We have high expectations when it comes to base makeup. Long workdays, hot and humid weather, and unbalanced skin conditions (think oily yet dehydrated) require that products be long-lasting, with impressive blemish-concealing abilities and skincare perks – and many of our winners deliver on these. The past year was also the year that soft matte foundations made small headlines, thanks to more comfortable textures and improved finishes that look fresh and radiant, not heavy and flat.
We have high expectations when it comes to base makeup. Long workdays, hot and humid weather, and unbalanced skin conditions (think oily yet dehydrated) require that products be long-lasting, with impressive blemish-concealing abilities and skincare perks – and many of our winners deliver on these. The past year was also the year that soft matte foundations made small headlines, thanks to more comfortable textures and improved finishes that look fresh and radiant, not heavy and flat.
DEPARTMENT/ SPECIALITY STORE CATEGORY
GLOW-ENHANCING MAKEUP PRIMER
● Readers’ Choice
1. Shu Uemura Stage Performer Block:booster Protective Moisture Primer SPF50/PA+++
On top of lending your complexion a healthy-looking glow, this lightweight cream hydrates skin, evens out its tone, minimises redness and the look of pores, and protects it from pollution and UV rays.
● Editors’ Choice
2. Cover FX Illuminating Primer
This hydrating, silicone-free primer gives skin a natural-looking luminosity without making it seem oily or shiny. We like that it doesn’t gum up under foundation.
● Bloggers’ Choice
3. YSL Beauty Top Secrets Instant Moisture Glow
The light pink tint of this gel primer blends in with your skin tone to veil imperfections and lend a soft-focus finish, acting like a real-life Instagram filter. Reapply during the day to refresh your makeup or mattify an oily T-zone.
BLEMISH-BLURRING MAKEUP PRIMER
● Readers’ Choice
4. Elizabeth Arden Flawless Start Instant Perfecting Primer
Photoshop in a tube – that’s what this primer is. A thin layer of this soft cream instantly minimises the appearance of pores, smooths the look of fine lines and nixes shine, while its skin-balancing technology moisturises and controls shine.
● Editors’ Choice
5. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
Just half a pump is sufficient to create an ultra-smooth, even-toned complexion. It dries to a satin finish and helps foundation last all day sans pooling in pores or streaking, even on oily skin.
● Bloggers’ Choice
6. IDS Diamond-dust Perfector
Imperfections don’t stand a chance against this fluid primer, which counters redness and sallowness, reduces the look of enlarged pores and fine lines, and has diamond dust to fake naturally radiant skin.
GLOW-ENHANCING FOUNDATION
● Readers’ Choice
7. Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation SPF25/PA++
Get that post-beach-holiday glow with this sheer foundation, which has mineral pigments and soft-focus powders to deliver soft, luminous coverage that doesn’t look overdone.
● Editors’ Choice
8. Cle de Peau Beaute Radiant Cream Foundation SPF24
So good you only need a pea-sized amount for full coverage, this is packed with moisturising ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, and has two types of light-diffusing powder to give you a radiant, dewy complexion.
● Bloggers’ Choice
9. Cosme Decorte AQMW Elegant Glow Liquid Foundation
A pearl-sized amount of this silky foundation is enough for natural-looking coverage. With moisturising ingredients and essential oils, it leaves skin looking fresh and dewy.
SOFT MATTE FOUNDATION
● Readers’ Choice and Bloggers’ Choice
10. Dior Diorskin Forever
This fluid foundation wears like second skin for up to 16 hours – no creases, no caking – and is undetectable even up close. The formula also helps refine skin texture with continued use.
● Editors’ Choice
11. Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint
This oil-free foundation offers medium-to-high buildable coverage that doesn’t cake or look heavy. Said to maintain the skin’s moisture barrier while curbing shine, it also boasts vitamins C and E for antioxidant protection.
CUSHION FOUNDATION
● Readers’ Choice
12. Innisfree Long Wear Cushion SPF50+/PA+++
Good for combination and oily skin, this matte foundation has volcanic powder and green tea extract from Jeju Island to reportedly regulate sebum production and prevent makeup from oxidising.
● Editors’ Choice
13. Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Cushion Compact SPF50/PA+++
It delivers a slightly dewy, morning-fresh finish that lasts round the clock without winding up looking oily. Pink silk tree extract soothes irritation, while caffeine and lychee extracts reportedly help to energise skin.
● Bloggers’ Choice
14. YSL Beauty Le Cushion Encre de Peau
Despite being incredibly lightweight, this offers medium coverage that stays fresh for at least half a day. It also curbs midday shine and has a smooth, luminous matte finish that brightens up tired skin.
PRESSED POWDER
● Readers’ Choice
15. Clinique Even Better Powder Makeup Water Veil SPF27/PA++++
Enriched with the hydrating essence lotion from the same range, this merges the coverage of a liquid foundation with the lightweight, velvety feel of a powder. Light-diffusing and long-wear technologies ensure a lasting lustrous finish.
● Editors’ Choice
16. Albion Elegance Face Powder
This delivers natural-looking radiance and improves skin clarity with a kaleidoscope of different-coloured pigments. It also subtly camouflages pores while remaining surprisingly sheer.
