Dior Cristal Boreale

Aside from MAC, Chanel, Clarins and Dior have also launched their Christmas collections at the counters in Singapore. I was most interested in the Dior Cristal Boreale collection but after swatching the new quints at the Tangs Vivocity counter, I felt that this was a collection that I could safely pass on. #089 Smoky Crystal looked gorgeous in the display, but when swatched, none of the shades really stood out and in fact, looked a bit dull although the textures were incredibly smooth and pigmented. #169 Purple Crystal looked too similar to the other lilac/purple-themed Dior quints that I already had. I tried swatching the pale mint green shade in the top left corner and could hardly get any pigment on my fingertip.


The Cristal Boreale Gloss Pendant comes in 2 shades for the Asian market and retails at S$100. But again, it just did not look special enough to me to justify the purchase.

Amica GWP

The December issue of Amica (S$6) comes with 4 Narcisco Rodriquez perfume samples: Narcisco Rodriguez For Her EDT 1.2ml, Musc For Her Oil Perfume 1.2ml, For Him EDT 1.2ml and the latest release, Essence EDP 1ml. The oil perfume was interestingly smoky but I still prefer the sweeter scent of For Her.


This GWP is available at both Kinokuniya and Page One in Vivocity. Page One is also giving away a full size OPI nailpolish in off white with Wedding & Travel magazine.

RMK Holiday '09

RMK has also launched their Christmas Palette '09 website.


Here's a look created with the palette from the website. Surprisingly, it featured an Asian model instead of the usual Caucasian models that are featured in RMK's advertising campaigns.

Aube Couture Website Update

The four Aube Couture holiday palettes (5250yen) are also up on the official website.


The promo visual featuring Kanno Miho (above) is alright but the visual featuring the other model (below) just looks like she's trying too hard.

Coffret D'Or Website Update

The Coffret D'Or website has been updated with both the Christmas collection and the Spring 2010 collection. The makeup tutorials and TV CMs for the Spring 2010 collection should be uploaded closer to the release of the collection in mid-December.

InRed & Steady Dec '09

The December issue of InRed will come with a Tsumori Chisato large tote bag (53cm in width) that features the same star and ribbon print as the Tsumori Chisato makeup collection for Shu Uemura. You can watch the video clip here. Although I like the print, I think the dimensions of the bag are actually a bit awkward. For such a large bag, it would have been easier to carry if the straps were longer such that the top of the bag does not sit so tightly under the arm. The magazine is due out on 7 November in Japan. Please call Kinokuniya if you want to know when the magazine will arrive in its stores in Singapore.


Also to be released on the same day is the December issue of Steady which comes with three HbG zip pouches and Coach stickers. Check out the video here.

Yankee Candles Haul

Tangs Vivicity had the Yankee Candles Christmas collection display at one of the store entrances on the second level. I was quite surprised by the large number of holiday scents, like Christmas Cupcake, Christmas Eve, Christmas Wreath, Sparkling Snow, Jack Frost, Welcome Christmas, Mistletoe etc.


I usually purchase only the small votives as these burn for up to 15 hours. Each usually lasts about 3 burns for me. They retail individually for S$4.90 or three for S$9.90. There are also jar candles in both small and large sizes but these are more expensive at S$19.90 and S$49.90 respectively. The Peppermint Swirls large jar candle smelt simply divine.


I ended up coming home with these 15 lovelies. Should last me well up to Christmas!

Bobbi Brown Mini Shimmer Bricks

Cosme.net has listed this set of three Bobbi Brown Mini Shimmer Bricks in Plum, Sandstone and Nectar (5575yen) for release on 1 December in Japan. In the US, they will be exclusive to Neiman Marcus. You can see another pic of the set on this Malaysian blog, which hopefully means that Singapore will be getting it too. I already have several Shimmer Bricks but none of the three shades in the set.

