Beauty with a difference

There is a new, or shall I say revamped, beauty player in town, and I have a gut feeling that this time, it's going to make lovers of luxury beauty products sit up and take notice.

DFS Galleria Singapore's updated Beauty Hall is a stunner in terms of its sheer size and range of brands available. At 15,000 sq ft, it is comparable with Sephora. I just love the high ceilings, which give you a sense of space - something which is definitely a luxury in Singapore. There are 22 beauty brands with spacious counters to encourage browsing and testing.

By now, most people would know that Giorgio Armani cosmetics has made its debut here. But there is also another hard-to-find brand at DFS - Helena Rubenstein, whose mascara is one of its star products. Apparently, HR has been here all this while but was previously tucked at a smaller counter upstairs. Some other brands available here include Benefit, Christian Dior, La Mer, Estee Lauder, Shiseido and SK-II.   

At first glance, it may be difficult for a casual observer to tell what's so special about this place. Well, read on for four reasons why the DFS Beauty Hall is different from other beauty halls you can find along the Orchard Road strip.


1. Giorgio Armani
This is one brand that I've always had beauty junkies tell me to check out when I travel and for good reason.

The make-up does look and feels luxurious and I have to admit it just feels really good to know that I'm wearing Giorgio Armani make-up :)

The brand is known for its array of velvety smooth foundations. The star foundation is its Designer Lift Foundation, which also provides a lifting effect.

I tried the Face Fabric SPF12, which is a light tinted base but found it was sufficient for my reasonably problem-free skin.

And if there is one item that everybody can't seem to get enough of, it would the the Eyes To Kill Eyeshadows. The first batch sold out soon after the counter launched but the counter is now restocked with a new batch. I got to try it, and yes, the velvety cream-to-powder finish is incredibly smooth to apply. The colours are beautifully intense, but not garishly so and did not slide off my lids through the night. At $43 a pop, they're actually $2 cheaper than if you were to buy them from the United States.

Give the lipstick, Rouge d'Armani a spin if you get the chance, I only had time to test a few colours on my hand but they were bright, rich and moisturising.

All in, I'd say this is a great brand if you like to put a little drama into your look because the products are just so richly pigmented and long lasting that it makes it a breeze to create a statement.

2. Travel retail products

I am a sucker for all those box sets, travel sized packs and all-in-one make-up palettes, called travel retail exclusives, that you can normally find only at the airport. Now, I don't have to wait till my next trip out of Singapore to get my travel retail fix!

I find it more economical to buy multiples of my regular favourites in bulk and the brands often throw in complementary products to sweeten the deal too.

There's also a pretty large range of perfume miniatures for those who love sampling all sorts of scents but have no space to store them (like me!)

Useful tip! These prettily packaged sets are great gifts, if you ever need to pick up something nice looking in a hurry.

The prices of travel retail products are the same as at the airport, except that you have to pay an additional 7 per cent GST here. Prices of regular products are the same here as anywhere else in the city.

3. Personalise your products
You can get a name or message engraved on a bottle of perfume, lipstick or any beauty product with a hard, engravable surface. For free.

Pretty cool if it's a gift or if you're just scatter-brained like me and lose things all the time. I suggest engraving your name and mobile number (if space allows) so that hopefully, some kind soul will call you if he or she picks up a lipstick or compact that you've dropped.

4. Beauty Concierge
And saving the best for last, DFS has the one and only Beauty Concierge service in Singapore (and just the third Beauty Concierge in the world, after Hong Kong and Hawaii).

Think of it as a combination of the best that conventional beauty halls and Sephora have to offer. The individual brands in department store beauty halls often have private cabins where they can do facials or give you a make-up lesson or makeover. But you'll have to visit multiple counters to find out about each brand you're interested in. At Sephora, the beauty assistants are trained to tell you about the best in each product category, so for example, you could ask for an eyeshadow primer and they can give you a few options from different brands. However, there's not much privacy and you don't get to experience pampering facials there.

Well, the Beauty Concierge gives you both at once. You get a one-on consultation in a private area and the beauty advisor is able to recommend you the best product for your needs, across the entire range of brands available at DFS.

This is a free service and they are not supposed to hard-sell you the products, which is such a fantastic breath of fresh air. All you need to do is make an appointment by calling 65.62298107. As there is only one consultation room available, the hardest part of it all is getting an appointment.

There is an entire menu of services you can choose from, including a mini 15-20 minute facial, make-up touch-up or complete makeover, make-up lessons and even eyebrow shaping.

During my 1.5-2 hours there, I got a skin analysis, facial and makeover. Can I just say the mini facial was the best express facial I've ever had!

I will blog about the Beauty Concierge in more detail in an upcoming post, but in the meantime, do go check it out if you've time. It's definitely worth the time!