The ultimate beauty gifting guide
For those who have everything
Skincare’s ‘miracle in a jar’ is finally here
La Prairie recently re-launched its most powerful anti-aging range, the Platinum Rare Haute Rejuvenation collection, and in February 2021 will launch the line’s most groundbreaking product yet “the ultimate path to rejuvenation,” according to La Prairie’s director of innovation, Dr. Daniel Stangl.
Platinum Rare takes its cue from high jewelry and fine watchmaking in exquisite details like a jewel box housing an amethyst-like jar inside, and platinum spatula to scoop up the shimmering, velvety cream.
It’s even spawned collaborations with Japanese artist Nobuhiro Nakanishi — who created installations “Echo of Time” and “Eternal Circle,” featuring photographs and stripe drawings he made of the Swiss Alps during twilight — and British composer Max Richter, who scored Nakanishi’s video loops.
But the true gem is Platinum Rare’s haute-rejuvenation formula, based on La Prairie founder Dr. Paul Niehans’ groundbreaking cellular therapy, and patronized by Hollywood icons like Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, who both went for rejuvenation treatments at Clinique La Prairie in Montreux, Switzerland.
“Today our scientists know that skin is gifted with natural regenerating power based on interconnected processes that decrease when we age,” says Stangl. “Our Platinum Multi-peptide supports five key rejuvenation processes — skin barrier reinforcement, cellular renewal, stress response, renewal of the extra-cellular matrix and cell communication — creating a loop of rejuvenation across the skin to fight all signs of aging.”
The upcoming Platinum Rare Haute Rejuvenation protocol goes even further, bridging the skin barrier, reanimating cells and actually creating new skin tissue. “Signs of aging are improved as never seen before, and skin benefits are simply unprecedented,” Stangl says.
But while we wait for this ultimate fountain of youth coming in February 2021, we can already start reaping the benefits Platinum Rare promises. With just one application of the elixir and cream I already saw a difference overnight, waking up to plump, hydrated, firmer and bouncier skin that radiated a subtle glow. La Prairie has truly captured a miracle in a jar.
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The La Prairie Platinum Rare Haute Rejuvenation collection is available at Rustan’s The Beauty Source and Rustans.com.
A skin renaissance in four weeks
If you need to look your absolute best in four weeks but can’t go to a derm, Sisleya L’Integral Anti-Age La Cure is for you. The ultimate result of nearly 30 years of research, La Cure answers Sisley’s question, “How do we treat all the factors that provoke the aging of the skin?”
A regimen of four vials that you apply twice a day contains the most potent natural actives to clear away dead cells and pave the way for the protection, rescue and stimulation of healthy new skin cells.
At the end of four weeks is the promised skin renaissance: “Wrinkles are visibly reduced and the skin recovers the density, elasticity and radiance of youthful skin,” according to president and founder of Sisley Paris Philippe d’Ornano.
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Sisley is exclusively available at Rustan’s The Beauty Source and Rustans.com.
For skincare lovers
This is how they roll
Get a glow in a box with the SnailWhite Gold Roller set, which includes SnailWhite’s most potent anti-aging moisturizer, Gold Cream, and a facial roller made out of rose quartz.
Massaging with the roller will better deliver Gold Cream actives like Snail Potion Advanced, 24K gold and Niacinamide, which boost collagen production, improve elasticity, lock in moisture, lift, tone and diminish age spots and hyperpigmentation.
The set is a P2,845 value that can be yours for just P1,995.
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SnailWhite is exclusively available at Watsons and Watsons.com.ph.
Simply effective skincare
Many skincare brands are going transparent, touting active ingredients and realistic benefits on simple packaging, and Modest.Skincare is one of them. The Hong Kong-based brand formulates its “humbly effective” serum line in Europe and Japan, and each one targets specific skin concerns.
For whitening and anti-aging, try Modest’s Glutathione Skin Whitening serum. For acne, blackheads and hyperpigmentation there’s Mandelic Acid 5% + HA (hyaluronic acid). Cocktail is a multi-vitamin (vitamins A, B, C and E) serum with HA for hydration, brightening and anti-aging. Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3% is a water-free, highly potent antioxidant serum that brightens, improves overall skin quality and promotes a youthful glow.
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Modest’s prices are also modest. The brand is available at BeautyMNL.
For those who love ‘Emily in Paris’
Pretty in ballet pink
Laura Mercier holiday 2020 includes Kisses from the Balcony, an instant lip-gloss wardrobe in a box, with Bare Pink, Rose Gold Accent, Desert Rose and Black Cherry shades that feel nourishing and hydrating on the lips.
Beauty travelers will appreciate Mercier’s Sweeping Beauty Essential Brush collection, five travel-size face and eye brushes in a pretty pink brush roll that you tie up like a ballet slipper.
Long known for her yummy, vanilla-fragranced items for bath and body, this season’s Luxe Indulgence Ambre Vanille Body Triplet is a lovely spin on vanilla thanks to a decadent twist of amber. You’ll smell good enough to eat.
