May is off to a good start with a lotion, concealer, cushion and an oil.

Chanel Le Blanc
Essence Lotion Healthy Light Creator

$97, 150ml

The description goes: “A 3-in-1 fresh and milky brightening lotion, formulated with ume flower extract, ume flower oil and a vitamin C derivative. Restores essential skin lipids, boosting the skin’s natural tone and texture.” That official statement aside, Chanel seems to have gotten a lot right with this new lotion — right down to the packaging. The bottle has a beautiful matte finish that feels delightful to both hold and use. The lotion itself is a milky white liquid that can be applied with cotton pads or the hands (I prefer to use my hands), and when patted onto the skin, has a medium weight and is absorbed quickly, plumping up skin and prepping it for the next step of skincare. After each application, my skin looks semi-matte, is slightly tacky to the touch, and feels amazing — incredibly hydrated, comfortable, soothed, and calm. It’s not often that I find a lotion with immediate visible benefits, so this was a nice surprise. 

Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Light Capturing Self-Setting Concealer

$50, available in 20 shades at SEPHORA, LAZADA and ZALORA

This is a fluid concealer that spreads easily, blends well, and settles in like a second skin. What’s amazing is the finish looks completely natural; it looks like skin, but better skin. It’s also high-coverage, and very versatile — I evened out pigmentation and sun spots, reduced redness around the nose, lightened and blended out my dark eye rings, and actually made blemishes disappear. I particularly love how this product is “self setting”; even if I don’t blend it out, it sinks into skin and sets over it looking very, very natural — again, like skin. The brand hails this as makeup that looks invisible on camera and up close, and after trying it, I believe them.  

Lancôme Absolue Smoothing Liquid Cushion Compact SPF 50+/PA+++

$140 / $100 for refill, available from 1 june 2019

My first impression of this cushion is that it’s a very large square (most cushion compacts are round). This large square is also very shiny, meaning fingerprints get all over it. But it doesn’t really matter how it looks… it contains the new version of Lancôme’s Absolue liquid foundation that is formulated with the line’s precious skincare ingredients. These ingredients include rose, citrus and camellia oils, all of which soothe, smooth, and hydrate the skin. The foundation comes out as a cream, and provides good, buildable coverage. On my first try, it evened out my skin (pigmentation, freckles and sun spots) with a soft, semi-matte finish, and gave it a slight sheen. The box says that there are subtle gold pigments added to the foundation to illuminate the complexion, and I suppose that’s what the sheen is. I did like that over the course of the day, that “sheen” remained a sheen and didn’t turn shiny or worse — oily. I imagine this makes a great addition to Lancôme’s Absolue line of skincare. And if you’re already using anything from the range — and you love it — get this cushion to use as your base makeup; you’ll love it too.  

Uma Oils Pure Calm Wellness Oil

$120, available from SEPHORA

I love skincare oils; I use the shu uemura cleansing oil daily to wash my face and remove makeup, I slather on face oils from Chanel, Eve Lom or Kiehl’s as part of my skincare ritual, and I burn essential oils to make the room smell nice. So when this “wellness oil” came into my hands, I couldn’t try it fast enough. The product is a blend of several high quality oils cultivated from the brand’s meadow, and include chamomile, vetiver, jasmine, geranium, sandalwood, lavender and clary sage essential oils in a jojoba oil base. It smells as pleasing as it sounds, and really is quite calming. To use, the instructions say to rub a few drops into temples, behind the ears, between the toes, and pretty much anywhere I want feeling and smelling great. I love that there’s also a travel size version that I can bring around.