Ipsa 25th Anniversary Body Kit and Love Clover 4 Colors Blend Cheeks

Biteki.com has a new feature on the holiday coffrets and limited edition products being released in Japan.

IPSA will release a 25th Anniversary Body Kit (5250yen) on 4 November in Japan. It includes a body cream (180g), body soap (350ml) and a pair of room shoes, designed in collaboration with renowned Japanese graphic designer Keiko Itakura. The body products have a rose aroma blended from 25 different scents.

Love Clover will release a new line of Four Colors Blend Cheeks (1890yen) on 1 December in Japan. Available in four variations, each blush quad contains a blend color, a nuance color, a highlight color and a blush color, along with a natural fibre brush. The palette design looks adorable!

Love Clover Brand Renewal

Love Clover has revamped its website in line with the brand's renewal.

The revamped lineup includes several new products such as the Marshmallow Fit Airy Powder Foundation, Marshmallow Fit Moist Essence Cream Foundation, Marshmallow Fit Spread Fondant Foundation, Marshmallow Fit Flawless Skin Loose Powder, Petal Nectar Gloss and Vanish Lipstick.

Love Clover Fall 2010

Love Clover will release Petal Nectar Gloss (882yen) on 6 August in Japan. Available in eight shades, this is formulated with seven types of flower extracts and treatment ingredients to keep lips moisturised.

There will also be a new Marshmallow Fit Moist Essence Cream Foundation SPF25 PA++ (2415yen), Marshmallow Fit Airy Powder Foundation SPF28 PA++ (3150yen) and Vanish Lipstick (1470yen, 2 shades). Both foundations will be available in 5 shades.

Pics from Biteki and Voce.

Love Clover Ultra Slim Eyebrow Pencil

Love Clover has updated its website with the new Ultra Slim Eyebrow Pencil (1260yen). Available in two shades, the pencil has a diameter of only 9mm and is formulated with silk and rose extract. It is also supposed to be resistant against sweat and water.

Love Clover Marshmallow Fit UV Mousse

The Love CLover website has been updated with the new Marshmallow Fit UV Mousse SPF30 PA++ (1575yen, 80g). This is a limited edition face and body sunblock mousse with a sweet rose berry scent. It is formulated with beneficial ingredients such as collagen, rose water, hyaluronic acid and raspberry extract. The airy mousse texture means that it is very easy to apply and has a light, non-sticky texture and yet protects against both UVA and UVB rays.

Love Clover BB Cream Foundation

Love Clover jumps on the BB ("blemish balm") cream bandwagon with its new BB Cream Foundation SPF30 PA+++ (2100yen, 30g). It is available in two shades, #5231 Light Ochre and #5232 Natural Ochre. It promises to perform six functions: beautifying cream, sunscreen, makeup base, foundation, concealer and face powder. It contains collagen, hyaluronic acid, rosemary and lavender extracts, aloe vera compound powder and Vitamin C for skincare benefits, plus "soft focus powder" and "clear keep powder" for a soft marshmallow-like finish.

Love Clover Website Update

Love Clover has updated its website with the new Loose Jewel Sparkle eyeshadow (1365yen) and Lash Treatment Mascara (1575yen). The Loose Jewel Sparkle comes in six shades: 5141 Dazzle Silver, 5142 Dazzle Gold, 5143 Pink Beige, 5144 Snow Mint, 5145 Blonde Brown and 5146 Dazzle Black. These are formulated with Vitamin E, marine collagen and cranberry extract for skin treatment benefits, plus micro "Milky Pearl" and large "Star Pearl" for dazzling shine power.

The Lash Treatment Mascara comes in Volume Type and Long Type. Both are waterproof and yet they can be removed with just warm water. These are formulated with panthenol, silk, carrot extract and keratin for treatment benefits and contain more than 50% beauty treatment ingredients.

Sephora & Tokyo Haul!

A friend who vacationed in New York and Tokyo was kind enough to help me pick up some goodies on her trip :-)

Clean fragrances cost a bomb at the Sephore stores in Singapore so I asked for the Clean coffret which has Simply Soap, Shower Fresh, Warm Cotton and the original Clean eau de parfum, all in 30ml sizes. This has a retail value of US$152 but the set costs US$65. I also picked up the Josie Maran Mini Argan Stick (US$6) which is supposed to be an ultra-hydrating balm for skin and hair. This brand is currently not available in Singapore.

I love the minty freshness of Bare Escentuals Buxom Lipgloss so I decided to get the deluxe set, Babes About Town (US$39) which includes 4 mini lip glosses and 4 lip sticks. Bare Escentuals also cost much more in Singapore compared to the US and I haven't seen this set available here yet.


