This Month In Beauty: Miss Dior Perfume Gets Its Most Potent Interpretation To Date
The 4-1-1 in the beauty world right now
By Keng Yang Shuen,
It's a good month for frag heads – Chanel is launching Comete, the much-anticipated 19th addition to its top-end Les Exclusifs collection; Comete is said to be a sensual, powdery skin scent that's intensely floral and luminous. Meanwhile, Dior's Perfume Creation Director, Francis Kurkdjian, is putting his own stamp on the classic Miss Dior with the new Miss Dior Parfum – possibly the juiciest version of this Dior staple. More details below.
The Miss Dior story has been ongoing since 1947, when Monsieur Dior first created the perfume in tribute to his beloved younger sister, Catherine. Think of Miss Dior as the baby of Dior's extensive fragrance family – the eternally young one – and now, it's about to receive its most potent flanker to date with Miss Dior Parfum ($172 for 35ml, $219 for 50ml and $294 for 80ml), designed by Francis Kurkdjian, the maison's Perfume Creation Director.
The key ingredient in the new Parfum flanker is a very gourmand version of jasmine – Kurkdjian wanted to revisit the distinctive fragrances associated with the methods employed in 1947 to extract the flower's essence. The result is a captivating blend of fruity and indulgent jasmine, infused with hints of strawberry, peach, and apricot, thanks to a secret method Kurkdjian used that includes picking the flowers in the month of July, at the beginning of the harvest season and at the break of day, when they're at their greenest.
Available at Dior Beauty boutiques, counter and online store
This one is for the neutral girlies: the new Gucci Neutrals is a fresh collection of 15 versatile lipstick shades ($65 each) across three different finishes: classic matte, luminous satin textures and velvety soft matte – this range has it all. The new range includes six shades of Rouge a Levres Mat, three shades of Rouge a Levres Liquide Mat, and six shades of Rouge a Levres Satin – there's something in there no matter what your preferences are.
Available at Gucci Beauty stores
Good news for Chanel frag heads: the maison is rolling out Comete ($375 for 75ml, $670 for 200ml), the 19th addition to its top-end Les Exclusifs range. The Comete, as you might guess, was inspired by the maison's iconic star-shaped necklace of the same name, which was created in 1932 and emerged a highlight from Gabrielle Chanel's first ever high jewellery collection.
Much like how the Comete necklace was worn open-ended, resting upon one's clavicles, Chanel's in-house nose Olivier Polge wanted the Comete perfume to be one that envelopes one's body. The perfume, with its key notes of cherry blossom, heliotrope, iris, and musk, is a sensual skin fragrance, described to be an intensely floral and powdery one (an olfactory identity new to the Les Exclusifs range) – somewhat like the effect of sprinkling stardust upon the skin, possibly.
Available from May 3 at Chanel Fragrance and Beauty boutiques and online store
For those who want to imagine gamboling in nature without actually being there, Cartier's Les Epures de Parfum collection might be the answer. Created by Cartier's in-house nose Mathilde Laurent to be a series of unisex, ultra-realistic scents that "capture the fresh spontaneity of life and nothing else", the scents in this collection each reference the flower or fruit that inspired them - think citrus fruits, magnolia, lily of the valley and rose. The latest to join the family is the Les Epures de Parfum Pur Lilas EDT ($385 for 75ml) – a floral number with a delicate musky undertone that focuses on presenting a a very young, fresh and radiant lilac, a flower that typically only blooms at the start of spring.
Available at Cartier boutiques, counters and online store
Dior's Le Baume multi-use moisturiser was a big hit when it launched last June, thanks to its efficacious formula (it contains centella asiatica extract, renowned in Asia for its anti-inflammatory benefits, as well as shea butter, jojoba oil, squalane, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid) and its sleek, ergonomic pebble-shaped container designed to fit comfortably in one's hand. Now the brand is celebrating Le Baume's first anniversary with a limited edition packaging that sees the compact outfitted in a covetable pink houndstooth ($90 for 50ml) – oh and did we mentioned the container is fully recyclable?
Available at all Dior Beauty boutiques, counters, and online store
Fenty Beauty's original Soft Matte foundation was a big hit and the brand has followed up with a more glowy counterpart in the new Soft'Lit Naturally Luminous Longwear Foundation ($63), designed to offer a lasting glow for all-day wear. With medium coverage and skin-friendly properties, it reportedly caters to diverse skin types (with the same 50 shades as the original matte version), providing hydration without excessive shine. It comes packed Kakadu Plum Extract and Cyperus Papyrus Leaf Cell Extract, ingredients which supposedly offer protection against environmental factors while promoting skin brightness and evenness over time.
Available at Sephora boutiques and online store
Any self-respecting skincare enthusiasts would probably know Krave Beauty – the independent brand founded by Korean mega influencer Liah Yoo. It's finally available in Singapore, bringing with it an ethos of "less is more"; the brand, founded in 2017, is known for its #PressReset campaigns where it encourages people to cut off excessive steps in their skincare routine.
It's also one of the most transparent and environmentally-responsible brands on the market, with annual impact reports and a commitment to social and environmental responsibility as a Public Benefit Corporation. If you're new to the brand, we'd suggest going with their Core series, which comprises just two products (they're serious about the less-is-more angle) – the viral Matcha Heartleaf Hydrating Cleanser ($26) and Oat So Simple Water Cream ($45).
Available at Sephora boutiques and online store
Sulwhasoo has two new lip products out: first, the Glowing Lip Balm. It's enriched with collagen and red ginseng saponin to combat lip wrinkles and comes in two shades (000 Clear and 030 Petal, $52 each), with the clear variant doubling as an overnight lip mask for intensive nourishment.
The second product, the Perfecting Lip Color, is a revamp of the brand's existing Essential Lip Serum. Its more skincare than makeup (its formula is 92 per cent made up of skincare ingredients), helping to provide long-lasting hydration and gentle exfoliation at the same time to reveal soft, smooth lips. Available in five shades (310 Terra, 999 Rose, 520 Amber, 460 Berry, and 370 Peony, $52 each), these watercolour-esque options can all be applied on both cheeks and lips.
Available at all Sulwhasoo stores and counters
Chantecaille's limited edition Sea Turtle collection was inspired by the marine animal and offers two eyeshadow palettes ($136) that each come with three shades - Warm offers a burnished olive, a seashell nude pink and a champagne pearl, while Cool has an opalescent lilac, a shimmering pearly peach, and a golden bronze. There are also four new shades in the brand's glossy Lip Chic ($93 each) series – Ginger Lily (a warm coral), Rosea (a fresh pink), Coral Vine (a petal pink) and Starflower (a berry nude).
But better yet – proceeds from the sales of Chantecaille’s Sea Turtle Collection will aid the female-led Amazon Conservation Team and their Ancestral Tides initiative in enhancing turtle monitoring in the area using GPS tagging. This technology will enable researchers to track the travel paths of female turtles post-nesting, identify feeding hotspots and reproductive areas, thus refining conservation strategies. Additionally, GPS tagging will facilitate periodic check-ins on turtles during their seasonal migrations.
Available at all Chantecaille counters