Tony Moly Singapore Media Preview

Yesterday, I attended the Tony Moly Singapore press event, where I was able to play with several Tony Moly products.

Currently fronted by pretty-boy leader of K-pop band SS501, Kim Hyun Joong (but not for long!), Tony Moly is the latest addition to the many Korean brands that have made their way to our sunny island.

Kim will part ways with Tony Moly very soon – his contract with the brand will be up by the end of this month. However, this also means that the company is able to use his image to sell products till then (pretty shrewd of Tony Moly Singapore to open before the month’s end!).

Not a brand to sit on its laurels, Tony Moly has since signed on The Brown Eyed Girls and rising K-star, Song Joong Ki, as its new faces.

With close to two hundred stores in Korea, Tony Moly has also expanded its reach in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the Korean director of Tony Moly, they’ve been eyeing Singapore for a while now and are happy to see their plans to expand here finally come to fruition. Besides its inaugural store at Marina Square, Tony Moly will open another outlet at Bugis Junction this November.

Of course, the highlight of the preview was playing with the products – everyone was treated to a plethora of colourful and fun beauty goodies, including these adorable skincare products. With their packaging styled after edibles, I couldn’t help but think of masak masak (cooking toys)!

I love the raindrop-shaped packaging of this moisturiser, Tony Moly Fresh Aqua Pure Drop Cream. It’s made with a-thousand-year-old spring water from Japan and a plant called Angel’s Tears (aww!), which I later found out is another another name for the narcissus flower.

This cheerful Tangerine Hand Cream reminds me of a Sony CP orange hand cream that is packaged in a very similar way. The scent is too overwhelming for me but I do concede that it is very cute!

I didn’t get a chance to try the Tony Moly Appletox Smooth Massage Peeling Cream but the smooth and shiny green surface of this apple was dying to be photographed, so here it is!

And then there was this charming quad of Tony Moly Ice Queen Face Packs: Snow White Sleeping Cream, Multi Play Cream SPF30 PA++, Crispy Green Tea Pack and Crispy Tropical Pack.

I think the first two (opaque creams) are moisturisers, while the last two (sorbet-like gels) are rinse-off facial masks. They all have different functions – moisturising, brightening, tightening and the like. The packaging is super cutesy, no? I’m not sure about the word ‘crispy’ in the names though. :P

Tony Moly Whipping BB Cream reminded me of Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse with its airy texture and matte-like finish. The interesting thing about this product is the hidden push-out-scroll-up brush in the handle. The brush sheds a little but we were told that the brand will be changing it soon.

As you can tell, the cream is very pigmented. It can cake too, so sheer layers are necessary for building up coverage.

The flip top cover of Tony Moly Backstage Duo Lip & Cheek reminded me of the cream blush in Skin79 The Oriental Range BB Cream.

Here are the swatches of the cheek and lip tint over the Whipped BB Cream. They are very soft and pleasing in appearance.

Tony Moly Crystal Tear Glitter Eyeliner is quite sparkly. A hidden liner brush in the handle helps to apply this multi-coloured glitter onto the lids and the eye line.

What treasures is this innocuous little bottle hiding?

Why, a baked eyeshadow duo and a gel liner, with a hidden liner brush! I think this feature of Tony Moly Backstage Self-Smokey Eye Collection is ingenious as all three colours can easily create a complete look (hence the ‘self’ in the name).

Best of all, the colours swatched beautifully. The shades are complementary, and absolutely me!

Tony Moly Shimmer Lover Cubes are fairly new to the brand’s makeup range. These compacts of shimmer stripes look like Bobbi Brown Shimmerbricks. I love the colour range and think that the one in the lower right corner is similar to MAC Lightscapade in terms of colour combination. The bottom half of the case hides a drawer in which lies a face brush.

If you were to ask me what the acid test of this brand is, I’d say it’s the colourful packaging of their skincare products, as well as the clever design of the makeup packaging which marries function with form.

Here I am with Calle, the stunning brand director of Tony Moly Singapore (everything she’s wearing on her face comes from her brand) and Korean-brand enthusiast, Kimoko, who also attended the event.

Tony Moly will officially open today at #02-151, Marina Square, near the Centrestage atrium and next to Tag Heuer. There will be a two-hour opening special from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm but other promotions will run throughout the day until the end of the month.

I was given a shop tour of Tony Moly Marina Square but I’ll write about it in a later post. In the meantime, happy exploring!

Image source: Tony Moly Korea and Tony Moly Singapore