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Laura Mercier is available at Rustan’s The Beauty Source and Rustans.com.
A couture collection of lipsticks
One of Dior’s holiday offerings is Diorouge Golden Nights, a couture collection of six gorgeous Rouge Dior lipsticks in a midnight-blue case with a snowy, starry design. Inside is a limited-edition refillable jewel lipstick in Golden Nights (Dior’s iconic satin red), and five refills in different shades: 999 Matte (the iconic red in a matte finish), 665 Revée (satin rose pink), Classic Matte (matte brick red), 025 Actrice (satin salmon pink), and Matte Kisss (matte rose red). The lipsticks themselves are engraved with the Dior logo and delicate snowflakes, and if you take them out of the case, voila — instant Dior clutch! What a dreamy gift for a lipstick and Dior lover.
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Available at the Dior boutique in SM Makati.
For those who love J-beauty
Beauty heritage meets beauty technology
Shiseido combines its beauty heritage with 21st-century technology in its limited-edition Ultimate Power Duo gift set, containing its bestselling Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate, an anti-aging serum that’s won 179 beauty awards; and Eudermine Revitalizing Essence, one of Shiseido’s oldest products that was introduced in 1897. This softening lotion, subtly perfumed with the relaxing aroma of rain-washed peonies, delivers immediate moisture and responds to changes in climate to keep the skin’s moisture level constant, no matter what.
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Available at Shiseido.com.ph and Shiseido stores in malls nationwide.
Japan’s No. 1 face lotion
Hada Labo, which means “Skin Lab” in Japanese, employs hyaluronic acid as its key ingredient. Its Hydrating Lotion has been Japan’s No. 1 face lotion for 13 years, with one bottle bought every five seconds.
Formulated with four different types of hyaluronic acid — from large to nano size — to penetrate and moisturize the deeper layers of the skin, Hada Labo is also free of fragrance, mineral oil, alcohol and colorants.
The line includes foaming face washes with green tea to deep clean and refine pores, and Super Hyaluronic Acid to whiten and hydrate. The Hydrating Water Gel is refreshing and cooling, while Hydrating Light Cream veils skin with delicate moisture.
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Hada Labo is available at select Watsons stores, Watsons online, and The Mentholatum Company store on Lazada and Shopee.
Hair care with premium Japanese botanicals
The Ichikami hair-care series by Kracie Japan is sulfate- and silicone-free and formulated with over 10 premium Japanese botanicals, like cherry blossoms, Purple Beautyberry and apricot oil to repair and protect hair from the roots, making it more resistant to damage with every use.
Choose from fruit-scented Airy & Silky Care for bouncy and lustrous hair, cherry blossom-scented Smoothing Care for smooth and shiny hair, and apricot-scented Moisturizing Care for hydrated and glossy hair.
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Ichikami is available at Beauty Bar, The SM Store, Watsons, Landmark and online at shop.beautyboxcorp.com, BeautyMNL, Zalora, LazMall and Shopee Mall.
Japanese mascaras for volume and length
K-Palette’s new 1 Day Lashup mascaras give you length and volume, but so naturally that they look like “your lashes but better.” Their secret is in the newly developed nine-degree square-cut brush, the side of which curls and combs the lashes, while the edge separates the hairs so you never get unsightly clumps.
Silky Volume mascara gives you thicker lashes with its fluffy powder formula, while Silky Long mascara achieves lengthy, fluttery lashes with its Original Silky Foam formula. Both are smudge-resistant, waterproof, easy to remove, and long lasting.
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K-Palette is available at Beauty Bar, and online at Beautyboxcorp.com and other ecommerce sites.
For those battling maskne and acne
Maskne fighters
Don’t you just hate the sweaty, itchy feeling that precedes a maskne breakout? Always responsive to the needs of its consumers, Pond’s recently released an Anti-bacterial Range with Advance Protect Technology scientifically proven to fight 99 percent of maskne-causing bacteria. The Anti-bacterial Facial Foam is formulated with BHA to help prevent acne, while the Anti-bacterial Wipes and Face Mist have AHAs to help exfoliate skin cells. All are heavenly to use after a particularly long, sticky day under the mask.
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Pond’s is available at Shopee and other ecommerce sites.
Acne solutions in a kit
Trusted Thai brand Oxecure offers its most popular acne solutions for face and body in a starter kit, which includes Facial Liquid Cleanser to deep clean and control excess oil on skin; Acne Clear Potion with salicylic acid and Niacinamide to reduce a pimple’s size and color within six hours; Sulfur Soap to fight “bacne” and body odor; and Body Acne Spray to dry out acne, exfoliate dead skin and lighten dark spots within a week.
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Oxecure is available at their official store on Lazada, Shopee, BeautyMNL, Zalora, and Watsons stores nationwide.
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Follow the author on Instagram @thebeautytraveler_ph.
