The festive season is upon us, and with that comes plenty of limited-edition beauty launches – be it coffrets (mini perfume sets), classics re-upholstered in new finishes (such as the sparkly new takes on Gucci Beauty’s beloved Rouge a Levres matte lipsticks) or highly collectable cases.
They tend to make great gifting options, as they usually come with miniature options of a brand’s bestseller (great for travelling, in other words). But whatever takes your fancy, act earlier than later; they tend to sell out.
The house of Dior has many offerings for the festive season, but this cutie caught our eye; it’s a mini clutch case for your Rouge Dior lipsticks (the case comes with a Rouge Dior with an engraved bullet and three refills), and it also sports a removable lipstick holder on the side that can be worn around the neck as an accessory in itself.
Hermes’ H24 fragrance (and skincare) family may be marketed towards men, but we say fragrances are entirely up to one’s own preferences. Those who dig green scents will probably take to H24’s clean, metallic profile – this lovely set comprises of one full-size 100ml bottle of the H24 eau de toilette, as well as a 12.5ml mini, all housed in a box adorned with a sleeve featuring the “Cheval de fete” silk scarf design by Polish illustrator Jan Bajtlik.
Here’s a good reminder from Chanel that festive beauty looks aren’t just restricted to your face; the new Gold Body Oil is a limited-edition shimmering potion that imparts a subtle sheen thanks to the gold-coloured pigments suspended within. It promises to envelope the skin in the maison’s idiosyncratic N°5 fragrance, while simultaneously moisturising it.
Japanese skincare maison SK-II is built on the premise of pitera – a yeast-derived ingredient that is said to be rich in vitamins, amino acids, minerals and organic acids. The top-selling product in its line is of course the one that started it all: the Facial Treatment Essence, which contains over 90 per cent pitera. We dig that the Essence comes in neon colours for this festive season, adding a fluorescent touch to the usual sparkle-filled offerings that tend to populate this period. The set comes with a full-size 230ml bottle of the essence, as well as a complimentary 50ml bottle of the Mid-Day Miracle Essence.
Guerlain has tapped on the Italian-born, Paris-based jeweller L’Atelier Truscelli to design a limited-edition bottle for the season – and it’s a real doozy. The star element is obviously Guerlain’s mascot, the bee, which is presented here as a gold-plated, custom-moulded design with more than 150 crystals, each set by hand. Considering the amount of work that goes into this bottle, it’s no wonder there are only 3,960 numbered pieces worldwide. As for the Imagine fragrance itself, it is described to be a floral-woody scent, with notes of orange blossom, patchouli, sandalwood and benzoin resin.
The Tom Ford brand is a $2.8 billion powerhouse now but the designer kickstarted the beauty arm of his label with just one fragrance – the now iconic Black Orchid in 2006. Suffice to say, Ford is an aesthete supreme, and a good way to get into his olfactory universe is through this Discovery set, which offers six minis from Tom Ford’s Private Blend collection (a higher-end range described to be his “personal scent laboratory”).
The six scents are Oud Wood (a blend of oud notes and exotic woods), Rose Prick (a juicy, flowery and full-bodied rose bouquet), Bitter Peach (an explicitly sweet, spicy-citrus scent), White Suede (a supple leather musk infused with saffron and rose), Soleil Neige (a warm floral musk evoking sunlight on Alpine snow) and Ebene Fume (a meditative woody amber fragrance).
The usual gold case of Gucci Beauty’s signature Rouge a Levres Mat lipstick series has been replaced with a metallic pink version that sports a stylised floral motif for the season. Additionally, two colours from the lip range have been released in limited-edition versions – 505 ‘Janet Rust’ (a deep, velvety orange-red) and 515 ‘Devotion’ (a bright red) have been infused with pearl glitter to bring extra sparkle to these staple shades.
P.S. The best place to check out Gucci Beauty’s limited edition launches for the festive season is at its pop-up outside Ion Orchard, which is on until Jan 2.
There are lipsticks a-plenty in the market but this lip-shaped YSL Beauty case is worth collecting as an object in and of itself. (Besides, lip print motifs have always been a staple in the maison’s fashion history.) As for the goodies within, expect four minis from the Rouge Pur Couture range (known for its intense colours) in shades 1, 21, 83 and 1966.
Jo Malone launched the Townhouse collection of candles two years ago and it stands out, even within the English brand’s extensive offerings. There are six scents in this candle collection – Wild Berry & Bramble, Pastel Macaroons, Green Tomato Vine, Glowing Embers, Lilac Lavender & Lovage, and Fresh Fig & Cassis – and they’re each housed in a custom ceramic vessel. This season, the Glowing Embers scent gets a limited-edition polka-dotted makeover.
Luxury haircare label Oribe has teamed up with contemporary Japanese artist Kohei Kyomori for their holiday collections. The artist is known for his vibrant digital paintings, which reinterpret the concepts of classic ornamentation and handmade craftsmanship and he’s come up with four unique prints for each of the limited edition sets. We’d go with the Gold Lust Collection, which contains the brand’s anti-ageing Gold Lust shampoo and conditioner, as well as a travel-size version of the Nourishing Hair Oil.