Maquillage Holiday '09

Maquillage will release its Christmas makeup collection on 21 November in Japan, including some items that are designed in collaboration with Alexander Wang. The limited edition compact case is a disappointment though as it reminds me of Halloween rather than Christmas!

1. Brilliant Glitter Makeup Collection (4200yen): Full Vision Mascara Brilliant Glitter #66, Dual Diamond Eyes BR230, Glossy Perfect Rouge Palette, Paper Powder Day Protecter.

2. Glossy Nail Color: 3 LE shades designed in collaboration with Alexander Wang - BE211, RD612, VI613

3. Brilliant Glitter Nail Color: 6 shades (1260yen)

4. Shiny Jelly Rouge: 6 shades (2415yen, 2g)

5. Full Vision Mascara Brilliant Glitter: 2 shades (2415yen)

6. Compact Case 09W: designed by Alexander Wang (1050yen)

Coffret D'Or Spring 2010

Pics of the Coffret D'or Spring 2010 collection pamphlet from 2Channel. The collection incldes 5 new Jewelcious Palettes and 12 Aqua Rouge lipsticks. Seems like Coffret D'Or has also trimmed its spokemodels lineup as only 3 are featured in the ad campaign instead of the usual 5.

Lavshuca Winter '09

The Lavshuca website has been updated with the winter collection, which will be released on 1 November in Japan. Unlike past years, Lavshuca is not releasing any holiday palettes/sets this year. Instead, 12 new Custom Select Deep Eyes (eyeshadow duos) and 22 mini lipsticks (10 shades of Shiny Lips N [Color] and 12 shades of Shiny Lips N [Shiny]) have been added to the permanent line-up. The mini lipsticks usually cost 1050yen and the Custom Select Deep Eyes are 997yen each. Too bad the grey accessory box in the pic below is not for sale!


It's interesting to see Lavshuca release three green duos as there used to be a distinct scarcity of green shades in Lavshuca's eyeshadow lineup. The shade selection include the usual crowd-pleasers of pastel pinks and neutral browns. If I could pick one brand that I would like Watsons to bring in next, it would probably be Lavshuca. I think it would do very well here with its affordable price points and cute packaging.

Bobbi Brown @ Tangs

The Bobbi Brown counter at Tangs Vivocity also had the Black Plum collection on display. The palette with the 3 eyeshadows, 3 blushes and 3 lip colors plus 5 brushes retails for a whopping S$400 (it's US$245 in the US). The brushes felt very soft but I liked less than half the shades in the palette so it's definitely not for me.


They also had the Black Plum Deluxe Beauty Trunk. The interior is faux leather and feels quite nice but I prefer lighter cases that are easier to clean. This retails for US$500 in the US, £350 in the UK and S$750 in Singapore.

Shu Uemura Roadshow @ Vivo

Shu Uemura is doing a roadshow just outside the Tangs store in Vivocity this weekend with their international artistic directer Kakuyasu Uchiide making a special appearance at 2pm-3pm and 5pm-6pm today. I happened to be passing by and caught a glimpse of him (in the white jacket in the first photo below). He was just hanging around the booth while there was a skincare demo going on with a SA showing how to remove makeup with the cleansing oil followed by application of skincare. I'm not sure if he was going to do any makeup demos and didn't have time to hang around to find out.


The event didn't seem to have been very well-publicised as there were only a handful of ladies watching the skincare demo. Quite a pity as it's quite rare for someone of Uchiide's stature to come to Singapore. And probably it would have been more interesting if his appearance could have been timed with the release of the Tsumori Chisato holiday collection (still no sight of this on the counters).

