If you are going to Paris, check out our shopping guides:

Where to shop in Paris for perfume and scented candles

Best spas in Paris

Where to shop in Paris for skin care and beauty products

La Chasse aux Papillons: prelude to summer is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Le Muguet Guerlain 2013

Notes:

• Top: Green Notes.
• Heart: Lily of the Valley, Lilac.
• Base: Jasmine, Rose.

The second of the new fragrances is Caligna from L’Artisan Parfumeur which they describe as follows: “Caligna honours an emblematic but less well-known ingredient of the Grasse region: The Clary Sage. This fresh, sensual, woody and aromatic ingredient was the starting point for this perfume. The herbal note is enhanced by the fig and jasmine marmalade at the heart of the fragrance, to give the scent a rich and aromatic effect. The warm woody base is underpinned with pine and a resin from the lentisk plant; a distillation of the Mediterranean hillsides in Grasse.”

Caligna from L’Artisan Parfumeur

The third of the new fragrances is a scented candle called Jonquille from Diptyque. Jonquille evokes the floral, green, natural freshness of a bunch of daffodils, picked straight from the garden. Like all Diptyque candles, this one lasts a long time and its scent is heavenly.

Jonquille scent candle from Diptyque

If you love new fragrances and are going to Paris, read Mapplr’s guide on Where to shop in Paris for perfume and scented candles.

Three new fragrances for spring 2013 is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Although BB creams have been around for at least 2 years, this is Shiseido’s first BB cream release in Europe and North America. I bought this BB cream and am impressed with it for the following reasons:

• Sheer natural coverage that makes the skin look more even and gives it a healthy glow; 
• SPF 35 sunscreen composed of ensulizole (20%), octinoxate (7.4%) and  titanium dioxide (7.2%);
• The Dark shade matches my skin tone perfectly;
• It is not sticky or too creamy and dries down to a perfect finish; and
• You can apply it and run out of the house and your skin will look great.

I recommend the Shiseido BB cream for people with normal to oily skin. For dry skin, this would be too drying.

I compared the texture and shade of Shiseido BB cream in Dark to Clarins BB cream in Warm (the darkest shade) in the photos below. As you can see, Shiseido BB cream is lighter and Clarins is slightly creamier.

Comparison between Shiseido BB cream and Clarins BB cream

Indeed on my skin, Clarins BB cream was just a tad creamier and emollient, but not terribly so. I would recommend both for normal skin. The one disadvantage of this BB cream is that there are only 2 shades.

Shiseido BB Cream review is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Description from Diptyque website: A special fragrance which pays homage to the most celebrated fir tree in the world, it transports the user straight to the heart of a forest of golden spruce trees. Infused with balmy, comforting and warming notes, it conjures up the sweetness of festive memories.

If you prefer a warmer, more exotic scent, check out Amber Oud, a spicy Oriental blend of rare spices infused with warming resins and balsams.

Perfect winter candle from Diptyque: Sapin Dore is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Coming soon to Les Exclusifs: Chanel 1932 perfume is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

If you are looking for a simple skin care routine that is effective and doesn’t break your bank account, check out Etat Pur, a French skincare line developed by Bioderma/Institut Esthederm, the same company that is responsible for the amazing Crealine micellar cleansing water, a favorite among fashionistas, models and beauty fanatics around the world. Etat Pur’s skincare system is simple: A + B.

The A refers to “actives”. An “active” is concentrated ingredient in a small air-tight vial and it is designed to address a particular skin problem. For example, if you have small dark spots on your face and you want to fade them, you would use the Arbutin active. If you want to make your skin tone more even, you would use the AHA active. If you want to decrease the appearance of wrinkles, you would go for hyaluronic acid or resveratrol.

The B refers to biomimetic skin care which consists of a series of cleansers, toners, moisturizers that are free of harsh chemicals and work with your particular skin.

Used together, you can find the best A+B combination for your the skin problems that concern you. These can change from time to time. For example in winter, you might choose an A+B combination that addresses the appearance of wrinkles and very dry skin. In the summer, you would look for a combination that includes exfoliation (AHA/citric acid: A60) and a light moisturizing emulsion (B21).

I have been using several Etat Pur products, notably the micellar cleansing water, arbutin active, 4-peptide pro-collagen active, and the melting moisturizing cream. All have been effective. The arbutin has faded my most visible dark spots, the moisturizing cream absorbs quicky and keeps my face hydrated but not greasy, the cleansing water removes makeup and dirt without making my skin feel tight and the 4-peptide active has made my face look clearer and tighter.

The prices of Etat Pur products are reasonable:

• Eau micellaire demaquillante: cleanses effectively without stripping your skin (6.80 EUR)
• Creme fondante hydratante: Melting Moisturizing Cream (8.40 EUR)
• Hyaluronic acid concentrate: 14.80 EUR — many other skin care brands charge 5 to 6 times more for products containing far less concentrations of hyaluronic acid. The same applies to the other actives; they range in price from 8.60 EUR to 17.80 EUR.

Etat Pur has a concept store in Paris, not far from Le Bon Marche, on 24 rue du Regard (75006 Paris, Metro: St-Placide) where you can try their products and get advice. You can also visit the UK online store (www.etatpur.co.uk) or the French online store (www.etatpur.com).

Etat Pur: affordable effective French skincare is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Left to right: Shiseido foundation brush, Trish McEvoy stipple brush, Bobbi Brown foundation brush

Applying foundation can be tricky. Sometimes you want sheer coverage but at other times, you want medium to full coverage. How do you achieve control over your foundation? This is where the foundation brush comes in. The two most common foundation brushes are the stipple brush (shown in the middle above, from Trish McEvoy) and the flat brush (the last one, from Bobbi Brown).

