Celebrity Life

No one is wearing makeup but here is why you should opt for a victory red lipstick. Whether you know it or not,  you and I  contribute to a $532 billion beauty industry?  According to a new report from the retail analytics firm Edited. If you are to buy one colour for 2021 and now […]

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With the festive season upon us, now's the perfect excuse to start updating our vanity with all the latest beauty releases — think of it as a Christmas present to ourselves for making it through this strange and stressful year.

Here's our selection of all the new beauty products worth getting our hands on this December 2020.

YSL Beuté's Or Rouge Collection

With the Or Rouge collection, YSL Beauté’s unique approach to beauty continues to disrupt the market, re-defining sustainability as the ultimate frontier in luxury skincare. La Crème Riche together with La Crème Fine, LaCrème Regard, La Lotion, La Crème Démaquillante and La Protection UV are the pillars of the collection, which serves as a manifesto for the contemporary YSL woman. This year, Or Rouge, recently reformulated in 2018, is even more concentrated in precious Moroccan saffron distillate, the unique plant that makes the products remarkably innovative and effective.

Sisley’s Le Phyto Rouge lipsticks

With the change of weather, Sisley’s Le Phyto Rouge lipstick collection will have your lips moisturised and plump for autumn. A collection of 20 luminous shades that should suit most skin tones, the lipsticks protect, moisturise and smooth the lips to leave them looking sublime. Saturated with high-tech pigments, Le Phyto Rouge provides deep and bright colour with every application, and its protective skincare formula will provide users with continual eight-hour hydration, due to the “hydrobooster complex” that’s formulated with hyaluronic acid and konjac glucomannans.

Dior's Cica Recover Balm

Dior’s new Cica Recover Balm formulated with chamomile for face and body reflects the need to get back to the very essence of skincare: To access daily necessities or, quite simply, to reconnect with oneself. The Cica Recover Balm is designed for skin weakened by everyday life. Ideal for revitalising dry areas on the body, it gently soothes the most fragile zones, such as the face, which can be irritated by wind and cold, rubbing or mask-wearing. Thanks to a pH level that’s close to that of the skin and being fragrance-free to respect a weakened epidermis, the balm provides users with an instant feeling of freshness and helps soothes irritated skin.

Drunk Elephant's Hair and Body Trunk

Colourful, ultra-chic skincare brand Drunk Elephant has released a Hair and Body Trunk as part of its Holiday Collection. The complete hair and body collection comes in an all-in-one waterproof, shower-friendly caddy with a range of products that will have you covered from head to toe. The set comprises a Cocomino glossing shampoo and cream conditioner, a scalp scrub that uses a stable, supercharged AHA/BHA blend designed to rapidly break down and dissolve dead skin cells, as well as a tangle spray that smooths hair while restoring natural movement, manageability and shine. The set also has a cream body cleaner, body lotion and deodorant cream, as well as hair elastics, a neon acrylic bomb and a silicone body dry brush to help you with your daily routine.

Givenchy's holiday collection

Get in the mood to party with Givenchy's holiday collection, which features an eyeshadow palette, two limited-edition lipsticks and a lip topcoat, as well as a limited edition of Givenchy's Prisme Libre loose powder. The black to light palette comes in pearly white and two grey shades, which can be applied in different ways to enhance the brows and add a finishing touch to any festive makeup look, and the lipsticks are available in two comfortable and long-lasting colours.

Botanic Pretti5's beauty line

A newcomer to the Hong Kong beauty scene, Botanic Pretti5 was born from the ambition to create clean products inspired by nature. Made in Japan and formulated with snow mushroom, gold flower root and liquorice root extracts — adaptogens commonly used in Chinese medicine, due to their hydrating capabilities — Botanic Pretti5’s products are free of alcohol, parabens, SLS and artificial fragrance, and satisfy the highest cosmetic standards, striking the perfect balance between natural and scientific, ancient and modern. They currently offer a holistic approach to daily rituals with the Hydro- Power Brightening Cleanser, Antioxidant Hydrating Toning Essence, Advanced Hyaluronic Serum, Intense Water-Glow moisturiser, Miracle Glow Facial Oil and Hydro-Rescue Repairing Night Mask.

NARS' Air Matte Lip Colour

NARS has got fans of matte shades covered with an innovative new formula that glides seamlessly onto lips for an airy, long wear with a comfortable feel. This limited edition of 10 new shades consists of a weightless blend of silky polymers and micropowders that instantly diffuses colour for a soft-focus finish. The creamy, lightweight and airy matte texture provides all-day comfort and the custom applicator provides easy control to effortlessly build coverage from sheer to full for a variety of lip looks.

Ignae's skincare range

Rich in growth factors extracted from milk derivatives that stimulate collagen production, along with Camellia Japonica oil and thermal water filled with minerals and trace elements from the Azores' volcanic Furnas Valley, Ignae also includes high concentrations of peptides from vegetable extracts and stem cell-derived ingredients, forming a complex that's high in efficacy and performance.

