ONE BY KOSÉ

Kose will launch its ONE BY KOSÉ brand on 16 January in Japan with just one product, Moisture Rice Power Hydration Boosting Serum. The brand earlier launched in the USA through QVC in January 2016 with a gel foundation that sold 5000 units with 10 minutes of the informercial's broadcast. The serum is free of artificial colours. It has a mildly acidic pH and a green floral scent. The official website is here.

Kose Nailholic Shade Expansion

Since its introduction in February 2015, Kose's budget-friendly Nailholic line has logged sales in excess of 10 million units. Priced at just 300yen each, the line boasts a whopping 92 shades. Nailholic will add 19 new shades, plus 10 Pastel Snow shades and 8 glittery Pasty Flake shades. View the official website here.

One By Kose on QVC

Kose launched its new brand One By Kose's first product Skincolor Water-Luxe Gel Creme Foundation (US$42, 30g, 6 shades) exclusively on QVC in the US and Canada on 29 January, racking up sales of more than 5000 units within the first 10 minutes of broadcast. The foundation incorporates the company's exclusive water pact technology. The brand is targeted at the mid-tier while the more prestige skincare line Decorte will be launched this spring as part of Kose's drive to expand in North America.

Operation Use It Up

Over July and August, I managed to use up a large number of products, plus numerous sample sachets during my trip to London. With the last quarter of the year looming, I'm finally starting to see some space in my bathroom cabinets opening up!

1. Lush Almond & Coconut Smoothie: This creamy body cleanser is targeted at dry skin but it turned out to be not sufficiently hydrating for my skin as I still needed to use a body lotion especially on my legs which are prone to dryness. It works up to a gentle lather and rinses off easily without any greasy residue. The vanilla scent is not that memorable. One plus point is that Lush gives you a free Fresh Face Mask if you bring back five of these clean pots in the UK (but not in Switzerland).

2. Lush Ayesha Fresh Face Mask: This is a re-purchase. This mask feels therapeutic and deeply cleansing for my skin, which always looks more luminous and feels ultra soft and supple after using this. One pot has enough for at least 8 uses.

3. Sofina Jenne Lotion I: This is Sofina's skincare line for ladies in their 20s. Lotion I is the "sappari" (refreshing) type for oily skintypes while II is the more hydrating "shittori" type. This did a good job of leaving my skin feeling refreshed and clean, but other than that, I did not notice any special benefits. Love the lacey bottle design.

4. For Beloved One Polypeptide DNA Resilience Lift Toner: This was the most hydrating of the three toners that I used up recently but it also makes my skin oil up a bit faster than the others. It's supposed to be an anti-wrinkle toner but as I do not have any wrinkles yet, I can't say that I noticed any significant change.

5. H2O+ Aqualibrium Marine Toner: This contains provitamin B5, mineral-rich sea salt, sea weed, sea fennel and sea lettuce to nourish and hydrate the skin. It refreshes the skin well but can leave it feeling a tad dry, so if you have dry patches, I would not recommend this.

6. Addiction Eye Makeup Remover: This biphase remover does a good job of whisking off eyeshadows and waterproof mascara without irritating or drying the eyes. It is supposed to be fragrance-free and contains rosa centifolia extract. This was a gift with purchase. It normally retails at 2100yen for 100ml, which is a bit too expensive for me so I'll be sticking with my usual L'Oreal remover.

7. Daiso Puff & Sponge Detergent: For S$2, this is truly the most cost-effective product. I use it weekly to clean my foundation brushes and sponges. It's much more efficient at getting rid of any cream-based products than MAC Brush Cleanser. I stocked up 5 bottles before moving to Switzerland 20 months ago and this is only the second bottle that I've used up. Great stuff!

8. Biore Mild Cleansing Liquid: This removes makeup effectively without irritating the skin and is very affordable, but I find Bioderma's Sensibio to be even faster to use. I usually follow up with a face cleanser just to be thorough.

9. Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/O: This green cleansing oil has the thickest texture in Shu's range and is really more for dry, mature skintypes. Although it works well in terms of removing makeup, I much prefer the lighter pink Fresh version. I wish Shu Uemura wouldn't keep offering only this in their limited edition seasonal collections like the upcoming Murakami Takashi holiday collection.

10. Cleansing Express Eye Makeup Remover: Aside from being very efficient and non-irritating on my eyes, it's also affordable. I would re-purchase this instead of L'Oreal except that it is not available in Switzerland.

11. Anna Sui Rose Hair Conditioner: This leaves my hair soft and untangled. I love the soft feminine rose scent but it doesn't linger strongly on my hair. I would definitely re-purchase this if it were more easily available.

