Makeup Stash!

I wonder – are makeup retailers in Singapore reaching some acme of good taste as they bring in more Asian brands? I’ve noticed that an increasing number of Japanese brands (Coffret D’Or, Kate, Lunasol, Sana), not to mention Korean ones (Castledew, Beauty Credit, Lioele, Ottie), have been trickling into what used to be our makeup-deprived land; dominated mostly by familiar (read common) western brands such as L’oreal, Revlon, Maybelline, Estée Lauder and its family brands (MAC, Origins, Bobbi Brown, to name a few) and several European stalwarts like Lancôme, Dior and Chanel.

Happily, these Asian brands add variety and offer us more makeup choices. Better yet, they are usually superior in quality. I cannot wait to see how things develop on the local makeup scene. We’ve already had RMK return to us (hooray!) and I look forward to more positive changes ahead. It’s not just the Asian brands though – western brands are popping up too and impressing us with their products. We’re seeing Calvin Klein Beauty at the airport; Jurlique at the stores, as well as Julie Hewett and Benefit.

Now, if only TPTB would bring back the old (Urban Decay! NARS! Vincent Longo! Face Stockholm! Giorgio Armani! Kesalan Patharan!) and introduce the new (Jill Stuart! Suqqu! Aube! Tarte! Kevyn Aucoin! Lipstick Queen*!); at the same time encourage a fine mix of western and Asian brands here.

This could very well turn Singapore into a makeup hub…and would naturally complement its cultural melting pot status!

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* Incidentally, the creator of Lipstick Queen also created the Poppy range of cosmetics which was sold here for a while in the late nineties.