February sees several new interesting launches: American sunscreen label Supergoop! for instance, has added the buzzy anti-ageing ingredient bakuchiol to their newest sunscreen, while Japanese-influenced brand Tatcha debuts a poetic body care range inspired by the practice of forest bathing. Meanwhile, makeup fanatics should make a beeline for Hermes Beauty’s adorable new summer lip colours, as well as Dior Beauty’s volumising Addict Lip Maximizer. More details below.
Every season, Hermes launches a trio of limited-edition lip colours to its popular Rouge Hermes lipstick range – and we have to say that its upcoming Spring/Summer 2023 edition might just be the cutest addition to date. The Pierre Hardy-designed lipstick packaging is typically colour-blocked, but for the first time, summery stripes have been added – an invitation to celebrate the spirit of beach holidays with an everyday gesture, according to the maison.
The stripe is a constant motif with Hermes; it has appeared in the maison’s catalogue since as early as 1903 on items such as woollen blankets and horse-drawn carriages, and subsequently on bags, parasols and beach robes from the ’20s. As for the refillable limited-edition colours ($132 each), they are 22 Brun Yachting (a luminous brown with coppery glints), 06 Corail Parasol (a shimmery orange-pink) and 10 Beige Croisette (a natural, slightly pink-toned beige).
Available from Feb 16 at Hermes stores and beauty counters
If you’re a fan of Le Labo’s popular Another 13 perfume, you might want to check out the maison’s upcoming Ambroxyde 17 candle ($116). The signature ingredient in the former is ambroxyde, a synthetic ingredient that’s said to come across as velvety, musky and ambery and now it is also the star player in the Ambroxyde 17 candle; the latter contains notes of ambroxyde, musk, jasmine and moss.
Available from Feb 16 at Le Labo boutiques at Takashimaya S.C. and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Tom Ford Beauty is launching a Cherry collection, with the key products being two new fragrances: Electric Cherry and Cherry Smoke. The first is a floral fruity model ($335 for 30ml; $575 for 50ml) that features the key note of morello cherry and notes of ginger, jasmine sambac, ambrettolide and spicy pink peppercorn. Cherry Smoke ($335 for 30ml; $575 for 50ml), on the other hand, is an amber spicy number that opts for dark cherry, saffron, osmanthus and smoked wood. Both scents are housed in Tom Ford’s signature Private Blend bottle. Accompanying both fragrances are two corresponding limited-edition eye colour quads ($152), a high-shine lip gloss ($90) and a refillable cushion compact ($60).
Available from Feb 22 at Level 1 Tangs at Tang Plaza
Now here’s a true Y2K icon – first launched in the early 2000s, the Dior Addict lipstick range was mad popular in that era for its idiosyncratic upside-down tube design and glossy finish. The range has been a mainstay in Dior’s repertoire ever since but it has just received an update with the new Dior Addict Lip Maximizer.
The lip maximizer reportedly offers Addict’s signature high shine, hydration and a voluminising effect – the maison says the new formula is 90 per cent of “natural origin” and includes everyone’s favourite hydrator, hyaluronic acid, as well as cherry oil to create an immediately plumping effect. There are a total of 31 shades ($59 each) to choose from as well as four finishes (classic, intense, shimmer and holographic). And for the first time, there are two intensity levels available: transparent and intense,
Available at all Dior Beauty boutiques and counters, with selected shades exclusive to the Dior Beauty Online Boutique; and Sephora stores and Sephora.sg
It may come as no surprise that Tatcha, the Japanese-influenced skincare giant, has finally launched a body care range inspired by the practice known as shinrin-yoku (which translates to forest bathing). While the term was coined by the Japanese in the ’80s, most cultures innately know that spending more time (mindfully) in nature benefits human health, which is essentially what shinrin-yoku is about.
According to the brand, over 50 per cent of the benefits of forest bathing comes from breathing the forest air, which is rich in phytoncides, which are organic compounds with antimicrobial properties that are emitted by plants and trees to protect them from mould, bacteria, and insects. These benefits reportedly include reducing inflammation; calming the nervous system; boosting one’s immunity system; and improved sleep.
Tatcha’s new three-piece Forest Awakening Body Collection – a body wash ($65), a moisturising milk ($95), and moisturising oil ($79) – features some of these phytoncides through an essential oil blend that is sourced from Japanese hinoki, cedar, and hiba woods. Meanwhile, the brand’s proprietary complex of double-fermented Akita rice, Uji green tea, and Okinawa algae help to provide additional antioxidant protection.
