Suqqu New Skincare

Suqqu will launch its new Moisture Hydro Lotion (8000yen, 200ml) and Moisture Serum Cream (15000yen, 30g) for dry skintypes on 6 October in Japan. Pic by Voce.

THREE Aiming Skincare Line Debut

Three will debut its first new skincare line, Aiming, in four years on 13 September in Japan. Rich in Vitamin D and essential oils of fennel, geranium and rose, the range is supposed to offer holistic ageing care to help balance the heart, skin and body. It includes:

1. Aiming Cleansing Balm (6000yen, 85g)
2. Aiming Soap (4500yen, 80g)
3. Aiming Lotion (7800yen, 140ml)
4. Aiming Emulsion (8800yen, 100ml)
5. Aiming Cream (12000yen, 26g)

Pic by Voce.

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.

Paul & Joe Cleansing Gel

Paul & Joe will release this new Cleansing Gel (3500yen, 160g) on 1 March in Japan. Formulated with olive oil and parsley extract, the textures transforms upon contact with skin. Pic by Voce. The Spring 2017 collection is now available on ASOS which ships internationally (but often without any protective packaging so caveat emptor).

Suqqu New Year Skincare Kit and UK-exclusive Collection

Suqqu will release another limited edition version of its Musculate Massage & Mask Cream as part of a skincare kit retailing for 12000yen on 1 January in Japan. The 紅白茶香 kit is a blend of white and red tea with a sandalwood heart and contains a full size (200g) Musculate Massage & Mask Cream, Face Refresher R 50ml, Reset Cleansing Emulsion 30ml, Enrich Foaming Wash 30g, Moisture Rich Mask 30g and Face Stretch Mask (1 sheet). Pic by Voce.



There will also be a second UK-exclusive makeup collection designed by Jorge Balzaretti due out on 27 April. See another pic here.

Suqqu Intense Rich Cream

Suqqu is launching this premier anti-aging Intense Rich Cream priced at a whopping 30,000yen for 27g on 7 October in Japan. Pic from Voce.

Suqqu Musculate & Massage Cream Kit (Vanilla)

On 1 January in Japan, Suqqu will release this limited edition Koushiran Musculate & Massage Cream Kit (15000yen), scented with vanilla and iris. It contains the Koushiran Musculate & Massage Cream 200g, Face Refresher R 150ml, Reset Cleansing Emulsion 30ml, Refining Foam 30g and Moisture Rich Mask 30g.


Selfridges has restocked the two Christmas makeup kits, if you're still in search of them.

Anna Sui New Skincare

New Anna Sui Hydration Charger and Conditioning Lotion debuting in October. More details on UrCosme in Chinese.

Pixi Fall 2015 and New Skincare

Flush from the success of its massively popular Glow Tonic, Pixi has launched an extensive skincare range directed at producing healthy, glowy skin. The line-up includes a Glow Mud Cleanser, Glow Mud Mask, Nourishing Cleansing Balm, Nourishing Sleep Mask, Nourishing Lip Polish, 24k Eye Elixir, Beauty Sleep Cream, Glowtion Day Dew, H20 Skin Drink, Hydrating Milky Mist, Hydrating Milky Serum, Overnight Glow Serum, Rose Oil Blend and Glow Peel Pads infused with glycolic acid. Pic below by London Beauty Queen from the brand's recent press preview event in London.

What I like about Pixi is that their skincare is packed with effective active ingredients and comes in simple no-nonsense packaging for a reasonable price. For example, the Glow Mud Cleanser contains 5% glycolic acid plus hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, and avocado oil for nourishing the skin while the Glow Peel Pads contain 20% glycolic acid plus soothing Vitamin E and aloe vera. The products are already available if you do a search by the individual product name. The official launch date is 3 August. International shipping is available at a flat rate of £14.50, which is reasonable if you are ordering several products. If you are in the US, the US retail prices are significantly lower than the UK price. I'm already on my 7th bottle of the Glow Tonic and will need to replenish soon.