12. Dove Dryness Care Conditioner: This was quite average. It left my hair untangled but not as hydrated as I would have liked.

13. Phyto Phytodefrisant Botanical Hair Relaxing Balm: Both tubes of this were received as part of sample goodie bags from my US online purchases. The clear gel helps to reduce frizz and make my hair more sleek. I don't like it enough to purchase it though.

14. L'Oreal Elseve Nutri-Gloss Crystal Shampoo: This did not make my hair any glossier or shinier but it's still good as an everyday shampoo that lathers up and rinses off easily without drying out my hair.

15. Kose Seikisho Mask White: This sticky thick black mask is not for wimps as peeling it off is invariably a rather painful experience and it takes off fine facial hair (not all but some) along with flakey skin bits and pore clogs. I find Biore strips to be more efficient at pulling out pore clogs but I like that I can use the Seikisho mask all over my face for a thorough de-clogging. I will probably re-purchase this at some point.

16. RMK Gel Scrub: This is gentle enough on the skin to be used daily but I don't find it to be particularly effective. This sample tube lasted just two uses.

17. African Botanics Marula Firming Botanical Body Oil: This is supposed to help firm, tone and nourish. I liked how it moisturised my skin and absorbed quickly without leaving an overly greasy residue but I didn't notice any firming effect (not that I really expected any).

18. Philosophy Peppermint Bark: I had high hopes of this but the mint chocolate candy scent was too heavy on the cloyingly sweet chocolate note and not minty enough for my liking. Like other Philosophy shower gels, it does not leave a strong fragrance on the skin although in the shower, it is rather strong.

19. Philosophy Gingerbread Man: This turned out to be much nicer than I had expected thanks to a refreshing fizzy top note. I would re-purchase this except that I still have more than a dozen Philosophy shower gels to get through.

20. Sally Hansen Fast & Gentle Polish Remover: I picked this mainly because it was one of the cheapest in the drugstore and by a reputable brand. It's alright for the price and still requires some elbow grease to remove glitter polishes.

21. Coast To Coast Rainforest Invigorating Body Exfoliant: This is my favourite product from this brand, due to the wonderful sweet citrusy scent. It gives good exfoliating action too.

22. Stila Lipglaze in Raisin: Very easy to wear berry shade with a bit of shimmer, this feels a bit sticky on the lips. The amount of product is miniscule and one could easily use this up in 1-2 weeks with daily use but at least they are a lot cheaper than they used to be (thanks to being made in China) when Stila was one of the hottest makeup artist-driven brands around.

23. K-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow 02: A daily staple, I've re-purchased this countless times as it's still the most durable and easy to use brow liner for me.

Kose Astablanc

Looks like Kose is going to give Fujifilm's Astalift a run for its money with its new anti-aging skincare line, Astablanc that is also based on the super antioxidant astaxanthin. Astablanc skincare contains "Astaxanthin CPX", a complex that includes marine collagen S and Vitamin C for hydrating and whitening benefits. The star product of the line is a Lotion Moisture (150ml), which is also sold in an environmentally-friendly refill format. The line-up also includes a moisturiser (100ml), Milk Cleansing (150ml), Cream Wash (110g), BB Cream SPF23 PA++ (30g, 2 shades) and BB Powder SPF15 PA+ (6g). It is a "no print price" brand, which means the prices are not published to prevent discounting.

Kose Anmiel

Anmiel, a new Kose brand of false eyelashes in three styles and a mascara will debut on 14 March in Japan. Targeted at ladies in their teens and 20s, Anmeil is produced by model Funayama Kumiko (popularly known as "Kumikki"), who is known for her frequent appearances in Popteen magazine.

Eyelash 100 (1050yen for 2 pairs)

Eyelash 200

Eyelash 300: For use on the lower eyelids.

Mascara (Long) BK01 (1260yen, 7g): Formulated with silk essence and rosemary extract and three types of fibres, this is a film-type mascara that can be removed with warm water.

Magazine promotions at MPH

I stopped by MPH at Raffles City to pick Elle and the Cozycot mook, both of which came with freebies that are exclusive to MPH.

The July issue of Elle (S$5.50) comes with a Kose 40th Anniversary eco-bag and samples of Sekkisei Supreme Makeup Base (9ml), Infinity Serum Completion I (9ml) and Lotion Concentrate I (9ml). The eco-bag is quite large but the fabric is thin and not 100% opaque.


I picked up the Cozycot mook purely because I was curious to try the L'Oreal Play Ball Beach Fizz (150ml), which is supposed to give a "tousled, just off-the-beach effect, sexy hair with a matt finish". The magazine also comes with a Sothys Thalassothys hydra-nourishing body lotion (30ml) and a $50 voucher for services at Sothys salons.

