Gucci Beauty launched its first cushion foundation last year, and it offers an ultra-hydrating formula and a luminous finish, as well as SPF22 protection, anti-pollution and anti-blue light properties. Now, in a nod to the festive season, the cushion foundation has been given a mini-makeover – the limited edition, refillable design comes with an exclusive geometric Gucci motif, and is available in three shades.

The latest to join Hermes’ Hermessence series (the maison’s premium perfume range, which they describe as “olfactory poems”) is Violette Volynka. Designed by Hermes’ in-house nose Christine Nagel, the scent is a playful ode to the violet flower – as well as a surprising counterpart in cuir Volynka; the latter being one of the maison’s proprietary vegetable-tanned leather which has a reputation for its robustness. This dual-note concoction is notably housed in a special bottle that comes with its own purple cap, crafted out of the aforementioned Volynka leather.

Caviar is synonymous with La Prairie, and the Swiss brand has been working with the ingredient for over three decades. It recently expanded the Skin Caviar range with the Harmony L’Extrait serum, which is designed to go deeper (literally) than any La Prairie product before. It is designed to address the weakening of ligaments (the rope-like structures within the skin that help to hold things in place, such as connecting one bone to another), which naturally occur as one ages.

According to the brand, the serum reportedly makes the skin structure denser (through microbeads suspended within that contain an enhanced version of skin caviar), hence allowing it to fight signs of ageing such as loss of facial volume.

Sublimage (Chanel’s most high-end skincare collection) gets a new addition in the L’Extrait, which is an ultra-concentrated serum that contains polyfractioned (a three-stage technique which reportedly yields more usable material) extracts of Vanilla Planifolia (vanilla orchid) and Swertia, a plant native to the Himalayas.

It’s a serum-in-oil product – which means it delivers the more intensive effects a serum typically produces while being enveloped in a sumptuous oil texture. One drop is reportedly all you need per use for comprehensive skin rejuvenation and repair – a good thing for our wallets then.

Last year saw Cartier reviving a tradition that dates back to the Art Deco era – vanity cases. Both an object of beauty and function, these cases were used at the time to carry around small objects like lipstick, powder and even cigarettes. Cartier updated the glass bottles of many of their signature perfumes to fit into these slender metal cases – they can be identified by the distinctive geometric patterns influenced by the Art Deco, Oriental and Islamic designs that Cartier created in the ’20s and ’30s. The latest addition is this eye-catching version, which was designed to be a nod to the maison’s famous red boxes.

Even in the world of premium skincare, Dior’s L’Or de Vie range raises eyebrows for its hefty price tag. The reason behind the digits lies in its key ingredient – Yquem Marc, an extract derived from the prized grapes of the award-winning Chateau d’Yquem vineyard in Bordeaux, France using high-tech subcritical water eco-extraction technology. Winemakers reportedly only have five days to pick the Chateau d’Yquem grapes in their most concentrated form.

This year, Dior has created a set of three complementary serums that bring together the best ingredients of the Yquem harvest – featuring what the maison terms “Golden Drop Longevity Technology”. It is basically the highest Yquem concentration achieved to date that combines the Yquem sap (a powerful antioxidant that is more potent than resveratrol), and Yquem ferment, which helps strengthen the skin’s natural defences. The addition of 24K gold particles further enhances the potency of these babies.

For the uninitiated, the English perfume house Creed has a history dating back to 1760, when it was favoured by the royalty of the period and in more contemporary times, they’ve been associated with film icons like Grace Kelly, whose husband-to-be at the time, Prince Rainier of Monaco, commissioned the scent Fleurissimo for their wedding.

The maison recently opened its first physical standalone store in Singapore at Raffles City. Part of Creed’s charm is its notable commitment to natural ingredients and the brand has recently launched its first new fragrance in five years, Wind Flowers. A dusky floral scent, its top notes are jasmine, orange Blossom and peach; with middle notes of jasmine sambac, tuberose and rose and base notes of musk, praline, sandalwood and iris.

If you haven’t heard, cult label Augustinus Bader finally debuted in Singapore in Oct and it got many skincare enthusiasts pretty excited. The eponymous label was founded by German doctor and professor Augustinus Bader, who is known for his research into how stem cells can help heal injuries. (Bader developed a gel back in 2008 that could help speed up the healing of even third-degree burns without the need for surgery of skin grafts.)

At the heart of the label’s products is their proprietary TFC8 complex, which is described by the company to contain amino acids, high-grade vitamins and a synthesised version of molecules that are naturally found in the body – basically building on the philosophy of harnessing the human body’s capacity to heal.

The brand debuted in 2018 with only three products – the Cream, the Rich Cream and the Body Cream – and while it’s wildly expanded since, you can get your hands on the OG bestsellers in this limited-edition set.

Incense (grains of resins that produce a fragrant odour when burnt) have been quietly rising in popularity in the past two years or so, moving away from its traditional association with cultural ceremonies. Part of it is down to the overall rise and embrace of “wellness” but the pandemic notably birthed a spike in fragrances, especially those designed for domestic purposes.

Aesop has recently launched a series of perfumed incense, and alongside those comes a beautiful incense holder, joining the Brass Oil Burner as the second design object in the brand’s Home range. And while incense may not be everyone’s cup of tea, we’re quite sure this holder (designed for Aesop by Vogel Studio) is surely a crowd-pleaser; each is individually crafted and cast in bronze, which will take on a natural patina over time. You can simply re-purpose it as a trinket holder or even a paperweight – why not?

Tom Ford’s 2022 Soleil Neige collection is an attempt to capture the hues of a wintry sunrise, and accordingly, the two limited-edition eyeshadow palettes comprise of eight shadows in warm, rosy-golden hues, all poetically inspired by the flush of skin in wintry conditions.

They come in multi-finish textures from shimmery to matte, with Chalet Lust (left) offering a lighter neutral palette, while Apres Ski (right) goes for a darker spectrum that features a lot of warm-toned golds and coppers.