I found Cover Girl's Lash Blast mascara to be average but decided to give the new Lash Blast Length mascara a try anyway, as the brush looked like it would be more suitable for my sparse lashes. The Outlast Lip Stain has also gotten some pretty good reviews so I got this in #420 Sassy Mauve.

From Japan, I got the new Integrate Forming Cheeks (Jewel Box) in Red Coral (1575yen). This is mostly a shimmery highlighter rather than a blush.


My first purchase from the spring collections is Esprique Precious Symphonic Fit Eyes F4 (3675yen) which is a gorgeous palette of light pastel blue, teal, metallic silver and smoky grey. It took me a long time to decide which palette to get as I was worried that the pink/purple would be too boring, the green looked like a million other green palettes I already have and the blue might be too loud for every day wear. But when I saw the F4 palette in real life, I was extremely pleased with it!



From Love Clover , I picked the Lipdolce Cafe #5261 Raspberry Sorbet (1680yen) and Loose Pot Cheek #5134 (1680yen).



And finally, a Paul & Joe Sister handkerchief (1050yen)! :-)

Love Clover Marshmallow Fit Cream Foundation

The Love Clover website has been updated with the new Marshmallow Fit Cream Foundation SPF20 PA++ (2450yen). It is made up of 50% moisturising ingredients and is supposed to help cover up pores. As is typical of Love Clover, it is available in only 3 shades and comes with its own spatula.

Love Clover Marshmallow Fit Moist Base

Love Clover has released a new Marshmallow Fit Moist Base (1890yen, 30g, SPF16 PA++). It is available in 3 shades: #5815 Peach Ochre, #5816 Cinnamon Ochre and #5817 Banana Ochre and formulated with "super hyaluronic acid", "Amino Moist" complex plus marine collagen and lavender extract for deep moisturising properties and micro pearl for enhanced translucency.

Love Clover Website Update

Here's the promo visual for the new Love Clover Loose Pot Cheek (1680yen). Made with "Color Keep Powder" for long-lasting color, fine pearl shimmer for a glowy finish and "Reflect Powder" to minimise the appearance of pores and fine lines. It also contains silk essence, rose and cranberry extracts, marine collagen and Vitamin C for skincare benefits.

Love Clover Loose Pot Cheek

Love Clover will debut Loose Pot Cheek (1680yen) in 4 shades on 10 July in Japan: #5131 Sugar, #5132 Otome (Maiden), #5133 Tokimeki (Heartbeat) and #5134 Happy. The blush powders have a fine pearl shimmer to give a subtle glow and come with a horse hair brush.


Hope this makes it to Watsons in Singapore!

Love Clover Marshmallow Powder Foundation N

The Love Clover website has been updated with the new Marsmallow Powder Foundation N SPF27 PA++ (1890yen for refill, 1260yen for case).


Typical of Love Clover, the shade range is extremely limited with only 3 options, #5077 (light ochre), #5078 (natural ochre) and #5079 (healthy ochre). It contains marine collagen, rosemary and lavender extracts, Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid for skin treatment benefits. The foundation is supposed to have good oil control and pore coverage but for me, the real attraction is the "romantic" case design! The sponge is also made in a half moon shape to fit the case.

Love Clover Marshmallow Fit UV Base S

Just in time for the summer, Love Clover has launched a new series of Marshmallow Fit Base UV S SPF50 PA++ (1575yen, 20g) which helps to protect your skin from sun damage and also conceals pores. It comes in 3 shades, Non Color, Natural Ochre and Cover Type, and contains marine collagen, rosemary and lavender extracta, hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C. These are also free of parabens, alcohol and fragrance.

More sightings at Watsons

Dropped by the Watsons in Ngee Ann City today and they had the full Majolica Majorca spring collection on display. The new Pore Cover Powder is S$33.90 for the case and the powder with the refill sold separately for S$22.90.


The new Fasio spring collection is also in, with 8 eyeshadow quads, 4 blushes, 2 mascaras and about a dozen lipsticks. I was briefly tempted by the green quad which had an intriguing emerald shade but couldn't bring myself to spend S$24 on it. There is currently a 20% discount on brands such as Fasio, Canmake, Bourjois, L'Oreal, Maybelline but the discount excludes new and promotional items.




The Love Clover Popchu Lip Gloss display. These cost S$21.90 each, which is just a couple bucks more than the Japan retail price of 1260yen (S$19.68).

Sightings at Watsons

Just a quick post to alert that Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus is now available at Watsons in Singapore. But the rest of the Spring '09 collection is not here yet, such as the Pore Cover Powder. Love Clover's Popchu Lipgloss is also available in a hanging display. I spotted both at the Watsons in Toa Payoh Central this morning :-)

Love Clover Website Update

The Love Clover website has been updated with the new Lip Dolce Cafe, Vanish Lip Base and Lip Treatment Butter


The Lip Dolce Cafe (5 shades, 1680yen). is similar to the Maquillage liquid lipsticks that are dispensed through five holes in the applicator. They are formulated with jojoba oil and extracts of rosemary and chamomile.