Elle x Kose GWP at MPH

MPH is giving away a Kose 40th Anniversary eco-bag and samples of Sekkisei Supreme Makeup Base (9ml), Infinity Serum Completion I (9ml) and Lotion Concentrate I (9ml) with this month's Elle magazine. The promotion is exclusive to MPH bookstores, which are located at Raffles City Shopping Centre (B1), PARCO Millennia, and Robinson Road.

Kosé Beauty Talkshow with Robin Niu (Niu-er)

Robin Niu is returning to Singapore for another round of Beauty Talkshows, organised by Kosé! The shows will be held on 19 and 20 February. Tickets can be purchased from Sistic. You can read about his last talkshow in Singapore in August 2010 here.

Robinsons Preview Sale

Here are some of the beauty GWPs that will be available at Robinsons' cardmembers' preview sale from 13-23 January. These GWPs are available to all shoppers. The extra gifts for cardmembers are those marked with "CM".

Kosé Family Sale!

Here's yet another sale to tempt your wallets! I have no idea about the specific products or price range as I've not attended a Kosé sale before but it's best to brave the early crowd to snag the best bargains because many ladies like to buy in bulk at these sales, especially with Christmas coming up. That's certainly what happened at the Shiseido and Dior sales today!

Kose Infinity Skincare Sets

The Kose counter at BHG Bugis Junction has a few skincare sets at special promotional prices.


Kose has also posted the photos from the Beauty Talk Show by Robin Niu ("Niu Er"/牛尔老师) that was held earlier in August here.

Kosé Seikisho Mask White

Kosé Seikisho Mask White is a peel-off mask that is supposed to help improve your skin’s clarity and radiance by removing dirt and impurities as well as suppressing melanin production. It contains herbal extracts such as coix seed, angelica, moutan bark, Japanese coptis and artemisia capillaris. It usually retails for S$35 for a 75ml tube, but I purchased this at half price during an earlier promotion in August.

As the instructions advise, applying a thick layer is key to helping the mask peel off in one neat piece. Also, do use a hairband to keep all your hair off your face as you don't want any of it to be trapped in the mask accidentally. Do take care to avoid your eyebrows and not to apply too close to the sensitive eye area. Kas told me that she had taken off a bit of her eyebrows while doing this mask!

The mask dried in about 20 minutes and felt a bit tight. Trying to roll up the edges of the mask proved to be somewhat tricky but once I picked up a corner, it was relatively easy to lift off the rest of the mask. It was easy in the sense that the rest of the mask came off in one smooth sheet (except for a few random bits) but definitely not easy in the terms of the ouch factor! This is definitely more painful than using a Biore nose strip as the tiny hairs on your face get tugged at when you pull off the mask. But I wasn't tearing so it's still bearable. My guess is that the more hirsute you are, the higher the pain factor. I have tried a similar peel-off mask by the Body Shop from their Tea Tree range but as it was quite painful, I ended up using it only a couple of times.

Reminds me of Edvard Munch's The Scream! After lifting off the mask, the random small bits that were left behind were easy to remove by just rubbing them off.

The mask mostly removed small skin flakes. I didn't see any pore clogs but my skin is relatively clear at the moment. After using the mask, my skin did look clearer and it definitely felt smoother to touch. I'll probably continue using this once a week but not sure if I will re-purchase it yet.

Kosé GWP at BHG

The Kosé counter in BHG at Bugis Junction currently has this lovely mirror as the gift with purchase of S$150!

Kosé Contest

Want a chance to win a S$100 Kosé voucher? Just head on over to Chantana's blog for the contest! It's very easy and open to anyone living in Singapore. Do hurry as it closes at 12pm on 31 August!

Kosé Talk Show with Niu Er

Yesterday, I was invited to attend a Kosé Beauty Talk Show featuring Robin Niu, also known as "Niu Er"/牛尔老师. Niu Er is the popular beauty expert who appears regularly on the Nu Ren Wo Zhui Da/女人我最大 show in Taiwan.

The talk show was a great treat for Kosé customers who only had to purchase a S$30 ticket that was fully redeemable for Kosé products. There are only two sessions, with the second one being held later this afternoon at Sheraton Towers. Not surprisingly, both sessions were completely sold out. The audience yesterday comprised ladies of all ages, from their 20s to their 60s and even a few men!

