INOUE OLIVE
When it was established: In 1946, as Inoue Seikoen, an olive and citrus farm on the lush, picturesque island of Shodoshima. Its first skincare product, Beauty Olive Oil, was created in the late 1970s using the farm’s own produce. Known for: Skincare derived from high-quality Japanese olives and citrus fruit. To this day, Inoue Olive remains the cosmetics line of a small, family-owned agricultural outfit. In 2013, it made its first foray overseas with the opening of a counter in Singapore’s Takashimaya, later relocating to Tangs in Orchard Road. The brand has also set up web stores for customers in Japan and Singapore. Look out for: The Mild Peeling Gel, Inoue Olive’s top seller, which uses citrus extracts to exfoliate, bringing about a clearer, smoother complexion with pores that look more refined. Another popular pick is the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is 100 per cent made from fully ripened olives that are picked by hand (to minimise scarring on the fruit that causes it to oxidise) and cold-pressed. The product can be used as a facial oil, an alternative to night cream, or a treatment for wrinkles, especially around the eyes and mouth.