(my Miss Elégance item and catalog)
Owned by Albion, one of Japan’s largest cosmetics companies, Miss Elégance is the little sister of and a more girlie alternative to Elégance, which is gloriously glamorous in a slightly old-school kind of way. On the other hand, Miss Elégance, a bit like Cynthia Rowley, is soft, fresh, and cute. I love the delicate floral theme on the packaging and as part of the brand image.
Price-wise, Miss Elégance was in the medium-low range in Japanese cosmetics, as the price-point was between brands like T’Estimo and budget lines like Majolica Majorca. It was generally an affordable line of makeup items.
I found out that it had been discontinued in Japan earlier this year (on May 31, 2007) as I was planning my shopping list for Japan. I was quite disappointed. Miss Elégance didn’t have the same cache as Dick Page’s Inoui ID (discontinued earlier this year as well, which stunned many of its fans.) But I really like the fact that the brand was always very low-key and unassuming, as I don’t think it was that widely available and was advertised that much.
The Miss Elégance item I have is Powder Color in 16, which I bought in Tokyo years ago. It is a nice medium brown which I bought during my neutral-tone phase. It is smooth and nicely pigmented, but, as you can see, I have been very precious about it and haven’t used it very much. (I love the two flowers on the eyeshadow. So pretty.)
(Miss Elégance Powder Color in 16)
The case looks equally lovely, to say the least:
(the Powder Color case,with floral and jewel detail)
The Powder Color was available in 35 shades, which offered a wide range of neutral and vibrant hues:
(Miss Elegance Powder Color –for eyes and cheeks)
The floral motif continues to grace the packaging, as seen here with Liquid Rouge (love that lavender shade):
(Miss Elegance Liquid Rouge)
Related posts:
All About Japanese Cosmetics
(Do you like Japanese cosmetics as well?)
Other Bring It Back posts:
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I was looking at this post feeling very stupid (“Huh? What IS that?”) and then realized it must be Japanese cosmetics.
Foraging for domestic cosmetics is my first mission on any trip abroad. And then this is expanded into bath products and lotions and occasionally a hairspray.
Hello Suzanna,
I do apologize for this. It was my bad that I didn’t specifically mention that Miss Elégance is a Japanese brand. I have edited the post very slightly (mostly in the very beginning) to avoid more confusion.
I also enjoy browsing through and picking up some local toiletries when I travel. It is always a wonderfully interesting experience to walk into a store and see brands and products that I have not seen before. It is a good excuse for someone like me to experiment!
Thank you very much for your comment again!
What interesting colors for the liquid rouge. Lovely!
Hello Grayburn,
There are several interesting-looking shades indeed. Too bad I won’t be able to try them now…:(
(I bought my friend a pink shade as a present at the time, and it is basically a very universally flattering pink shade).
Thank you for your comment again! :)
by chance do you remember what the website of the miss elegance brand was?
thanks
yin
Hello Yin,
A happy new year to you!
You can see the Miss Elégance website
here. There is a short thank-you message from Miss Elégance and you will be transferred to the Elégance website in a few seconds.
Thank you for leaving your comment again! :)