The Pixi Fall 2015 makeup collection is also set to launch on 3 August on their website. Shown below are the new Mattelustre Lipsticks (US$12/£14) from Pixi's Instagram. See more swatches labelled with the shade names here. I'll definitely be picking up a couple of these at Target when we get back to Illinois later this month. The collection includes Cat Eye Ink Liner, Color Correcting Powder Foundation, Endless Brow Gel Pen, Natural Contour Powder and a travel size 100ml Glow Tonic. There is also a new Endless Silky Eye Pen in Slate Grey and four new Mesmerizing Mineral Palettes.


There is also a new Professional Brush Set of 9 brushes going at £38 with a retail value of £145. In the past, I found Pixi's brushes to be overpriced for the quality but this set looks much more reasonably priced. I also like their Full Cover Foundation Brush.

RMK New Skincare & Bodycare

RMK is slated to release the following new citrus-scented bodycare and skincare products on 2 October in Japan:

1. Treatment Barrier Essence

2. Nail & Hand Cream

3. Body Milk

4. Body Oil

5. Lip Balm

The bodycare is made from a blend of botanical oils. Pics tweeted by Abe Sawako.

Shu Uemura Ultime 8 Sublime Beauty Oil In Essence and Shiseido Future Solution Replenishing Treatment Oil

1 October sees the release of Shu Uemura Ultime 8 Sublime Beauty Oil In Essence in Japan as well as Shiseido Future Solution LX Replenishing Treatment Oil. The Shiseido oil is already available on the USA website where it retails for US$175 for 75ml. The yuzu-scented oil contains evening primrose, safflower, jojoba, macadamia and argan oils. Pics by Abe Sawako.

Nivea and 13rushes Promotional Set

13rushes is a Singapore brand of hand-crafted synthetic brushes that has been garnering positive reviews. Their new Deep Cleansing Facial Brush (S$21) is currently being given away free in a promotional set comprising the Nivea Extra White Make Up Clear 3 in 1 Mud Cleanser and Micellar Water (S$18.80) exclusively at Guardian Pharmacy stores in Singapore. (Watsons is offering a similar set with a face powder brush.) The cute heart-shaped brush is sturdily made with densely packed bristles that feel superbly soft and gentle on the skin. It took me a week of stalking Guardian stores before I finally located it at the Ngee Ann City store this morning.

13rushes is also offering the Mud Cleanser as a gift with every order on their website.

Aside from the Nivea set, I also picked up a couple of My Beauty Diary mask sets that were on sale and a Gatsby hair wax that came with a free 4Gb thumb drive.

SKII R.N.A. Power

SKII will revamp its Stem Power range with this new R.N.A. Power line, debuting on 21 August in Japan. R.N.A. stands for Radical New Age. Aside from the R.N.A. Power cream and essence, there will be a new emulsion foundation that is designed to be applied with a brush. SKII is including a deluxe 15g sample of R.N.A. Power in a 35th Anniversary coffret with a 215ml bottle of Facial Treatment Essence (20500yen), to be released on 5 July. Pic below by Tomoichi.

Suqqu Reset Cleansing Emulsion

Suqqu will release this Reset Cleansing Emulsion (150ml, 4000yen) on 3 July in Japan. Described as having a 'mild relief cleansing' formula, it is supposed to have restore skin translucency with a light emulsion-like texture that helps to get rid of dead skin cells and makeup.

CNP Laboratory Launch

CNP Laboratory, South Korea's #1 cosmeceutical brand, has just arrived on Singapore's shores, rolling out at 30 Guardian Health & Beauty stores with an initial range of 20 products. Established in 2000 by dermatologists from Korea's largest dermatology clinic network and currently owned by the LG Group, the brand takes its name from the founding dermatologists (Cha and Park).

Designed to address typical Asian skin concerns such as acne, dullness and hydration, the line is formulated without problematic ingredients such as alcohol and mineral oil. A number of the products are also paraben-free.