OTO's CBD-infused products

Award-winning British CBD brand OTO has launched in Hong Kong. Meaning “sound” in Japanese, OTO represents the space between sound and silence — its products are meant to help you find your space in this busy, modern world. When used correctly, CBD is a miraculous ingredient that’s been known to help with stress, anxiety, sleep, pain and even treat skin problems such as redness, dryness, psoriasis and eczema. One of its most-loved products is the 10 percent CBD Sleep Drops, which were developed and launched entirely through the lockdowns. In addition, the brand also provides a 30 percent CBD pillow mist as well as a variety of roll-on oils to help users reap the benefits of CBD easily and enjoyably in their daily lives. All OTO products are plant-based, cruelty-free, vegan and contain neither sugar nor alcohol.

The post All the New Beauty Products to Add to Your Arsenal This December appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Face masks have now been made mandatory in enclosed spaces in many countries worldwide, and must even be worn outdoors in cities particularly affected by coronavirus infections.

Evidently, mask-wearing has shaken up many aspects of our daily lives, right down to our beauty regimes. From makeup to facial care and product textures, not to mention acne-zapping products, here's a look at some of the changes face masks are bringing to your bathroom and your makeup bag, all in spite of the latest trends.

No makeup: From dream to reality

While plenty of celebrities, such as Alicia Keys, embraced the "no makeup" face well before the global pandemic, lockdown has changed the game profoundly, offering people a real opportunity to accept themselves without makeup.

[caption id="attachment_211494" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Alicia Keys has been an advocate of #nomakeup even before Covid-19 happened. (Image: Alicia Keys/ Facebook)[/caption]

A global trend that has visibly transcended borders given the proliferation of hashtags like "#nomakeup," "#nomakeupday," "#nomakeupchallenge" or "#nomakeupselfie" that have swamped social media this year, all accompanied by pictures showing the world that self-acceptance is today more than just a theory.

This analysis is reinforced by mask-wearing, which isn't particularly compatible with wearing makeup. As well as hiding carefully made-up faces, masks cause foundation and lipstick to rub off in a few minutes, and can increase the risk of blemishes. Those are three good reasons that have led many women to banish makeup from their beauty routines.

[caption id="attachment_211493" align="alignnone" width="1024"] If you're wearing a face mask and shades, you can probably skip makeup altogether. (Image: Bara Buri/ Unsplash)[/caption]

In fact, a poll of 3,018 people carried out by Ifop for the Slow Cosmétique label back in June revealed that 21% of French women surveyed reported wearing makeup every day at the end of lockdown, compared to 42% in 2017. This drop suggests that major changes are afoot in women's beauty habits.

New boom: Mascaras and transfer-resistant products

And even those who aren't (yet) fully onboard the "no makeup" movement have seen their habits change. This is again reflected in the Ifop survey for Slow Cosmétique, which shows that women who regularly wear makeup are now paying more attention to their eyes, rather than skin and, in particular, lips.

And the reason, as mentioned above, is not only that it isn't seen, but also that it simply doesn't stay on due to the rubbing of the mask causing transfer. This observation is supported by sales and searches for these products online, which confirm the current appetite for mascaras, eyeliners and eyebrow products to the detriment of lipsticks and facial products. Interestingly, these products were all the rage before the public health crisis hit, notably driven by trends for contouring, highlighting and baking, and the generally sculpted look.

[caption id="attachment_211499" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Eye makeup is now more important than ever. (Image: Kelly Sikkema/ Unsplash)[/caption]

While many women have given up on lipstick and facial products, others are favouring more specific products, making way for a new trend — the boom in transfer-proof formulations. Brands have been offering such products for several weeks, responding to growing demand from makeup fans who don't want to give in to the mask.

Originally developed to stop lipstick transferring during a meal, when sipping a drink or giving a kiss, these products now seem like the ideal solution for mask-wearing times. Note that lightweight formulations and setting products like powders are also prime choices to overcome the inconvenience of mask-wearing.

Maskne and other skin blemishes

You've no doubt already have heard of "mascne" or "maskne" — acne from wearing face masks — which has become a problem since mask-wearing was made mandatory. These blemishes, or even acne, are caused by the rubbing of the mask and the elastic straps, as well as by the fact that facial coverings stop the skin from breathing.

It's a problem that can affect anyone, at any age — even if people with blemish-prone skin are more susceptible to the problem — and can require a few tweaks to beauty regimes. Before reaching for any kind of product to treat maskne, start by setting — and sticking to — a few day-to-day ground rules. For example, favour fabric masks, which are more breathable than surgical varieties, and change your mask several times a day.

[caption id="attachment_211500" align="aligncenter" width="769"] Spend more time on skincare, as mask-wearing may aggravate existing conditions and cause blemishes. (Image: Coline Hasle/ Unsplash)[/caption]

When it comes to beauty routines, the usual techniques should be reinforced: Removing makeup and cleansing skin are now non-negotiable at the end of a day in a mask. Next, treat skin with a suitable skincare product, and hydrate skin every morning before putting your mask back on.

It's a good idea to use more lightweight textures than usual and to look for non-comedogenic products to reduce the risk of spots, redness and other blemishes. Note that foundation can contribute to preventing skin breathing too. It's therefore better to reduce the use of this product if you don't want to end up dealing with acne.

(Main image: Bara Buri/ Unsplash; Featured image: Flavio Gasperini/ Unsplash)

The post How Mask-Wearing has Transformed Our Beauty Habits appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.