The show was hosted by MediaCorp 93.3 DJ Chua Wei Ping. Beauty bloggers Clara and Chantana was also invited on stage to pose various questions to Niu Er for the first hour. When Niu Er first entered the room, he immediately won the hearts of the attendees by going around the room to shake everyone's hands. Stylishly togged out in all white and looking incredibly youthful, it was impossible to believe that he was actually 43 years old. He told the story of how when he went bungee jumping in New Zealand, the Kiwi bungee jumping company staff refused to believe his real age until he produced his passport. When they told him that he should thank his parents for his good genes, he replied, "No, I must thank myself because I put in all the hard work!"

As it turns out, Niu Er actually suffered from very bad skin in his early teens, to the point that his friend told him that his pores were so big, even ants could crawl into them. (Ewww!) At that time, there were no professional dermatologists around for him to consult on how to take care of his skin properly so he often picked at his skin, which only made the problem worse. It was only when he got into the beauty line that he learnt to take care of his skin properly by completely overhauling his diet and lifestyle.

The dedication of Niu Er to his beauty regime is unlikely to be matched by most women in Singapore. For example, he spends two hours every morning on his skincare routine and getting ready. The two hours is not spent entirely on touching his face. He puts on soothing classical music, takes his time to relax and get his spirits and confidence up, blows dry and styles his hair and drinks white fungus (白木耳) soup for breakfast. Unlike most ladies who just wash their faces and slap on moisturiser and maybe sunblock before heading out, he follows a comprehensive routine of patting, wiping and massaging. And he uses a machine that he bought in Japan for a daily enema. Now, if that isn't dedication to maintaining one's youthfulness, I don't know what is!

Niu Er spent quite a lot of time giving advice on how to detox the body and maintaining a healthy antioxidant-rich diet. He recommended eating a variety of berries and even showed us his packet of goji berries and a drink brewed from goji berries and ginseng. Given Singapore's hot weather, he advised taking not more than three to four pieces of ginseng a week to help improve blood circulation and restore 'qi'. He also recommended taking only Japanese ginseng, and not Korean or American ginseng, which are too heaty. He also highlighted that many Asians are lactose-intolerant and may experience skin inflammation because of milk in their diet.

In terms of skincare, Niu Er advocated against using facial scrubs on a weekly basis as he prefers the daily removal of dead skin cells and debris by using a cleansing lotion doused on a cotton pad. First, he patted the lotion on (50 pats in quick succession) and then gently wiped it off. For preventing blackheads, he recommended massaging a cleansing oil onto the nose area, sealing it in with a piece of cling-wrap for about 10 minutes before washing it off. Some blackheads may emerge after that, which can then be removed with tweezers without irritating the surrounding skin. After that, he applied the Seikkisei Lotion with a cotton pad, this time wiping it on and then gently patting it in 200 times. Next, he applied moisturiser by pouring it on the same cotton pad. His reasoning is that applying moisturiser with the fingertips tends to over-moisturise the oily areas and under-moisturise the dry patches. The cotton pad helps to deliver the moisturiser where it is needed in the appropriate amounts.

Niu Er also demonstrated lymphatic massage techniques around the collarbone, the stomach and groin for helping the body to detox and reduce water retention. Mag has done a comprehensive write-up of the massaging techniques, which you can read here.

Niu Er even went into the audience twice to show the attendees where exactly to press!

The DJ Chua Wei Ping grimacing as Niu Er massaged the acupuncture points in her armpit! He even jokingly said to her,"You think it's that easy to earn money?!"


Massaging the lower abdomen in a clockwise motion.

Massaging the calves in an up-down motion also helps reduce water retention and slims the calves.

Niu Er also demonstrated how to apply mascara and blush on Verlyn, who is also a beauty blogger. Niu Er had the audience in stitches when he described his encounter in a local department store with a SA at a beauty counter. She had stuck on false eyelashes with the glue in a visible white strip and no eyeshadow or eyeliner. He was horrified as the falsies looked like a hairy caterpillar stuck on her eyes, but was too polite to say anything. Niu Er said that he had already hauled $2500 worth of beauty products in Singapore, including a brand from Dubai.

He held a card just above the lashes to prevent the mascara from smearing onto the eyelid during the application process. For applying blush, he mushed the brush well into the blush until it was liberally coated with the blush powder. Then he tapped off he excess on tissue paper before applying the blush on the cheeks for a very natural finish. This was the technique that he learnt in a Japanese course that cost him 200,000yen!

All in all, it was a very enjoyable afternoon thanks to Niu Er's entertaining quips and informative tips. The session stretched beyond the alloted two hours with Niu Er demonstrating his skincare and makeup techniques on several members of the audience. Hopefully, Kosé will be able to bring him back in the future for more shows.

Mag, Chantana and I after the event :)