In the pic above is the A-Clean range for oily to normal skintypes while in the pic below is the Dual Balance range for normal to combination skintypes. The A-Clean line includes a Purifying Foaming Cleanser (S$38.70, 150ml), Active Freshner Toner (S$42.90, 150ml) and All Control Moisturiser (S$56.50, 60ml). The Dual Balance line includes an Anti-Oily Toner (S$48.90, 150ml), Water Balance T/U Serum (S$58.70, 60ml) and Waterlock Moist Cream (S$68.40, 50ml).

For daily cleansing, CNP also offers the Cleansing Perfecta (S$34, 150ml) for removing stubborn and waterproof makeup, including foundations, BB creams and sunblocks.

The Daily Peeling Foam (S$48.90, 100ml), a polyhydroxy acid-based, sulfate-free cleanser that is gentle enough to be used every day, works via an oxygen bubble cleansing method to help exfoliate skin while moisturising it thanks to the inclusion of soothing allantoin.

The pic above shows the Daily Peeling Foam freshly applied while the pic below was taken about 3 minutes later. After wiping it off, my skin was visibly more radiant and smooth to touch.

For deep hydration and repairing of the skin during nighttime, there is a Propolis Deep Moisture Pack (S$48.90, 80ml) and Mugener Deep Soothing Pack (S$58, 80ml).

For acne-prone skin, CNP offers a two-step Blackhead Clear Kit (S$14.10 for 3 sets), with one nose strip for dissolving blackheads and sebum, and a second nose strip with witch hazel and zinc PCA for tightening the pores and controlling sebum production. Personally, I still prefer the immediate visual satisfaction of conventional nose strips that yank out those offensive blackheads and clogs!

Shown below is the Blemish Dual Spot (S$40.90, 3.5ml x2) which has a acne spot treatment (with tea tree oil and licorice extract) on one end and a liquid concealer on the other end.

In the sheet mask category, CNP has a Quick Soothing SOS Mask and a Power Brightening D-Day Mask. These are rather pricey at S$6.80 for 1 sheet or S$30.10 for a box of 5 sheets, but they are actually two-step masks that come with a dose of their intensive enriched ampules which are to be applied before using the masks.

CNP also offers three ampules - Propolis Energy Ampule with concentrated honey essence and hyaluronic acid for powerful antioxidant and moisturising effects, Mugener Ampule with snail mucus extract for soothing, and VitaSolution Whitening Ampule with stabilised Vitamin C for brightening the skin. These range from S$40.90 to S$47.20 for 15ml. All the ampules have a superbly light, watery texture that absorbs well without any greasy residue.

CNP Laboratory can be found at Guardian stores in Ngee Ann City, Ion, Vivocity, Paragon, Plaza Singapura, JEM, Bugis Junction, Marina Bay Sands, 313@Somerset, NEX, Bedok Mall etc. The full list of locations is here.

Operation Use It Up

Cleared out another batch of product empties in February and March. We are moving again at the end of this year so I'm trying my darnedest to stick to a no-buy where skincare and bodycare are concerned and really whittle my stash down to a reasonable size.

1. Avene Cleansing Water: I use this non-rinse cleanser on my baby, mainly for cleansing his bottom. Love how gentle and effective it is.

2. REN Clearcalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser: This cleanses very gently and never leaves my skin feeling stripped or dry. However, I did not notice any significant effect on preventing clogged pores.

3. Biore Hydra-Clear Makeup Remover: This removes foundation effectively and thoroughly but it stings my eyes.

4. Lancome Bi-Facil: This removes eye makeup in a jiffy although it does struggle sometimes against waterproof Japanese mascaras. It's way too expensive to purchase regularly, so I usually buy L'Oreal's bi-phase Gentle Eye Makeup Remover instead.

