Sulwhasoo limited edition SHINECLASSIC pressed powder compacts

The Style Page lives for breaking stories to her readers. It is exciting to see Sulwhasoo, one of Asia’s top luxury cosmetics brands, come to the United States, where it is sold exclusively by Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. I want to introduce you to the way science and traditional Korean knowledge of medicinal herbs is artfully fused in Sulwhasoo - a comprehensive line of high-end skin care and color cosmetics.

Sulwhasoo’s SHINECLASSIC limited edition pressed powder compacts are works of art that not only satisfy a woman’s concept of beauty but also travel easily in her purse. Every year since 2003, Sulwhasoo has released limited edition pressed powder compacts featuring traditional Korean design motifs, especially crafted to satisfy a woman’s senses at every moment throughout the day. When I saw and held its pressed powder compacts, I instantly fell in love with the sensual and seductive designs, tender composition, enchanting effects on contact, and romantic embrace.

2005 Sulwhasoo 7 Treasure "Chill-bo" LE compact

A closer look at the Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC 7 Treasure LE compact

For its 2005 SHINECLASSIC Seven Treasure “Chill-bo” LE compact, Sulwhasoo’s inspiration was a traditional Korean patchwork quilt. From time immemorial, quilts in Korea have signified the belief that endeavors bring good luck. The colorful strips of fabric that are stitched together represent a prayer for good fortune. It represents WEALTH, one of the 5 traditional Korean blessings.

Korean 7 Treasure quilt

Inside the compact, there is a delicately scented soft pressed powder. The pressed powder is embossed with a stylized design motif of the Prunes Mume, or plum blossom, one of the first flowers of spring, with the powder whispering in a gentle, powdery way for a sensual aura of opulence. Beautiful!

Image of plum blossom from Wikipedia; Credit: Kakidai

Other compacts in the series of Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC limited edition pressed powder compacts include:

• 2003: lattice pattern – signifies the blessing of Health 
• 2008: Plum Blossom design: signifies the blessing of Virtue 
• 2010: Prunes mume floral pattern: signifies the blessing of Longevity 
• 2012: “Wa-Dang” ornamental tile design – signifies the blessing of Nobility 

Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC limited edition compacts

You may see pictures of the Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC limited edition compacts at SkinnyScoop. In the interest of space, I will describe the Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC 2003 lattice design compact in a subsequent article.

Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC pressed powder powder compacts may be purchased ($150) through bergdorfgoodman.com or niemanmarcus.com. Bergdorf Goodman is offering free 2-day shipping for the holidays: check its home page for the promo code. 

DISCLAIMER: The Style Page received two SHINECLASSIC pressed powder powder compacts from Sulwhasoo’s PR representative. It also received remuneration for this article. Opinions are The Style Page’s own.

Korres Wild Rose Mineral Illuminating Powder

Korres has its roots in the first homeopathic pharmacy in Athens, Greece.  It has since had broad distribution in the United States, particularly through Sephora retail stores and Sephora.com.

Korres Wild Rose Mineral Illuminating Powder contains burnished rose, ivory rose, and gold rose reflective minerals.  I use it as a highlighter on top of the cheekbones.  To apply:

• Shake a little powder onto the lid
• Fold the sponge that comes in the package in half, flocked side up
• Press the edge of the sponge into the powder
• Tap the sponge onto the top of the cheekbones
• Run a fluffy brush along the top of the cheekbones to diffuse the powder

According to the press materials,

... the rose used to be white until Aphrodite, hurrying to save the dying Adonis, injured herself on thorns and turned the white petals red with blood.  Since then, roses are thought to be Aphrodite's flowers, and they're symbolic of life, love, the heart and soul.

This is one myth that I didn't know.  I thought that myrtle was Aphrodite's flower.

The fine print:  The PR firm representing Korres provided me with a sample of Korres Wild Rose Mineral Illuminating Powder me.  It also provided me with a sample of Korres Colour Lip Butter in Mango, a tinted balm with shea butter and rice wax emollients.

The Most God-Awful product that I've tried

Bye Bye Pores HD Silk Micro-Powder by It Cosmetics has got to be the most god-awful product I've tried. This powder is so opaque that I felt that I was wearing a mask. Although it contains ingredients beneficial for the skin, I found it drying.

Bye Bye Pores HD Silk Micro-Powder

Talc gets a bad rap, but talc-based finishing powders work better than Bye Bye Pores and don't obscure my complexion.  If you want to use a talc-free HD powder, I recommend Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder. Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder is a favorite of beauty editors and makeup enthusiasts and justifiably merits its hype.

Christopher Drummond Beauty

Makeup artist Christopher Drummond began his eponymous line with SAÚDE PELE Radiance Booster. SAÚDE PELE (which means "Healthy Skin" in Portuguese) is a soft gold loose powder which can be used to highlight the cheekbones, brighten the inner corners of the eyes (my favorite use), or as an all-over luminizer. Christopher is a purist when it comes to cosmetics, and he formulated SAÚDE PELE with only organic and vegan ingredients.

Christopher has brought that same ethos to his new products Veludo Velvet Foundation and Finale Finishing Powder. He has also introduced a cream concealer. Veludo Velvet Foundation is a loose powder makeup that comes in six skintone true shades, from Luz/Light (lightest) to Marron/Brown (deepest). It is infused with botanicals such as açai and green tea. Finale Finishing Powder comes in two shades: Neutro/Neutral and Amarelo/Yellow. Christopher recommends Neutro/Neutral for Caucasian skin and Amarelo/Yellow for ethnic skin tones, but I see no reason why Caucasian skin shouldn't use Amarelo/Yellow.

Before writing this review, I tested Veludo/Velvet Foundation in Justo/Fair and Finale Finishing Powder in Neutro/Neutral for a week. I used the kabuki brush from the Bare Escentuals Get Started kit to apply the Veludo Velvet Foundation and the powder brush from the same kit to apply Finale Finishing Powder. I cleaned the brushes thoroughly beforehand to make sure that the shades were true. Here are a few things I've learned to make loose powder makeup work:

- Prepped skin is a must! Apply a moisturizer or primer before applying loose powder.

- Powder makeup is usually not enough to cover redness, despite what you see in those fake before-and-afters from Bare Escentuals. I use liquid or cream makup to cover redness on the cheekbone.

- If you use cream or gel blush, apply these before you apply loose powder makeup. Flawless even toned bare skin is a must! Otherwise, apply a pressed or loose powder blush after you apply loose powder makeup. Given the redness in my skin, I use powder blush to take advantage of the light-diffusing characteristics of loose powder foundation.

SAÚDE PELE, Veludo Velvet Foundation, and Finale Finishing Powder are great for a sheer, soft-focused look. I also recommend these products to those who find ingredients such as parabens and bismuth oxychloride (which is used in Bare Escentuals) problematic and want organic and vegan ingredients. Christopher's products, as a rule, do not contain these ingredients.

LaurEss Neutralize Mineral Corrector

I've been experimenting with powder concealers as an alternative to cream or stick concealers.

This lurid yellow-green loose powder corrector covers red and purplish areas, especially around the eye. It's very opaque, so tap off the excess on your lay-down concealer brush and use a light hand.

You may shop for LaurEss Neutralize Mineral Corrector through LaurEss or Time for Me.