Category: Uncategorized

It’s just barely a week to Christmas and i’m here to help with any gifts that need buying; this time with a guide less focused on ‘things’.

I reached out to my friends from Sortorial to help break the cycle of last minute gift shopping with some sustainable gifting ideas that are kinder to this planet. If you aren’t sure who Sortorial is, click here!

For the minimalist

The first thing you put on while you get dressed, you can’t underestimate the importance of good underwear. We love the range from Knickey made from non-GMO, certified organic cotton which is handpicked at harvest (this creates jobs for local communities and prevents high energy use from traditional machinery). If you live in the States, you can send in your ready-to-retire intimates to be turned into new materials like insulation and carpet padding. The bonus? Get a free pair of Knickeys with your next order. P.S – They do gift cards too!

For the fashion lover

Grounded by the principles of considered design, relentless quality, honest value, and positive impact, Kotn has womenswear, menswear and home furnishings sourced directly from the Better Cotton Initiative and small-family run farms in Egypt. In partnership with a local NGO, with each Kotn order, up to 100% of proceeds are donated to fund and build primary schools in the Nile Delta and Egypt. Kotn started with the basic t-shirt, and they’ve done it even better by making it size inclusive.

For the environmentalist

To have an unforgettable experience, experience urban beekeeping and enjoy a cup of honey craft beer after. Honey bees are vital to our ecosystem, acting as highly efficient pollinators of our food crops as well as for wild flora. Effective pollination increases the amount of agricultural produce, improves their quality and enhances plants’ resistance to pests. Learn how to care for and kep bees in an ethical and sustainable way, and you might be motivated to harvest your own beehive and be rewarded with some honey.

For the thrill seeker

Soak up the sun and the views while you zip line through the mountains of North Wales at 100 mph. Zip World Velocity is the fastest zip line in the world and the longest in Europe. Available to anyone aged 10 years and above, and doesn’t weigh more than 120kg, this suspends you 500 feet high. A gift card is valid for a year, so the recipient can find more friends to go on this adventure, as there are four parallel zip lines – that means you can go as a group of four! The more the merrier. 

For the dreamer

We spend more than a quarter of our lives sleeping, so make sure you #hustlehardsleepeasy with luxury organic cotton bedsheets or loungewear from Sojao (which means ‘go to sleep’ in Hindi and pays tribute to the Indian smallholder cotton farmers the company works with). With worldwide shipping available, you can gift bed sheets and towels certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard to your friends and family. We love the versatility of the Classic mix and match bundle set – pairing navy, forest and white is so chic.

P.S – Free delivery in Singapore!

For the design enthusiast

The Citizenry establishes relationships with artisans who use local materials to craft the best homeware goods – all without a middleman. Which is how you can get handmade goods at more reasonable prices than traditional luxury boutiques. We’ve got our eyes on the San Cristobal brass wall hanging set which is cut by artisans in Santiago, Chile. Made with higher standards, The Citizenry pays wages that average twice the fair trade requirement. 

Need help with styling or shopping? Book a shop session with sortorial. We can help you shop in-store and send your purchases over, or curate a list of items that you can shop online. 

Let’s talk about the latest in luxury beauty; Louboutin Beauty has expanded it’s portfolio with a new range of palettes for the eyes and cheeks. The compacts and refills are sold individually, which adds up to a total of SGD 216 per palette. There’s a red and black compact to choose from… and then three eyeshadow palette refills + three blush trio refills to mix and match.

It’s quite the splurge considering each empty palette is SGD108 and another SGD108 for the refill. Still cannot get over how much it costs to have just one palette with the case! But I do appreciate the effort to be environmentally conscious even though I might never really pan these palettes.

The empty palette is a stunning compact with a magnetic closure. The top is studded with signature Louboutin spikes (that surprisingly don’t seem to add a load of weight) and the bottom of the palette has an equally pretty ‘red sole’ .

Each palette assembles with a satisfying click thanks to the magnetized case. Perfection! Honestly wish Hermes got it right that first time.

My picks from the eyeshadow palettes were Rose Pigalle & Bronze Eloise. These look like the most likely combinations I’d normally wear. I wish the two had a bit more variation of colours. Unfortunately BOTH contain a gold shade with one palette containing TWO. I honestly didn’t see the point in releasing similar shades when the launch is such a small one. Also there is room for some matte shades in the palettes. Bronze Eloise had one matte brown, luckily!

Unfortunately the variety of looks from Rose Pigalle is limited to shimmery, sparkly ones. I really hoped the brown in this was matte. But at least the palette didn’t contain two golds!

Rose Pigalle is a mix of, a pink with gold shimmer, a warm gold with micro glitter, a shimmery copper, a rich metallic orange, a satin brown with gold shimmer and a rich metallic maroon.

