16/09/2026

LYFE WEDNESDAY | SEPT 16, 2026

24

BEAUTY REVIEWS

Ű BY ASHIQIN AHMAD

Maybelline Super Stay Matte Max Cushion The cushion is an impressive option if

you are looking for a foundation that can survive Malaysia’s unpredictable weather. As someone with oily skin, I was interested in its humidity-proof claim and it held up

well even after I found myself caught in the rain. Despite getting soaked, the foundation did not crack or separate dramatically, which is the strongest endorsement I can give it. The finish is fully matte but does not come with that heavy, cakey feeling. It sits comfortably on the skin and gives a fairly polished finish without making the complexion look overly made up. By the end of the day, the foundation did begin to break down as natural oil came through, particularly around the T-zone. Still, considering the price, its staying power is commendable. It retails at RM38 for 11g. Rating: 4/5.

Inside House of Beauty’s first-of-its-kind festival T HE landscape of beauty has changed over the years. As such, the relationship between consumers and brands has altered too but one thing remains – it is Ű BY VERONICA ELANKOVAN (From left) Bella Astillah, Syima Eima and Ain Edcruce at the House of Beauty pop-up event. still prefer the human touch from a beauty adviser? What we consistently see is that it isn’t really a choice between the two – technology and human expertise work best together. Our digital tools give shoppers a precise, confident starting point, but they still want a trained adviser to help them interpret that and feel reassured in their decision.

Luxe Organix 3 in 1 Whitening Serum Lotion

This lotion is one of those affordable body care products that becomes more impressive the longer you use it. Its lightweight texture absorbs

easily into the skin, leaving it feeling supple and hydrated without the sticky residue that can make some body lotions unpleasant to use in Malaysia’s warm weather. All three ranges have a light floral-musky scent that does not linger too heavily, making it easy to incorporate into an everyday routine, particularly if you prefer your body care to feel fresh. The range comes in three variants, each aimed at different concerns. For me, the biggest selling point was not the brightening effect but the longer-term result of consistently soft, hydrated skin. At RM33 for 350ml, it is difficult to complain about the value. Rating: 4.5/5 The Ordinary PDRN Eye Serum The eye serum is an interesting addition to an eye-care routine, particularly if your main concerns are fine lines, wrinkles and a loss of firmness around the eyes. Despite the “PDRN” trend often being associated with salmon-derived ingredients, this formula does not use salmon as its source, which is worth noting for consumers who may have assumptions about what PDRN products contain. After using it consistently, my under-eye area looked visibly tighter, giving the eye area a slightly more lifted and refreshed appearance. That makes it a more appealing option for mature skin or anyone primarily concerned with signs of ageing around the eyes. While the skin looked smoother and firmer, I did not notice much improvement in pigmentation beneath my eyes. At RM50 for 15ml, it is a reasonably priced option. Rating: 4/5

House of Beauty hosts everything from L’Oreal Paris and Maybelline to YSL and Lancome. How do you design an event layout so every brand gets its moment to shine without overpowering the others? House of Beauty was designed to feel energetic and immersive across all categories (makeup, skincare, hairface and fragrances) and hundreds of creators under one roof, there’s naturally a real buzz on the floor, and that’s very much intentional. But what actually gives each brand its own moment isn’t spacing them apart – it’s what’s happening at each individual booth. Every brand’s space is built around its own story: The products it wants to spotlight, the experience it wants a visitor to walk away with and the specific expertise its team brings to that conversation. How do you bring active skincare into a high-energy consumer event so it feels just as exciting as a makeup or fragrance counter?

still dependent on word of mouth. Content such as “OOTD” and “My Holy Grails” have taken over social media, giving new meaning to word of mouth. Understanding this shift in consumer behaviour is L’Oreal, which just ran a two-day creator commerce festival for the first time in Malaysia. In a chat with theSun , L’Oreal Malaysia-Singapore country manager Manashi Gula talks about the linear relationship between digital spaces and consumers... and of course, beauty. How do you tailor event experiences such as House of Beauty so they resonate with locals? We built House of Beauty around a specific insight about how Malaysians engage with beauty content: Recommendation and trust matter here, and increasingly that trust lives with creators as much as it does at the counter. So rather than a standard brand showcase, the entire on-ground experience – registration, brand guidelines and creative direction – is run through WhatsApp, which is how our nearly 700 Malaysian creators already communicate day to day. It’s built into their existing habits. We also paired every creator with dual-track training specific to this market: Content and livestream skills from Meta, and product science and formulation knowledge directly from our own category experts. That combination means the recommendations Malaysian consumers see aren’t generic – they’re coming from people trained specifically to speak knowledgeably within this market’s beauty culture. Are everyday shoppers actually embracing these digital tools in-store, or do they

So rather than replacing the human touch, our approach is to equip our advisers and creators with better tools, so the conversation they’re having with a consumer is even more informed. L’Oreal is using simulation and formulation science to bring new innovations to consumers much faster than before, and we also have a partnership using large language models on Maybelline. How do big interactive pop-ups such as House of Beauty bridge the gap between someone trying a lipstick offline and buying it online two minutes later? We know 62% of Malaysians purchase skincare and 61% purchase makeup via Shopee livestream, with consumers tuning in an average of 1.82 times per week – this behaviour is already deeply embedded in how Malaysians shop for beauty. House of Beauty was built to connect directly with that reality. The two-day festival feeds into Shopee Hyper Brand Day, and our creators take over the Shopee Creator Live Arena until 2am on Sept 9, transforming the festival floor into a live, shoppable storefront. A consumer can trial a product on-site, watch a creator demonstrate it on a livestream shortly after and complete their purchase within minutes.

Skincare doesn’t need to compete with makeup’s energy. It earns its own, through expertise and real engagement. That’s the same philosophy behind our creators’ training: They go through the same rigorous grounding in product science and skin behaviour as they do in content and presentation skills. Within our dermatological beauty division, brands such as CeraVe and La Roche-Posay continue to grow in the skincare space, and that momentum is rooted in genuine trust in the science behind the products, not simply in how the experience is presented. Manashi is L’Oreal’s country manager for Singapore and Malaysia. – HANDOUT PIC