Sakura mania

Once you hear Tina Tinio, senior brand manager of Shu Uemura, talk about Shu Uemura’s Cleansing Oil, you will know what true obsession is. She is not a salesperson – she wants to form a cult. And when the world finally admits that they never wash their face after those drunken nights, she’ll have her apostles drink the oil instead of Kool-Aid because she trusts that its cleansing properties can melt away our bad habits.

Shu Uemura’s Cleansing Oil has been a staple on my bathroom sink for as long as I can remember. Long before it reached our shores and even before I could afford the damn thing, I’d swallow my pride and beg my ever-gullible mother to buy me a bottle or two in Los Angeles, where she snapped up her Shu loot.

Devotees know that rubbing your dry face with the silky oil – feeling every dust mite and hundred-dollar foundation melting away with the oil’s persuasive formula – is the best part of the day, not coffee or afternoon delight.

So imagine my excitement when Tina told me a few months ago that Shu Uemura was launching the Sakura Cleansing Oil Fresh. It has all the dependable juice of the much-copied but never-emulated oil, plus it is (gasp) pink! If it could have, my bathroom sink would have jumped for joy along with me. An added bonus to this miracle is that it is lightly scented like Sakura candy. A boon to my morning washes and a perk-up for my dulled senses at night.

Inspired by the cherry blossoms that color Japan once a year in a rosy snow of beauty, the oil’s launch was as charming as the oil itself. The event was produced by the auteur-provocateur group of Homo Gestalt (HG) led by film director Erwin Romulo, fashion designer Yvonne Quisumbing-Romulo, stylist Mads Adrias and photographer Jino Juan (who photographed the products for the project).

HG first came out in YStyle for a fashion spread that caused gapes and heart attacks. They have since created more covers, as well as fashion stories, for Preview, Metro Society and more. This being their first commercial project, the group wanted to create an experience rather than just another bad-wine-and-whiny-conversation kind of event. The group collaborated in transforming the venerable Drawing Room into a cherry-blossom paradise by strewing cherry-blossom origami and bits of organza, creating a scene similar to the Hana-Mi (the flower-watching culture in which the Japanese throw picnics to celebrate this fleeting but unforgettable season of splendor). And may I add that the booze was champagne and Bailey’s complemented with sushi from Zen and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Nyet, hoi polloi!

Yvonne, one of the most exalted young designers today, created special limited-edition bags to celebrate the new Sakura oil. The round, candy-pink canvas bags inspired by tatami mats were cleverly embellished with flowers, crystals, glass and loose threads, which made for a unique product. The bag can be isolated into three different accessories: a bag, a leatherette cuff (which I have been wearing nonstop as a necklace or as a bracelet), and a beaded charm for your frivolous thrills. Together it makes a spectacular piece of wearable art. What else can you expect from a savant like Yvonne?

The bag can be yours with every purchase of Sakura Cleansing Oil Fresh, available at Shu Uemura in Rustan’s Makati and Shangri-La.