If you want sheer coverage, use the stipple brush because its fibers are not densely packed, allowing you to spread foundation evenly and lightly with gentle strokes all over the face.

If you want medium to full coverage, use the first brush from Shiseido, whose bristles are thick and dense, therely depositing more foundation on your face per stroke.

The last brush, a flat one from Bobbi Brown, is often used for sheer to medium coverage. I don’t know why these flat brushes are everywhere but I don’t like them because they drag the foundation around your face and cause streaks. You have to work harder and longer to get the streaks to disappear.

Therefore, I suggest you get only the first 2 brushes: the dense Shiseido brush and the stipple brush (which you can buy from Trish McEvoy or other cosmetic brands).

A tale of three foundation brushes is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

I am ever on the lookout for the perfect foundation and I think I just found the solution for creating a flawless face. I bought Make Up For Ever’s HD complexion starter kit, which contains a full size of their fantastic HD Invisible Cover Foundation plus sample sizes of the HD Microperfecting Primer and HD Microfinish Powder (a 100% mineral silica formula that adds a soft-focus effect to the complexion) and the HD Kabuki brush.

The HD Invisible Cover Foundation is an oil-free medium-to-full-coverage liquid foundation that covers skin imperfections without making your face look masque-like or artificial. It is neither sticky nor too dry. The effect: a luminous natural looking face. The primer is a thin semi-opaque liquid that dries quickly and evens out the complexion making it easier to apply the foundation and keep it longer on your face. The microfinish powder is very fine and white, but it is translucent so works on any skin tone.

Instructions:

(1) Apply a thin layer of primer on your face. Wait a couple of minutes. The primer keeps your makeup from fading and provides a smooth surface for application of the foundation.

(2) Apply the foundation with fingers or a foundation brush. There are two foundation brushes I recommend: Trish McEvoy’s Mistake Proof Sheer Application Brush, also called a stippling brush, for the most sheer, natural effect or Shiseido’s dense foundation brush for a more precise but full coverage.

(3) Place a small amount of the microfinish powder in the palm of your hand. Roll the kabuki brush in the powder making sure that some, but not too much powder is deposited onto the brush. Apply on the face using precise, dabbing moves, followed by a broad sweep all over the face to make sure powder is evenly distributed.

The foundation comes in 26 shades, an impressive number, which ensures that almost everyone will find a perfect match for her skin. I use No. 128 (Almond). I am impressed by this product. It does exactly what it promises — covers imperfections and makes the skin look natural and glowing. The products used together also withstood the humidity of the New York summer. Even hours later, after a sweaty day walking around Manhattan, the foundation did not “melt”.

Buy the kit now on Amazon by clicking on the image below.

Make Up For Ever HD Complexion Starter Kit for a flawless face is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

Clarins, the French skincare company, has been around for some time now, and although I’ve strayed every now and then to newer, trendier skincare lines, I’ve always gone back to Clarins because their cleansers, toners and lotions have always done a great job and they have never given me an allergic reaction. Recently because of my recent extreme travel schedule (Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Bhutan, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, India, Korea, Germany, Austria, France) I have been looking for travel size (i.e. airport security friendly) versions of Clarins cleansing milks and toners. Fortunately I came upon a perfect combination of the Clarins gentiane cleansing milk (100 ml) and iris toner (100 ml) at the Galeries Lafayette in Berlin. Don’t be fooled by the label on both the cleansing milk and toner claiming they are for combination and oily skins. These work perfectly for normal to dry skin and they do an incredible job taking off makeup, including waterproof mascara. I have normal skin which tends to the dry side in the winter and the oily side in the summer (or in humid climates such as that in Singapore) and both have worked very well on my skin. What I love about the cleansing milk is that unlike a soap or gel, it cleans well without making your skin feel tight and dry. The toner is a nice extra that takes off just that last bit of makeup and grime, ensuring that you go to bed with a very clean face.

You can buy the kit at the Galeries Lafayette or Clarins online (France, Germany and maybe US).

Clarins cleansing milk and toning lotion: gentle effective cleansing in travel friendly sizes is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.

This is what Fuji says on the Astalift website:

Skin ageing is caused by oxidation, a natural process which also causes photographs to fade. FUJIFILM’s advanced understanding of the process of oxidation allows it to apply its expertise to skincare products designed to combat the skin ageing and the onslaught of freckles and blemishes. The primary raw material of photographic film is made of collagen, which is also an important structural protein found in human skin. The technology of using collagen to hold together light-sensitive particles in photographic films is applied to the ASTALIFT range of beauty products created by the company. FUJIFILM also applied its proprietary knowledge of nano-technology – for exposing and colour developing in film – to allow high concentrations of nano-sized skin-nourishing ingredients to be delivered effectively and deeply in a targeted manner to different levels of the skin.

The star product of the Astalift line is the Jelly Aquarysta, a clear jelly with a lovely rose scent (see photo below).

I used Astalift’s Jelly Aquarysta for a month, together with the toner and essence, and although my skin looked good, the results did not last. It did not look any better than when I use other moisturizers and serums. The product is also very expensive and as with Japanese skincare, they advise you to use a multi-step morning and evening routine that consists of cleansing, application of the Jelly Aquarysta, toner (called “lotion” in Japan), essence (serum), moisturizer — a five-step routine. Six steps if you add the sunscreen.

Clearly this multi-step routine appeals to some women but I find it too complicated and time-consuming. Most of all I simply did not see any long-lasting or dramatic results using Astalift.

Astalift review: Fuji Film’s weird foray into skincare is a post by Esme Vos on Shopplr - Fashion, beauty, style and shopping.