LOOSE POWDER
● Readers’ Choice
17. Anna Sui Loose Face Powder N
Thanks to its hydrating powders, this feels like a silky, moisturising veil over skin. It diffuses light, minimises the look of pores and evens skin tone for a smooth, flawless complexion.
● Editors’ Choice
18. Dior Diorskin Forever & Ever Control Loose Powder
The air-whipped texture of this powder feels weightless on skin. Mattifying and soft-focus powders give a sheer, velvety matte finish and help your makeup go the distance.
● Bloggers’ Choice
19. IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Poreless Finish Airbrush Powder
Developed by plastic surgeons and enriched with real silk, hydrolysed collagen, antioxidants and peptides, this powder reduces the appearance of pores and wrinkles while helping to heal and conceal blemishes.
CONCEALER
● Readers’ Choice
20. Chanel Le Blanc Light Creator Whitening Concealer SPF40/PA+++
With a creamy texture that seemingly melts into skin, this has iridescent pearl pigments that hide dark spots, and is enriched with ascorbic glucoside, liquorice extract and pearl extract to counter sallowness.
● Editors’ Choice
21. Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Concealer
Fake a good night’s sleep with this, which has a winning combination of reflective particles and hyaluronic acid spheres. Its finish is so natural-looking, it’s said to hold up even under the latest high-definition cameras.
● Bloggers’ Choice
22. Bobbi Brown Retouching Wand
This clickable pen dispenses a lightweight liquid concealer with gel-coated powders that gives the most natural-looking airbrushed effect.
BB CREAM
● Readers’ Choice
23. Clarins BB Beauty Perfector SPF30/PA+++
This lightweight, 100 percent mineral formula provides medium coverage and protection against not just the sun but also pollution, thanks to a host of antioxidants such as kiwi fruit and green tea extracts.
● Editors’ Choice
24. Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water SPF30
With a super-fluid, almost weightless texture, this blends to a sheer, satin finish and offers buildable coverage. Fruit extracts give skin an antioxidant boost, while lecithin and vitamin E reportedly repair skin and help it retain moisture.
● Bloggers’ Choice
25. Etude House Big Cover Concealer BB SPF50+/PA+++
You only need a little of this to achieve high coverage, and it stays put for up to eight hours even on oily or acne-prone skin. Extracts of fruits such as blueberry and raspberry help to counter free-radical damage.
BB CUSHION
● Readers’ Choice
26. Laneige BB Cushion_Pore Control SPF50+/PA+++
Perfect for those with enlarged pores and an uneven skin tone, this has minute silicone elastomers that fill in gaps between pores to smooth skin, and a semi-matte, full-coverage finish. It also helps to control excess oil and regulate skin turnover, and leaves a cooling sensation on skin.
● Editors’ Choice
27. Laneige BB Cushion_Whitening SPF50+/PA+++
Pigments coated with pearl and water, along with whitening ingredients such as the brand’s Melacrusher, work on brightening skin. You can expect a dewy finish that stays fresh from day to night.
● Bloggers’ Choice
28. Estee Lauder Double Wear Cushion BB All Day Wear Liquid Compact SPF50/PA+++
This lasts all day and sets to a matte finish, making it perfect for Singapore’s humidity. The water-resistant formula also has extracts of fruits such as lychee and apple to reduce the look of fine lines and control shine.
CC CREAM
● Readers’ Choice, Editors’ Choice and Bloggers’ Choice
29. Kose Sekkisei White CC Cream SPF50+/PA++++
A cocktail of Oriental herbs such as Japanese angelica root and white lotus replenishes moisture, reduces the look of enlarged pores and evens out skin tone. Its satiny finish lends the complexion a brighter, fresher look.
BLUSHER
● Readers’ Choice, Editors’ Choice and Bloggers’ Choice
30. Marc Jacobs Beauty Air Blush Soft Glow Duo
This two-tone palette delivers colour that is strong but not overpowering. Its micro-sized highlighting pigments lend skin a subtle, natural-looking radiance.
HIGHLIGHTING POWDER/GEL/CREAM
● Readers’ Choice and Bloggers’ Choice
31. Estee Lauder Genuine Glow Eyelighting Creme for Eyes and Face
Get Kim K-level glow with this cream-in-a-twist-stick, whose light texture makes it easy to control and intensify even for highlighting amateurs. Dab it onto the lips, cheeks and brows for an all-over sun-kissed luminosity.
● Editors’ Choice
32. Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter in Champagne Pop
This universally flattering colour’s warm sheen perks up any skin tone. Ultra-fine luminescent pearl pigments reportedly absorb, reflect and refract light so you look naturally radiant no matter the angle or lighting. Bonus: it’s long-wearing and stays colour-true all day.
DRUGSTORE CATEGORY
SOFT MATTE FOUNDATION
● Readers’ Choice
33. L’Oreal Paris Mat Magique 12H Bright Mat Foundation
Promising to keep skin matte for 12 hours, this highly pigmented foundation soaks up sebum with volcanic perlite minerals. The lightweight, watery formula gives a natural-looking, breathable finish.
● Editors’ Choice and Bloggers’ Choice
34. Revlon Colorstay Makeup
This lightweight foundation yields surprisingly high coverage that lasts the whole day, even in our humid climate. Once it sets, it doesn’t budge, so blend quickly.
TEXT CHARMAINE LEE, ANNIE TAN & RUTH CHEW
