pouch, a Drawing Pencil Mini Trio set (US$35), a cosmetic pouch with a chrysanthemum print (US$29)



The only items that interest me are the eyeshadow palettes. I like the prints on the cover but I'm not sure if the eyeshadow shades will suit me as the pics make them look quite muted. Hopefully they will be more interesting in person!