List of promos at the roadshow:
-Receive an exclusive 3-pc travel kit with every $120 purchase.
- Receive an exclusive 5-pc pampering kit with every $150 purchase.
- Hall of Fame Instant Brightening set for $80 (U.P. $110).
- Hall of Fame Eye-Conic set for $98 (U.P. $125).
- Hall of Fame Flawless Finish set for $145 (U.P. $194).
- Purchase any 150ml high performance balancing cleansing oil and receive a 50ml high performance cleansing oil (worth $20).
- Purchase any 450ml high performance balancing cleansing oil and receive a 20ml high performance cleansing oil and a 30g UV underbase mousse (worth $35)



Over at the Make Up Store, there was this cute Faberge egg-inspired window display :-)

Lunasol Website Update

The Lunasol website has been updated with the holiday White Lighting collection. The coffret is on my list of collections to check out but I'm expecting the Spring 2010 collection will probably have more colorful palettes. Nevertheless, it would be kinda cool to have a white Lunasol quad! Anyway, we're still waiting for the fall collection to launch in Singapore, hopefully by end-October, so it'll likely be another long wait for the holiday coffret to arrive.

Body Shop Xmas '09

I've always enjoyed The Body Shop's holiday scents but was getting a bit tired of the trifecta of Plum, Cranberry and Amber from the past couple of years. For this holiday season (it's not even November but the Christmas lights are already going up around Singapore's shopping malls), it's good to see Body Shop releasing a couple of new scents. There will be three ranges as usual: Black Velvet Apricot, Merry Cranberry and Nutmeg & Vanilla. These will probably launch sometime in November in Singapore.




I'm also hoping we also get this Shiny Coffret (4725yen) which consists of Shimmer Gloss 01, Sparkle Roller Ball and Ice Body Powder.

Her World Nov'09

The November issue of Her World (S$6) comes with samples of RMK Creamy Polished Base 00 and 02 (1g each), Bio-essence Tanaka White White & Firm Double Action Essence and FlowerbyKenzo Essentielle eau de parfum 1.5ml. Pretty good deal!

Voce Xmas Catalog

The December issue of Voce will be released today in Japan but if you want the magazine only for the Christmas collections catalog, Voce has put the catalog online this year. Check it out here. I'll be viewing it online and saving my money for the actual makeup collections!


These are some of the collections that I'm interested in: Majolica Majorca


Anna Sui


Ettusais

Anna Sui Website Update

The Anna Sui website has been updated with the holiday collection plus new downloadable wallpapers and screensaver.

I Nuovi Promo

Bobbi Brown Black Plum

Also spotted these at Robinsons' Bobbi Brown counter: the Black Plum collection palette and brush set. I didn't ask about the prices.

MAC Magic, Mirth & Mischief!

I dropped by Robinsons at Raffles City to check out the Beauty Fair and came across the new launch of the MAC Magic, Mirth and Mischief! holiday color collection plus the mega-display of holiday palettes, makeup and brush sets.


I liked the Conjure Up Mineralize Blush, which is a deep plum pink. As many other beauty blogs have noted, the larger crescent shaped shades in the Mineralize Eyeshadows are gorgeous with excellent color payoff and feel extremely silky to touch. Unfortunately, the smaller shade in each has an awful gritty glittery texture. The huge size of these eyeshadows also mean that they are virtually impossible to finish so I just could not justify getting these as I doubt I would use them often enough. The 4-color Mineralize Eyeshadows that MAC had released awhile ago were more attractive in that respect. You can see excellent close-up photos and swatches of the Mineralize Eyeshadows on Temptalia.com.


MAC's holiday sets have never held much appeal for me, probably because they are designed to be crowd-pleasers and yet I can never find a set where all of the shades are attractive to me. I also usually find the packaging a bit tacky. This year's offerings are again, fairly lacklustre. I couldn't even bothered to swatch them, just moved right on to Magic, Mirth & Mischief. Compared to my recent acquisition, Tarte Treasure Chest, the value-for-money factor of MAC sets comes up a bit short although if you are just starting to get into MAC, these can be a good way to try out several MAC products for a fairly affordable price.





It's well-known that MAC's brush sets are of much lesser quality compared to their regular brushes. I'd much rather invest in the regular brushes as they last for many years with good care.