Tuesday 30 June 2009

I Nuovi Experience

Last Sunday, my buddy Mag from Makeupstash.com and I were hosted by the lovely folks at I Nuovi at their Suntec City store. Over the course of two hours, Bob Mubarak, the I Nuovi corporate trainer, introduced their product range to us and patiently answered our truckload of questions. I enjoyed the session immensely as Bob was the kind of extremely easy-going, friendly makeup artist with a great sense of humor who instantly puts you at ease and never talks down to you or preaches certain makeup 'rules'. His product knowledge was fantastic as he is also involved in product development for the company.


I Nuovi was started in 1996 by a Singaporean biochemist and two Singaporean makeup artists. The latter two are no longer with I Nuovi but I Nuovi has continued to grow from strength to strength. It currently retails in 10 countries, with Hong Kong being one of its largest markets. The products are developed and manufactured in France, Japan, the Italy and Germany and are formulated to be fragrance-free, cruelty-free and non-comedogenic.


To be honest, I've never tried I Nuovi up until now but it was very interesting to learn from Bob about the history and development of the company. I was also impressed by the comprehensive line of products, which are easy to use and feature a diverse array of shades that allow you to be as creative as you wish. I Nuovi also sells some products meant for pro makeup artists, such as its Proair airburshing system which we got to play with.


I Nuovi's bestselling item is its false eyelashes, which come packaged with their own glue and can be re-used up to five times. The lashes are all made in Korea. I decided to get the Pro Lash EX03 (S$14), which is the most popular style. Figured this would come in handy for my bridal photo shoot :-)



This is the wonderful Bob explaining the Lash Bar to us!


I also picked up the Illumina Skin Illuminating Pre-makeup Base in Aura (S$48). This contains multi-reflective pearl to make your skin more glowy when used under foundation. This has a very lightweight, non-greasy texture and helped my powder foundation apply more smoothly. I liked that it did not cause my skin to get greasy quickly. Overall, the glowy effect is quite subtle and you don't have to worry about looking like a disco ball.


According to Bob, their Eyeshadow Perfecting Base (S$31) is incredibly popular in Hong Kong where some clients use it not only on their eyelids but also all over the face because they liked how it makes their makeup last. After about 10 hours of wear today, I found that there was only some light creasing at the inner corners of my eyes. The rest of my eye makeup was still creaseless and the colors had not oxidised or faded. It is comparable to my current staple, Testimo Eye Bright Up Base except the I Nuovi base is not as shimmery.


The I Nuovi staff also gave us a generous gift bag! I received the Lip Polish in Vanilla (strange name for such an intense shade), Lip Moist Lip Conditioning Treatment Balm, Cheekblush in Fashionista, Metallogy Eyeshadow in Tin and the Purify Skin Cleansing Gel.


The Lip Polish is a newly launched range of pigmented lipglosses with intense shine. It gives an intense pop of color and was quite longlasting without drying out my lips. I also liked the fact that it was not sticky and did not 'bleed' into the fine lines around my lips even after a few hours of wear.



The Cheekblush, which is available in four shades, has a similar texture to Becca's Beach Tint, very lightweight, easy to apply and blend for a natural tint of color without any stickiness.



I also highly recommend checking out the new Metallogy range of eyeshadows which was launched last fall. This has an incredibly silky, rich, almost wet-feeling texture similar to MAC Veluxe Pearl and Bobbi Brown Metallic Eye Shadows. The current range of shades is quite limited without any greens or blues but more shades will be introduced in the months to come.


Here's a pic of the Metallogy display and some other shades.





This is I Nuovi's older range of eyeshadows. The domed packaging will be phased out and replaced with a flat cover packaging for greater ease of storage.


Here's the base makeup range.




All in all, it was a very educational session and the I Nuovi staff made us feel so at home that the time just flew by. Many thanks to Mag as well for introducing me to I Nuovi!

16 comments:

Tracy said...

The eyeshadow base sounds good! Me & some of my friends do not have a good impression of I nuovi in terms of customer service. Any particular SA/BA to recommend? Thanks

Haru said...

Hi Tracy,

I didn't catch the names of the SAs at the Suntec store but both the female SAs were very pleasant and friendly. Do try that outlet if you can!

Connie De Alwis said...

Bob is definitely entertaining and very warm indeed. I've had a problem with their cleansing oil initially but Bob got to the bottom of it and it's now my FAVE cleansing. Even beats my Shu Uemura!

I got the EX03 lashes too and they're so gorgeous. I've used mine so many times that I think it's finally time to get a new one :x

The Lip Polish looks so good! I'm glad it's finally out! The I Nuovi store is far from my place but I'd love to check that out soon.

I love their D27 eyeshadows too and the Cheekblush is fantastic.

Like you, I only recently got to know I Nuovi and totally fell in love ;)I'm sure you will too.

FriendzCentury said...

Thank You for such a detailed post on I Nuovi, the eyeshadow perfecting base sounds tempting. I haven't come across this brand in HK, but will certainly keep my eyes open for it.

Anonymous said...

Local I Nuovi contacted me about testing their products before my vacation and it totally slipped my mind till i read your post! LOL.

so i have given them my address and now i am waiting to try the stuff. i hope they are good as I Nuovi is rather cheap here.

i wish we had a boutique like this one! it looks way cool.

Shop N' Chomp said...

Great piccies. They need to come to the States.

Anonymous said...

My office is just near to Suntec. Will drop by to iNouvi take a look during lunchtime.

Anonymous said...

really great that u got a go at the local brand; i don't use all that much color makeup anymore these days but i would say i nuovi is one of my go-to brands if i want some hi quality yet affordable products - can't go wrong buying from country of origin~

Haru said...

Hey Shop'n'Chomp,

I Nuovi is available in the US but in quite a limited number of locations. Check out this page for their store locations.
http://www.inuovi.com/store_location.php?country_id=13

They used to be in Sephora as well but not anymore.

Hi Miss.Friendz,

I Nuovi is retailed only in Sasa stores in Hong Kong. Do check them out!
http://www.inuovi.com/store_location.php?country_id=15

Hey Connie,

I was very impressed with their cleansing oil, which we used several times during the session to clean the products swatches off our hands. I would definitely consider buying it in the future.

Hi Jojoba,
Do try out their Metallogy eyeshadows which I think you'll love!

pinky"the-middle-name-is-princess"beanie said...

Hi Iris, congrats on the upcoming wedding! :)

Anonymous said...

Are those GWP items? I thought the makeup pouch looks good, can you post a closer look? Do they have any promos now? Thanks

Aya

em said...

the setup of that store looks amazing! it sounds like you had a really good time there and yippee for goodie bags!

makeupmag said...

It was an awesome session, wasn't it? I really enjoyed the makeup play and Bob's enthusiasm in explaining the products. :)

Connie - I love the cleansing oil! ;)

Shop N' Chomp said...

Thanks, Haru :)

Catherine said...

Oh how cool! Thanks for the introduction to the brand. Wonder if they'll make their way over to the States...

Vonvon said...

I like I Nuovi stuff a lot, been buying and collecting them.....now it's time to start using them..;)
Love the goodie bags!