When you think German, you think of superb engineering and really hot football players (Lukas Podolski, I'm looking at you), but what about makeup and skincare? I was about to find out at the launch of Luxola's newest overseas brand Alcina joins its ranks. Held at the cosy Club Social cafe, we went tete a tete with brand founder, Ms Frouka.
First impressions; I love its sleek packaging, great pigmented, buildable quality, and Alcina remains quite affordable at $20 - $44 for most products (yay to small wallets!). Their skincare range that is currently made available is specially tailored for our humid climate, and carries the skincare essentials such as masks and serums. If that sounds exciting to you, read on!
I especially love the Herbal Mask and Nourishing Capsules which would make for a great weekly routine. The Herbal Mask has a tingly cool sensations, due to it containing kaolin clay, sage and lavender oil which helps to eliminate facial impurities but soothe skin at the same time; while the latter is the ideal anti-aging product as its infused with ceramides and Vit A, E and jojoba oil, and is fast-absorbing into skin without feeling any greasiness.
The Brilliant Blushers and Miracle Eyeshadows are truly a happy marriage of great pigmentation yet great for building up intensity without looking overdone. Just one swish application shows obvious color, so do start off conservative.
Currently the Miracle Eyeshadow shades available veer towards natural pearlescent cream to rust brown shades which is perfectly up my alley as I love a good natural look. Plus, I really admire the lovely baked shapes of the powders(braided for the eyeshadows and crystal facet shapes for bronzer/blush), it makes me never want to get a plain run-of-mill one again.
Honorary mentions: the lipstick shades are very wearable warm reds and corals. Again, great color payoff in a single application, and feels comparatively creamy to my Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy ones. I found the foundation abit on the heavier side, but it seems to give pretty good medium coverage when swatched. If you have imperfections and enlarged pores, I reckon this is would be suitable without even needing concealer. Available in 8 Intense (opaque rich color) and 7 Shiny (glossy finish) Shades.
Now that we are half-way into the year, the local weather has seriously gotten crazy. With all that daily perspiration, it is important to replace moisture lost during the day as dry, under-nourish skin is the precursor to aging signs such as wrinkling.
It prides itself as an advanced form of hyaluronic acid which has a 3-fold action to replenishes and locks in big amounts of moisture to plump up the skin. Alcina has actually created a new, advanced form of hyaluronic acid based on the natural hyaluronic acid in the skin which penetrates deeper beyond the epidermis to encourage cohesion, thus upping moisture absorption and retention! I found this abit tacky on my skin when applied, and its absorbed, I can really feel the difference: dry patches on my face actually stay dewy even thoughout the day! Once taken in by skin, the after feel is soft and doesn't feel sticky at all.
As I speak, I am absolutely distracted by the beauty of the Alcina Sun Kiss Powder that promises to give "your skin a summer glow". It's light-reflecting shimmering pigments create the look of fresher, smoother skin, like its name, kissed by the sun. Don't believe me? Take a look of how natural looking it when worn:
Thank you Luxola and Alcina for the invite!
Alcina is currently retailing at Luxola, you can shop the above stated items HERE.
Happy shopping and stay beautiful ladies!
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