The formula between these vary, the two shades bottom left and right (orange & maroon) swatch like baked (wet and dry) formulas. I tried them wet and they really do POP. The only shade I wasn’t loving was the satin brown, the gold shimmer in this ends up in the eye when I use it to line the lower lash line and irritates. Personally I prefer darker shades to have minimal to no shimmer (especially when the formula is a powdery one and tends to escape while applying). Overall the pigmentation in these shadows were pretty good. I wouldn’t say they are crazy pigmented and buttery like let’s say… the Pat Mcgrath shadows, but I do think they are good. I also actually like the gold in this palette. It has a gorgeous high shimmer glittery finish that can be worn on it’s own for a statement eye look. I’d use it patted and pressed on all over the lid with fingertips for maximum effect.

My only gripe is that the palette isn’t well balanced. The addition of some matte shadows would definitely allow more variety in terms of the looks.

If you really want to try out the Louboutin formula and enjoy luxury palettes, I definitely feel this would be the one to go for. Of the three palettes Rose Pigalle had a better colour mix in my humble opinion (read, no repeat shades).

Bronze Eloise is the ‘neutral’ palette that …. wasn’t quite neutral. I really didn’t get the need for two golds. I feel this missed the mark in that sense since the launch didn’t have a single true ‘neutral’ palette that many of us tend to use on a regular basis. What was lacking was a matte cream or a simple beige that would really kick up the versatility of this one, minus the gold. The 1st gold really wasn’t needed. Who needs a pale gold that’s pigmented ‘ok’ at best and a incredibly warm but well pigmented, VERY yellow gold too?

Anyway.. the shades in here are a shimmery rose, a satin gold, a medium matte brown, a rose bronze, a warm saturated gold and a deep metallic bronze. My favorite shade in the palette is the 1st one, the beautiful satin rose. It’s formula is silky smooth and just the kinda shade I love to use as a one and done colour for daily use. It’s so pretty.

The first gold in the palette is more of a muted pale gold, the second a warm saturated one. The matte brown swatched ok, but did perform much better with a brush. I feel overall these pick up with brushes really well and blend out nicely! They look very smooth on the eyes.

Bottom line, the palettes weren’t extraordinary. I do think they create a glamourous eye look as the brand intended. It’s all about drama. If I had to pick, I can’t say I love one more than the other.. except where wearabilty is concerned I guess you would be better off with Bronze Eloise.

Of the blush palettes I pick up one.

I ADORE the shades in this. Plus it’s a baked Gelee type formula. Silky smooth, amazingly pigmented and wears like a second skin with no powderiness. This almost melts and fuses with the skin for a luminous glowy finish. On me they wore well for over 5-6 hours after which they faded considerably.

The colours in here are definitely more for medium to deeper skin tones and I love that the brand kept this launch more inclusive.

Left to right there is a berry with a subtle blue shift, a warm gold highlighter and a bronze. I was curious to swatch this along with the NARS blush Dominate and to be quite honest they are very similar (almost like a mix of the two blush shades in the palette). However NARS is a little bit more bolder, more saturation and also contains a little micro glitter that catches the light for a dazzling look.

Lastly a look with the palette.

I used Bronze Eloise and the So Prive blush palette for easy glam makeup. The blush shade is a mix of the two colours in the palette. I skipped the highlighter as I didn’t want the look to end up too warm. I’m happy the palette does come together rather nicely.

Bottom Line

The eyeshadows apply smoothly and are well pigmented. They also blend easily and can be used with or without primer, (I tried both). There wasn’t much fallout during application except for the deeper shades. I like that overall they do come together to create a beautiful eye look.

For what they cost, the quality and formulation should be exceptional and truth be told, I could achieve this look with other palettes with possibly better formulations. However as far as overall execution, they are very nice. I feel the attention to detail for the packaging alone is pretty amazing and they nailed it as with their lipsticks which look and feel equally luxurious!

Btw these palettes contain 6g of product , 1g per pan. I cross checked with a Chanel eye palette and it contains 2g. The average Dior palette contains 3g and a NARS 4.8g . Depending on whether a powder is baked or pressed the weight varies. But overall 6g is pretty generous.

For me the real winners were the blushes, and they are lovely! I feel if you are on the look out for some luxury retail therapy these are wonderful. Personally I wouldn’t mind adding more to my collection… but the price… I really find it hard justifying it.

The highly anticipated Chanel Les Beiges collection just launched. Packaged in signature beige for the season, the collection embodies the lightness it represents. Elegant textures, subtle flashes of colour with a signature Chanel touch.

The collection consists of ;

Two bases, Water Fresh Tint & Healthy Glow Foundation both reviewed previously here & here.

Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palettes in two colour ways : Tender , Intense

Rouge Coco Flash in Dawn (le) , Heat (le) , Flame & Sunbeam

Nail polish in shades, Glimmer (le) , Sunlight, Golden Sand (le) , Solar

The western markets will also be retailing the Soleil Tan Bronzer in a NEW darker shade Deep Bronze.

The lipsticks for Les Beiges 2021 are my favourite Rouge Coco Flash formula. If you follow me on instagram you’ll notice they make a regular appearance in my makeup bag.

The formula is essentially a semi-sheer one with conditioning ingredients. They are the perfect no fuss formula for everyday & summer holidays ensuring the lips stay juicy and hydrated throughout the day.

For 2021, the palette is a shimmering sand, a peach, a warm rose and a hot red.

Flame – Is a medium warm rose

Dawn – Is a light neutral nude with the slightest hint of shimmer

Sunbeam – Is a muted peach with silver shimmer

Heat – Is a warm spicy red infused with specks of gold shimmer

My favourite of the collection is Dawn. There’s a subtle shimmer finish that is invisible when worn but adds a sheen to the overall finish. If you enjoy your summer lipsticks neutral, this is gorgeous.

Sunbeam is a muted peachy apricot. I noticed a chunky silver shimmer dispersed throughout the lipstick, though hardly noticeable on the lips. It’s a very cute colour for summer. Should suit most complexions except deeper skin tones since it doesn’t lean too warm or too light.

Flame is a stunning warm rose. This one’s more pigmented in comparison to the others of the collection and would suit medium and darker skin tones beautifully. It’s the one shade that’s a true cream finish & contains no shimmers.

Heat as the name suggests is a spicy warm red. The formula of this is somewhat sheer with noticeable golden shimmers (if you look closely in the swatch you can spot it). Even though the Rouge Coco Flash is a balmy, emmolient formula, this ones extra balmy! I find the pigments in this settle into lip lines and doesn’t give you an even finish. Of the 4 lipsticks, I liked this the least. I’m sure it’ll work better over a lip liner if there’s a drier base for it to hold on to.

Overall the wear is what’s expected of a glossy formula (maximum 2-3 hours) but they do fade evenly, which is good.

I’ve put together some comparison swatches of formulas and colours that I felt would be similar. I don’t have any possible dupes. But in terms of formula, and texture, the YSL Rouge Volupté Shine’s are very similar. The Chanel Le Rouge Crayon formula has similar slip but infinitely more pigmented!

Moving on to the eye palette, I have Tender to share with you. The colours are meant to be more on the sheerer translucent side hence the name Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow. I do find these excellent for a natural everyday makeup look (which I guess what they are intended for anyway).

Each of the Les Beiges palettes come with 5 shades. Tender contains a pale pink, a deep reddened brown, a sparkling champagne nude, a glittery pink, a medium pink rose.

The shades come together perfectly to create a soft blown out eye look. For more payoff I use my fingers to add more colour, but overall these are sheerer but blend like a dream. It embodies the lightness and carefree nature of this summer collection.

The only shade I really found hard to work with was the glitter. It struggled to stay on, even though I used my fingers to apply. The palette in general would most certainly benefit from a primer pre-application. I use my Chanel eye primer to get the best staying power for all my eye looks.

.. swatches!

Within the collection I feel the nail polishes were some of the BEST offerings. Firstly I am not a fan of pearly satin finish nail polish.

But…. these two shades are amazing! I’ve always had trouble achieving a streak free application with shimmer polishes but Chanel has nailed the formula. Two coats is all it takes for a opaque application. Top coat optional since these dry so glossy anyway.

I love Sunlight. It’s a gorgeous shade for brides. The colour is a neutral rose. Golden Sand is a warmer gold toned nude. They both apply so evenly I was tempted to pick up a backup of Sunlight. I’ve already ordered Glimmer in the hope it’s this exact formula. Fingers crossed!

I feel the nail polishes were perfectly executed. Both colours outstanding. I love the lipsticks too. Must-haves to me are Dawn & Sunbeam. Beautiful colours that’ll transport you to warm sunny days.

The eyeshadow palette is pretty; I feel the overall looks that can be created are rather muted since the formula is on the sheerer side. As much as I want to love it, there are definitely better palettes for your money. Though I do enjoy wearing this one, it’s not a must-have.

Have you purchased anything so far? I think Dawn will be a staple in my makeup bag regardless of season. Hoping Chanel realeases more nudes and mlbb shades within the Rouge Coco Flash range. I can never get enough!

Collection currently available at all Chanel Beauty Counters and Beauty Boutiques.

*This post contains PR gifts sent for review.