-Elégance

(Champs de Fleurs –
Elégance Spring/Summer 2008 Collection)
(image from www.elegance-cosmetics.com)

From now on, I will be regularly talking about popular Japanese beauty brands that have been rarely mentioned in beauty blogs written in English.

Today I start with Elégance, a brand I personally really like.

As far as I know, Elégance is a French fashion brand. (Their boutique in London is just off New Bond Street and their Paris boutique is on rue Saint Honoré.) But, it seems the Elégance beauty line is only available in Asia.

The Elégance beauty line is developed and produced by Albion (which is currently owned by Kosé).

(Like Anna Sui, Paul & Joe, and Jill Stuart, I classify the Elégance beauty line as a Japanese line.) This high-end line has been doing consistently well in Japan. Over the years, their mascaras and base makeup items have proven to be especially popular. (Relatively, their skincare line doesn’t seem to enjoy as much attention.)

I have two items from Elégance. They were bought a few years ago, and they have been discontinued. One is Verytrue Lip, a natural-looking lip gloss, and the other is Purity Eyes, a cream-to-powder eyeshadow in pale blue.

Elégance consistently uses gold as the main color in the packaging. I think, with gold as the main color scheme, the rest is best kept simple. I think this simplicity has been well maintained throughout the line. As YSL uses straightforward square and rectangular shapes for their gold cases, Elégance opts for circular cases. While YSL looks chic and glamorous, Elégance has an extra touch of softness and femininity.

Two of the items from the current lineup that appeal to me are the powder blusher (in 9 shades) and the loose powder (in 3 shades):

(image from www.elegance-cosmetics.com)

I would love to have more items from Elégance, but they are quite pricey. The loose powder above costs 8400 yen (about 80 USD). But I think I will definitely consider adding one or two items to my collection later.

As Miss Elégance, Elégance’s very cute (and much more affordable) sister line, was discontinued in 2007, I really hope Elégance will do well for many years to come.

(The Elégance beauty line is currently available in Japan and Taiwan.)

Other Japanese beauty lines!

MAMEW

SUQQU

“Loving Japanese Brands” Series

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I am planning to visit Japan again. It won’t be happening very soon, but my shopping list has been growing longer and longer already!

Apart from some of my favorite Japanese brands (such as Ayura, Sofina, Lavshuca), there are some specific items of my favorite brands and other very interesting lines I want to look at.

Here is just a little sneak peek of my shopping list!

1. Jill Stuart

(photo from www.jillstuart-beauty.com)

My ultimate cosmetics shopping trip in Japan will undoubtedly start with Jill Stuart (despite the risk of spending all my savings on the first day). I want to sample everything! I have several Jill Stuart items but I have always wanted more. I will definitely test the Blush Powder (loose powder blusher, second from left) and pick a shade I like.

2. Lunasol

(photo from www.kanebo-cosmetics.jp/lunasol/)

I absolutely love all the Lunasol items I have, but I have not yet had any of their beautiful eyeshadow palettes. They are quite expensive but…when in Japan…!

3. Elégance

(photo from www.elegance-cosmetics.com)

I absolutely love this brand but I haven’t really talked about it on my blog. Elégance is a French fashion label that has a cosmetics line in a couple of Asian countries. It is very high-end but the quality is great. I love the simple but opulent gold packaging as well. I am interested in their pressed powder blusher and the new cream blusher.

4. Eprise

( photo from www.albion.co.jp)

Eprise is the makeup line from Albion, a major cosmetics brand in Japan. Albion has some extremely popular skincare and foundation products. The makeup line Eprise is relatively low-key but has an elegant look that really appeals to me.

5. ettusais

(photo from www.ettusais.co.jp)

I have used many ettusais foundation and skincare products and have thought highly of them. The ettusais makeup line has recently been re-packaged. Well, it doesn’t particularly look very exciting, but I would like to have a look at the new blusher (yes, I can’t have enough blushers…), which features a sponge puff attached to the bottom of the container.

6. Sonia Rykiel

(photo from www.isetan.co.jp)

Sonia Rykiel is another French fashion label that has a cosmetics line in Asia. Known for some great foundation formulations and a couple of skincare products, Sonia Rykiel Cosmetics has an exquisite quality. Currently, the makeup packaging is inspired by Sonia Rykiel’s famous stripy patterns:

(photo from www.isetan.co.jp)

7. Watosa

(photo from www.isetan.co.jp)

Watosa is a quirky brand with a colorful look. Like Stila, paper is used for some of the product packaging. I bought a Watosa lipstick in Hong Kong many years ago and this is a brand I want to try more products from.

8. Kiss

(photo from www.kiss-cosmetics.com)

Kiss is a drugstore line that has been immensely popular in Japan. The packaging is very girlie, although I don’t think the overall look is as dreamy and princessy as Lavshuca. But like Lavshuca, their products are very affordable and I won’t leave Japan without a couple of their goodies.

9. Love Clover

(photo from www.loveclover.jp)

Love Clover, like Makemania (which carries Curvy Lip Silicone) is part of SONY. It has also been a popular drugstore brand and has a rather similar feel to Kiss. The PonPonCheek N (above) looks so adorable!

10: Anuenue

(photo from www.ar-anuenue.com)

Anuenue is another drugstore line from SONY. It recently launched some skincare products, including Hand Balm and Lip Balm seen above.

The list goes on and on, as there are many other brands and products I am interested in. But I’d better stop here before I get carried away (and book my flight to Tokyo tomorrow)!

Notes:

1. In the UK, we have Shiseido International, Kanebo International, Paul & Joe, RMK, and SUQQU. (We used to have Anna Sui and Chic Choc, but they left a few years ago.)

2. Some of the brands above are available outside Japan. But Japan is the only country where all of them are available…

Read about my favorite Japanese brands:
Ayura
Anna Sui
Jill Stuart
Lavshuca
Lunasol
Paul & Joe
Sofina

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