Isetan is having another sale from 7-10 August during which Isetan cardmembers can get a 10% rebate voucher for every $50 spent. Get more details on the same, including the Lancome GWPs and specials here.
Tangs is also giving away $20 vouchers with every $200 purchase on 1-2 August but this is only for Citibank Tangs Platinum cardholders.
The Prestige warehouse sale with makeup from Paul & Joe and Givenchy plus loads of perfume brands such as Banana Republic, Versace is taking place from tomorrow Wednesday 29 July to Friday 31 July from 10.30pm to 6.30pm at 6 Jalan Kilang, Dadiani Industrial House (near Bukit Merah). My advice is to go early on the first day as the best bargains usually get snapped up very quickly. Paul & Joe revamps its product lineup, especially foundations, primers, mascaras etc quite frequently so these warehouse sales are where you can pick up recently discontinued plus current products at a good discount. They usually also have leftover stocks of recent limited edition collections.
I'll be giving it a miss as I'm saving up my pennies for the P&J fall collection. You can read my account of the last Prestige warehouse sale back in November 2008 here!
Kinokuniya is now giving away a pack of Fasio Cool Powder sheets with each issue of Chic magazine. Check out kenji_sugizo's blog for more details. Kino will also be giving away an Original Source shower gel with the next issue, which should be out late next week.
The Paul & Joe website has been updated with the new fall collection, "Breathless". The new eyeshadow duos cost 3150yen in Japan, so I'm expecting them to cost close to S$50 in Singapore, or perhaps even more. The collection should be launched in Singapore in late August or September.
Voce magazine did an in-depth feature on the newly launched Addiction., created by Japanese makeup artist, Ayako who was formerly the international makeup director for NARS. She met Nars in 1995 and he became her mentor for 14 years. It's probably no coincidence that Addiction comes in a sleek black packaging like Nars, but without the horrendous rubber.
Ayako's philosophy for Addiction was to create a brand that allowed women to express their individuality fully. Ayako set out by focusing on the basic shades but in a variety of textures. For example, she wanted to create ten black and ten white eyeshadows but in the end, she narrowed it down to six shades each. The eyeshadows (2100yen) come in 4 textures: matte, pearl, metallic and sparkle. Ayako wanted to create shades that she desired but could not find in other brands. She was also very focused on creating red lipsticks even though the usual thinking among Japan makeup companies is that red does not sell as well as pink. But she managed to win the company over with her passion.
Top Row (Left to right): SnowMagic, Stardust, Snow Bouquet
2nd Row: Star Sirius, Paper Doll, Joker
3rd Row: Sugar Angel, Keshi, Snow Bird
Bottom Row: Crow, Snow Venus, Star Vega
Here are two looks that Ayako did on Japanese actress/model Ai Tominaga. For "Black Sensation", Ai is wearing Eyeshadows in Snow Magix, Keshi and Crow, Blush in Roccoco, Nocturne and Sometime, Cinnamon Eyebrow Pencil , Blackjack Mascara, Endlessly Lipstick, Ivory Coast Lipliner Pencil, Tinted Moisturiser #3, Perfect Concealer Covering #1, Natural Veil Powder #1.
For "Red Sensation", Ai is wearing Eyeshadwows in Ice Wall, Sandcastles, Rigoletto, Blushes in Rococo, Nocturne and Aqua Bronze, Cinnamon Eyebrow Pencil, Blackjack Eyeliner Pencil, Blackjack Mascara, Femme Fatale Lipstick, Flamenco Lipliner Pencil, Tinter Moisturise #5, Perfect Concealer Pact and Natural Veil Powder #2.
Ai Tominaga with Ayako at the launch of Addiction in Isetan department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Lunasol has updated its website with the new fall collection. Check out the collection here. The new Star Shower Eyes palettes look very promising and sparkly in this promo visual, hope it's really that stunning in real life!
NARS makes some of the best blushes but one big drawback is the black rubber packaging which is not only a dust/loose powder magnet, but also gets horribly sticky in humid/tropical climates. Here in sunny Singapore, my NARS blushes have become a horrible sticky mess that leaves residue on my fingers every time I pick one of them up. I got so fed up with them that I decided to depot them into empty CD cases.
I've had experience with depotting dozens of MAC eyeshadows with the candle method. Basically just hold the black plastic insert with the eyeshadow pan over a candle flame and after about 20 seconds, the glue holding the eyeshadow pan becomes soft enough to easily lift the pan out. I did a bit of research on Makeupalley about depotting NARS and the consensus seemed to be that placing the compacts on a flat iron is the easiest method. But as I didn't own a flat iron, I decided to try my luck with the candle method.
I held the blush compact over the flame for about 30 seconds, and then used a small manicure scissors to pry the black plastic insert (which holds the blush pan) loose from a corner. This is the trickiest part and usually takes the longest time. Once I lift the corner high enough, I insert another manicure tool (with a broader surface) into the opening to lift up the insert. Once the black plastic insert has been removed from the compact, the rest is basically the same as depotting MAC eyeshadows. Hold the insert over a flame for about 30 seconds and the focus the flame along one edge. Then pry the blush pan loose by inserting the manicure tool (like a nail file) between the pan and the edge that has been melted into a soft consistency.
I forgot the golden rule of depotting which is to always start with a shade that you don't mind damaging. Instead of starting with Exhibit A (above, with Taos), I started with Crazed, one of my favourites, and ended up losing a few small chunks of it at the corners as it lifted unevenly from the insert. Fortunately, I got much better at it as I went along and by the 8th and final blush, I was depotting each one in less than five minutes without any nicks. It took me another 5 minutes to scrub all the sticky gunk off my fingers. It felt really good to chuck all the rubber compacts into the trash at the end! Don't you just hate it when companies spoil great makeup products with lousy packaging? Of course the CD cases are not ideal as well as I can't bring them out but at least I don't get sticky fingers each time I try to pick up one of these.
Top row (left to right): Oasis, Sin, Outlaw (?)
Bottom row: Deep Throat, Lovejoy, Crazed
The Majolica Majorca website has been updated with the Fairy Sadistic collection with downloadable screensaver and blog clock. (Note: The website was showing Fairy Sadistic earlier today but it's showing the Innocent Pleasure collection right now. I expect this will be rectified soon.) Check out this Iswii post for close-up pics and swatches of the new products.
The Kate and Lavshuca websites have also been updated with the fall collections. The Kate website also has the new TV CM and making-of clip featuring Mika Nakashima and the new Reflect Mirror Eyes palettes.