The Vanish Lip Base is a matte lip concealer that reduces the natural color of your lips to allow the lipstick shade to apply more true while the Lip Treatment Butter is a glossy lip balm.

Love Clover Website Update

The Love Clover website has been updated with the new Stick Pen Nail (986yen, 4 shades) and Marshmallow Fit Lustre Spread Foundation N SPF27 PA++ (1890yen for refill, 1050yen for case; 3 shades).


The Stick Pen Nail is formulated with marine collagen, almond oil, rose hip oil and macadamia nut oil for moisturising benefits. It's a tuolene-free nail polish that is applied marker pen style in three easy steps of shake, push and paint. The Lustre Spread Foundation is a creamy pact foundation that turns into powder upon application and is supposed to provide good coverage of pores. It contains marine collagen, Vitamin C, rosemary and lavender extracts plus hyaluronic acid.

Love Clover Marshmallow Fit Luster Spread Foundation

Love Clover will debut Marshmallow Fit Luster Spread Foundation SPF27 PA++ on 1 February in Japan. Available in three shades, it is a creamy foundation that is supposed to help cover pores and create soft glowy skin. The refill costs 1890yen and the compact costs 1050yen.

December hauls

Here's a round-up of all the makeup and skincare that I came home with, not just stuff that I bought in Tokyo but also at the Changi Airport duty-free and some stuff that my colleague in the US helped me to buy.

My Tokyo haul of stuff for myself.


Love Clover Marshmallow Fit Powder N in 5194 Champagne Silver (12g, 2100yen) which is a loose pale beige powder with silver shimmer. This came with a free mini powder tub.



Canmake Loose Cheeks in #8 Peach Squash. This was an absolute steal at only 819yen.



Gransenbon blush #14 Maple Nuts, as compared with #9 Apricot Ginger


From left to right: #11, #9, #14 and #12


Sana Super Quick Eyeliner EX Vivid Black (1260yen). This is a crayon type eyeliner which can be used to line the waterline. I've always admired how Japanese ladies line their eyes to achieve the perfect smokey dramatic look but have yet to be able to master it without looking like a panda! Perhaps this will help :-p




AIAI Glyfoam 1300 is a facial cleanser that contains 13% glycolic acid and is free of fragrance, colourants, mineral oil and parabens. I've been wanting to try a glycolic cleanser for quite some time now to combat my acne-prone skin but they do not seem to be common in Singapore. This cost 3465yen, which was pricey, but as I had a 2500yen voucher at a store, it didn't cost me that much overall. There is also a soap version but it has only a 4% concentration and cost 2940yen so of course I went for the more powerful foam cleanser.




At Changi Airport's Terminal 3, I also picked up these lovelies from Bobbi Brown and Becca. Although I haven't been that impressed with Becca in the past except for their loose powder and concealer, I keep getting drawn back to the brand for some reason. This time, I fell for their Pressed Shimmer Powders which were very pricey at S$75 but somehow I ended up coming home with three of them. I think it was the fact that Becca is currently available in Singapore exclusively at Terminal 3 that made me go a bit nuts and snap up three at a go even though I already have enough shimmer powders to become a disco ball several times over!



The Becca counter itself was a bit of a mess with several items out of stock, including the ever popular Beach Tints. Becca has always seemed to have problems with their distribution, like when it was still available in Sephora, so I'm surprised it has survived until today. There was supposed to be a free concealer with purchase of $100 but as they had run out of stock, the SA gave me a Ralph Lauren Notorious perfume miniature and Jurlique Citrus Purifying Mist.

From left to right: Becca Pressed Shimmer Powders in Odette, Nefertiti and Gypsy


I also picked up the Bobbi Brown Rose Shimmer Brick and Lip Kit which came with a face brush and lip brush. The set cost S$101 and I believe it is available only in travel retail. As I already owned the Tawny and Bronze kits from my trip to New York last year, I thought the Rose would make a nice addition to my collection.

Rose Shimmer Brick


Lipglosses in Pink Mocha and Naked and Lip Colors in Brown and Tulle


From left to right: Tawny, Rose and Bronze




A colleague helped me to purchase these from Sephora.com during their Friends & Family 20% off sale. I got the MD Skincare Alpha Beta Daily Face Peel, Tarte the Vanity set, Tocca Stella solid perfume and travel candle set.





Luckily it's payday this Friday :-) I'll try to post reviews as I start using the products but with my camera acting up strangely, it may be difficult to post clear pics.