5. Pixi Glow Tonic: This was my second bottle of four that I hauled in London last year before giving birth. I use it once daily at night to help keep my skin blemish-free. It doesn't sting or leave my skin sticky for ages like Paula's Choice CLEAR Extra Strength Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution does.

6. Suqqu HA White Mask: I didn't see much improvement in my skin to justify this mask's ridiculously expensive price tag. Suqqu had to recall three of their whitening products but this mask wasn't one of them. For Suqqu, I would just stick to the makeup line.

7. By Terry Creme de Rose Nutri-Lift Comfort Cream: This hydrated my skin nicely without any greasy feeling. Like most of By Terry's products, it bears a rose scent but I don't mind it.

8. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil: This emulsifies and rinses off easily, removing all base makeup in a jiffy. However, I still prefer the lighter texture of Shu Uemura's Fresh cleansing oil (pink).

9. L'Oreal Play Ball Beach Fizz: This was a freebie with a magazine purchase at Kinokuniya Singapore a long time ago. It helps give a bit of structure and volume but wasn't really that special to warrant a re-purchase.

10. Percy & Reed Finishing Polish: This is my second tube and I already have a back-up ready. It tames flyaways and frizz without making my hair stiff or crunchy.

11. Lush Tea Tree Water: This is supposed to help detoxify oily, blemish-prone skin but I didn't notice any significant improvement in my skin. I'll stick with Pixi Glow Tonic instead although that is harder to get hold of.

12. Ma Cherie Moisture Conditioner: Love the sweet floral scent and feminine packaging but I think Tsubaki conditioner (which is also made by Shiseido) boasts more hydrating power than this.

13. Laline Mickey & Minnie Shower Gel: A gift from a friend, this had a nice scent and lathered up well but not particularly memorable enough to re-purchase.

14. Lush The Jilted Elf shower jelly: This lathers up nicely with a bath lily. A pot usually provides me with around 10 uses. I took so long to get around to using this that I think the scent had gone off a little.

15. A Scent by Issey Miyake Body Lotion: I liked the clean scent and light, non-greasy texture.

16. Life NK Jump Start Body Lotion: This was included in a Glossybox (UK) which I used to subscribe to when my husband was based in London. Love the fresh uplifting scent of grapefruit, spearmint and peppermint.

17. Bliss Lemon+Sage Body Butter: Intensely hydrating, this takes some kneading to get it to absorb fully. It came in handy in the winter months when my legs get really dry.

18. K-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow 02: A daily staple, I've used up too many of these to count.

19. Too Faced Shadow Insurance: Another daily staple, I prefer this to Urban Decay Primer Potion. It really helps to make my eyeshadows last all day with minimal creasing. A tube lasts close to a year even with daily usage. I already have a back-up tube somewhere.

Operation Use It Up

Just in time for Chinese New Year, I managed to clear out this bumper crop of products, which were used up between December and January.


1. Pixi Glow Tonic: I hauled back four bottles from London to Geneva after reading the online raves sparked by Caroline Hirons' recommendation in this blog post. Pixi has literally not been able to keep this on the shelves since Hirons wrote about it. It used to be available only in their flagship store in London but it recently became available on their UK and US websites in a new clear bottle packaging. The UK website ships internationally but is currently out of stock again of the tonic. It's not that expensive at £16 for 250ml. It contains 5% glycolic acid for exfoliating the skin and warding off acne. Used once daily, it did help to keep my skin relatively clear, smooth and blemish-free without irritating it, although my pores still needed manual purging from time to time. The only time that it stung slightly was when I applied it after using a Lush fresh mask. I would definitely repurchase this again if it is available.

2. REN Clarifying Toning Lotion also worked well with my skin but is more expensive than Pixi Glow Tonic at £18 for 150ml. Used once daily, I finished this bottle in less than three weeks. The combination of salicilin from willow bark, glycolic acid, lactic acid, citric acid and tartaric acid works to exfoliate, tone and decongest the skin. I did not experience any irritation with this. It does help to keep my skin clear and is more easily available than Pixi Glow Tonic.

