Kinokuniya Haul

Picked up Poppy King's "Lessons of a Lipstick Queen" (S$25.68) and the March issue of UK Glamour at Kinokuniya today. Poppy King is better known as the creator of the Lipstick Queen line, which has been receiving huge raves in the beauty blogosphere. King was formerly the vice president of creative marketing at Prescriptives, which is now sadly defunct. Back in the mid-1990s, Tangs Studio at Ngee Ann City used to carry the Poppy King line but I was not yet into my makeup-mad phase then.

I picked up this issue of Glamour simply because of the Alexander McQueen dress worn by the cover model, pop star Dannii Minogue. Hate the bouffant hairstyle but the dress is just iconic.

If you're in the mood for good beauty-related books, I highly recommend:

1. Free Gift with Purchase: My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup by Jean Godfrey-June (the editor of Lucky magazine). I wish there were more books like this that offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of women's magazines.


2. The Perfect Scent: A year inside the Perfume Industry by Chandler Burr, New York Times' perfume critic. This traces the development of Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely fragrance and Hermes' Un Jardin sur le Nil.

3. Perfumes by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez: An astounding compendium of perfume reviews. The writing is always witty, pithy with an irreverent sense of humour. I don't always agree with the reviews but it's an excellent book to read if you wish to learn more about the art of perfumes. (My edition above is the first edition. There is a new 2nd edition with a different cover. Available at Kinokuniya)

4. The Unlikely Lavender Queen by Jeannie Ralston: Story of a magazine writer who becomes a lavender farmer. (I had to order this from Amazon.)

5. Allure: Confessions of a Beauty Editor by Linda Wells: Full of beauty tips and tricks.