Available exclusively at Sephora stores and Sephora.sg
Lancome’s new Renergie H.C.F. Triple Serum ($217) comes with the intriguing promise of integrating three active ingredients previously deemed incompatible to combine – that is, hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C + Niacinamide (a Vitamin C derivative and niacinamide) and ferulic acid (a powerful antioxidant that neutralises free radical damage to protect the skin from future ageing).
It’s an odd tangent to go on, given that the supposedly incompatible combination of Vitamin C and niacinamide for instance, is an outdated myth that has been debunked. Regardless, the brand has paid extra attention even to the packaging, where each individual active ingredient has been stored within separate chambers that protect them from air, light and impurities, preserving their optimal efficacy before each use through the triple nozzle.
The serum is further enhanced with linseed extract, which contains 33 per cent peptides to strengthen the skin barrier and support skin hydration, as well as 45 per cent oligosaccharides to improve dermal structure.
Available now at all Lancome counters, Lancome e-boutique, department stores and Lazada
Aman junkies (super fans of the ultra-exclusive hotel chain) will have even more reason to look forward to the next time they check into one of the chain’s outposts. The brand has just beefed up its existing skincare options through the launch of Aman Essential Skin, a new skincare range that comprises five products designed to support the skin barrier. The entire range was developed and made in Japan through a partnership with the Japanese skincare giant Kose.
There are five products in total – a milk cleanser, a toner, a serum, face moisturiser and eye cream – with each featuring two key ingredients: purple rice bran extract (which reportedly helps to promote the production of collagen) and indigo extract (which is said to have antioxidant properties).
The Aman Essential Skin range, US$80-US$270 (S$105-S$355) is available on Aman’s website or within Aman Boutiques at the brand’s destinations across the globe
American sunscreen powerhouse Supergoop! has an overwhelming range of SPF products so it can be hard to keep up with all of its launches but its latest does come with a notable twist. Titled Supergoop! Daily Dose Bioretinol + Mineral SPF 40 Fluid ($76), the twist comes in the addition of bakuchiol to the sunscreen.
If you’re not familiar with bakuchiol, here’s the lowdown. It is an ingredient derived from the babchi plant that is said to be able to visibly reduce skin discolourations, fine lines and wrinkles – achieving similar results to skincare’s number one anti-ageing ingredient, retinol. Its advantage? Bakuchiol is said to be soothing to the skin, hence it’s much more attractive in that aspect compared to retinol, which is infamous for causing irritation (in the early stages of using it).
While bakuchiol is now hyped up as the “natural” alternative to retinol, do be aware that research into it is still very new and it has not been as extensively proven to be as effective as retinol. Nor does it work in the skin in the exact same pathways as retinol, hence marketing bakuchiol to be a “natural” retinol might be an overblown statement.
Supergoop!’s sunscreen contains bakuchiol, as well as L-Carnosine peptide, so in theory, it should help with signs of ageing. It also contains olive esters and glycerin to boost moisture levels in your skin.
Available at all Sephora stores and Sephora.sg
The newly improved Laneige Perfect Renew 3X series, which focuses on “age prevention technology”, only comprises four products – a serum ($112) a toner ($63) an emulsion ($68) and moisturiser ($103) – but each is designed to be a skincare heavyweight.
Take the star product, the serum: It niftily encapsulates three different serums into one bottle. When you press down on the pump, three serums (each housed within a different cylinder within the bottle) are doled out together as one supercharged product. Each of the individual serums focuses on different aspects of ageing such as wrinkle-reduction (using ceramides and retinol capsules to do so), firming (through a peptide complex) and radiance (through the use of hyaluronic acid, flavonoids and antioxidants).
Available now at Laneige stores, e-boutique, Shopee, Sephora and departmental stores
We’ve always been told to stay hydrated and Clarins is here to reinforce that message with its newly revamped Hydra-Essentiel range – after all, having hydrated skin is akin to building a good foundation for greater things.
The French brand says the six-piece collection ($39-$96) was designed to cater to women of all ages, ethnicities and skin types, with each product containing the latest generation of Clarins’ signature anti-pollution complex (comprising the plant-derived ingredients of organic white horehound extract, furcellaria extract, and nipplewort extract) to prevent the weakening of the skin’s capacity to retain water.
The hero ingredient to the Hydra-Essentiel is the leaf of life, a native species to Madagascar that reportedly helps the skin to stimulate the production of its own hyaluronic acid. Not only is the plant regenerative for the skin, but it’s also helping to regenerate its local community as the ingredient is certified organic, sourced fair trade, and is the key behind a new permanent partnership between Clarins and the local communities which grows, harvest and sun-dry the plant. This partnership helps local communities benefit from the additional health training and access to educational gardens where medicinal plants are grown, increasing their knowledge and ability to treat themselves.
Available now at Clarins stores and e-boutique