3. Astalift Cream did a good job of hydrating my skin but it also made me break out in small blemishes.

4. Astalift Moisture Foam is a pretty standard foaming cleanser that left my skin feeling slightly dry.

5. Astalift Essence Destiny is a light serum that comes with a pipette dispenser. I liked this better than the Astalift Cream as it hydrated my skin without making me breaking out.

6. Astalift Lotion does a good job of refreshing and toning my skin. I still have a full-size bottle of this in my stash.

7. Astalift Complete Make-up Remover Oil did a decent job of removing makeup but didn't feel that special to warrant a full size purchase.

8. Peter Thomas Roth Mega-Rich Body Wash has a lovely citrus scent and cleanses well without drying out my skin.

9. Peter Thomas Roth Mega-Rich Shampoo and Conditioner did not feel as deeply moisturising as Shiseido's Tsubaki range.

10. Lancome Tonique Radiance Clarifying Exfoliating Toner is alcohol-heavy (second on the ingredient list). I accidentally got some in my eye while closing the cap and it stung pretty bad. The Ren Clarifying Lotion and Pixi Glow Tonic are much better alternatives.

11. Helena Rubenstein All Mascaras Complete Eye Makeup Remover proved to be no match for Majolica Majorca's infamous waterproof mascaras. I still don't understand why HR's mascaras top many Japanese beauty magazine polls.

12. Kiehl's Clearly Correcting Dark Spot Solution feels very light on the skin and absorbs well without leaving a film. I didn't notice a significant reduction in the spots on my cheeks though so I probably will not repurchase this.

13. La Mer Moisturising Gel Cream worked surprisingly well with my skin. It helped keep the skin flakes at bay and did not make my skin too oily or cause any blemishes.

14. Lancome Genefique Yeux did a good job of hydrating the eye area without causing any milia. I liked it but probably won't repurchase it as I still have some other eye creams to use up.

15. Sarah Chapman Skinesis Neck and Chest Rejuvenating Complex: This deluxe sample was a gift with purchase. It did a decent job of hydrating but other than that, it was nothing special. I don't really see the point of using a different moisturiser for the neck versus the rest of the body.

16. Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream is gentle enough to use two to three times a week. I find it to be more effective than Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant. When I use this, I skip the exfoliating lotions so as not to over-exfoliate my skin, which can cause it to get thinner.

17. REN Frankincense Revitalizing Night Cream worked well in hydrating my skin during these dry winter months without making it excessively oily. It does have a distinctive scent but I didn't mind it. The Frankincense range has been revamped and renamed the V-cense range.

18. Vera Wang Satiny Body Lotion was nicely hydrating and did not leave an oily film. The scent is cloyingly sweet though.

19. Rituals Lao Tze Chinese Mint and Yi Yi Ren Cooling Foot Balm did a good job of moisturing my feet and I loved the relaxing scent. The cooling sensation isn't that strong.

20. Bioderma Crealine Solution Micellaire cleanses away makeup pretty effectively except for eye makeup, so I always use a separate eye makeup remover. I also follow up with a facial cleanser to make sure that my skin is thoroughly cleansed.

21. Noble Isle Summer Rising Bath & Shower Gel has a lovely elegant green scent that makes me miss London.

22. L'Occitane Fleurs Merveilleuses Shower Gel has a sweet floral scent that is not too cloying. I liked L'Occitane's shower gels but I only purchase them when they are on sale as they are too pricey at normal retail price.

23. Philosophy Sweet Honey Orange Jam was a delicious orange scent but it does not linger on the skin much.

24. Josie Maran Argan Oil Hair Serum works very well for de-frizzing my hair and I like the scent too. It is pricey but I would repurchase this.

25. Nick Chavez Volumizing Shampoo wasn't particularly volumizing.

26. Percy & Reed Beautifully Bouncy Volumising Conditioner was also not that memorable in terms of the effect it had on my hair.