With illuminated lanterns now draped across the heart of Chinatown, it’s time to pack up your festive, Christmas-y embellished baubles and trinkets and finally take that Christmas tree down.
The reunions and gatherings this Chinese New Year may look a little different from the rest—given the social restrictions in place—but when it comes to your glam squad, the more the merrier, they say. From statement-making red lips to celeb-approved anti-ageing serums, usher in the Year of the Ox with these propitious, fan-favourite limited edition beauty drops.
Givenchy Beauty
A timeless classic from Givenchy, the Le Rouge No. 333 L’Interdit impresses with a new look and shade, blending the emblematic sensual red with specks with streaks of luminous gold, delivering a marbled, radiant finish for Le Rouge No. 888. Forgoing the lustrous silver for the occasion, it is now encased in a limited edition gold and crimson red leather casing.
Another cult classic from the French fashion house—Prisme Libre in No. 1 Mousseline Pastel—comes repackaged for the occasion, encased in a red leather sieve stamped with Givenchy’s emblematic 4G. This loose power features 4 pastel shades that correct uneven skin tones and blur your imperfections for a velvety, luminous finish.
Sulwhasoo
This New year, Sulwhasoo delivers a message of love and self-care with a limited edition First Care Activating Serum. The global best-seller has gotten a bold, ombre red makeover—featuring a unique geometric heart design inspired by the traditional Korean patchwork quilt. A symbol of good luck, happiness and good health, it’s essentially all that we’re hoping for in 2021. This jumbo-sized anti-ageing booster serum should be used as the first step of any skincare routine, to restore moisture and strengthen the skin’s barrier function for a revitalised, healthier complexion.
Dr. Dennis Gross
No matter the festive look you’re channelling this Chinese New Year, prepping your skin is the first, most quintessential step. The perfect, near-poreless (or at the least, retextured) canvas begins with Dr. Dennis Gross’ cult classic, the Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peels—worth every penny.
Decorated in auspicious hues of red and gold, this two-step daily treatment contains Dr Dennis Gross’ strongest dose of 7 acids, antioxidants and vitamins—lifting off dead skin, excess oil and impurities to unveil a brighter, clearer and age-less skin—just in time for (virtual) gatherings.
Shiseido
With 179 beauty awards under its belt, Shiseido’s best-selling Power Infusing Concentrate sits in an arsenal of beauty products where you never have to ask, “does it actually work?” Tapping into their patented ImuGeneration Technology™ which uses potent natural extracts to fortify and bolster skin’s ability to protect and defend against environmental and internal aggressors, consider this your must-have skincare for future-proofing your skin. If you’re well-stocked with the cult-classic, the Vital Uplifting and Firming Cream makes for a nice addition to your skincare family—helping to support your skin’s ability to regenerate for a firmer, more lifted look.
With calligraphed flowers in full bloom adorned all over the bottle, Shiseido thoughtfully metaphorises the realisation of our goals for the New Year. And if achieving smoother, more supple and deeply radiant skin is yours, well, consider those goals met.
SK-II
Like Beyonce, we love SK-II‘s classic Pitera-powered skin drink like XO or rather, OX as the case may be for this Lunar New Year. Artist André Saraiva dressed the bottle in his graffiti alter egos Mr. & Mrs. A, but beyond the cute flacon which injects energy into your vanity area, the product itself works to offer clearer, more resilient skin with daily use. Pour into hands, pat, pat, pat and revitalise the complexion with this fast-absorbing fluid for plumper skin.
Estée Lauder
From supermodel Kendall Jenner to K-pop superstar Eric Kim, Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair serum sits in the arsenal of most celebrities’ skincare must-haves. Harnessing the patented Chronolux™ Power Signal Technology, this fast and deep penetrating serum ignites the skin’s natural night repair process while locking in a high levels of hyaluronic acid for 72 hours—visibly reducing multiple signs of ageing caused by environmental aggressors and boosting the skin’s natural production for collagen.
This Chinese New Year, Estée Lauder’s number one serum adds colour and extra fortune to your skincare routine with a limited edition “lucky red” bottle. Other notable festive buys include the limited edition Pure Color Envy Lipstick in shade Immortal—decked out in all red with golden peony designs.
M.A.C Cosmetics
Adorned in colourful pop-art illustrations of goldish motifs, these limited-edition lippies from M.A.C’s Moon Masterpiece Powder Kiss collection greets you with a blessing of abundance and prosperity while gliding on a hydrating, lightweight formula that delivers a sultry, bitten-lip effect.
Shu Uemura
The power of a red lip is undeniable—it’s bold, commanding and strikes the perfect balance between elegance and sexy. From fiery scarlet reds to cool rusty brick and wine tones, find your shade of red to rock this New Year (and ever after).
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