This June, beauty brands are reeling in their skincare products and stocking up their makeup shelves. Warmer tones are making a comeback in this month’s beauty launches, with metallic golds, burnt oranges and neutral browns to add life, light and dimension to your face.
And to take your makeup off, we’ve got a heavy-duty cleansing balm and a micellar cleansing duo to remove the toughest waterproof formulas. After which, you can opt for a soothing sleeping mask or a brightening sheet mask to treat your skin after a long day.
To help you sift through the month’s beauty drops, have a look at these skincare and makeup products we tried and tested.
What is it: A cream bronzer and highlighter duo for sun-kissed cheeks, and a gel-textured lip balm that contains hyaluronic acid for hydration.
Why I like it: Doubling up as a blush, the bronzer has a warm, golden tone that makes me look much healthier than I actually am. The Lip Fuel has a unique gel texture that wears comfortably on the lips and the red tint stays on for hours.
What I don’t like about it: My only gripe with the Tropic Equinox palette is that it comes with a highlighter I rarely use. The duo looks beautiful on the skin, but I wish the brand offered single blush and bronzer compacts.
Rating: 4.5/5, 5/5
What is it: Made in Japan, this sheet mask contains 9 hydrating amino acids to moisturise dry, sensitive skin.
Why I like it: This sheet mask cocooned my face in a milky serum that doesn’t contain any fragrances, so it’s suitable for sensitive skin. I work in an air-conditioned environment and my skin can feel parched at the end of the day, so this gives it a much-needed shot of moisture.
What I don’t like about it: This whitening mask aims to inhibit the production of melanin for fairer skin, but melanin is actually responsible for giving your skin its colour and protects it from harmful UV rays. I don’t think I’ll trade in my skin’s natural UV defense for a lighter skin tone.
Rating: 3/5
What is it: A rose-scented cream and gel sleeping mask that hydrates the skin overnight.
Why I like it: I’m partial to gel-based masks, so smearing this rose-scented one on my face was a real treat. Applying the water-cream on top of the cooling gel mask really locks in the moisture, so I woke up to soft, supple skin.
What I don’t like about it: It took ages to sink into my skin, so it left a slight residue on my pillowcase. It bears a strong fragrance too, so be careful if you’re sensitive to rose essential oil.
Rating: 4/5
What is it: In collaboration with French electronic music and fashion label Maison Kitsuné, Shu Uemura’s limited-edition camo-inspired eyeshadow palette has 12 shades of orange, gold and khaki.
Why I like it: Although I wear them separately, the olive and orange shades look really flattering on my eyes. The colours are not too bold, so that makes them very wearable.
What I don’t like about it: I found myself piling on single shades as the eyeshadows are not very pigmented. They’re a little difficult to blend out too, so they end up looking quite patchy on the eyelids.
Rating: 2.5/5
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What is it: A rich cleansing balm that removes makeup, grime and sunscreen.
Why I like it: When I use a cream cleanser after this balm for a double cleanse in the evenings, my skin feels soft and hydrated. There’s also a magnetic spatula that sticks to the cap for added convenience.
What I don’t like about it: It’s true to its name because using it feels like I just rubbed butter all over my face. It promises to rinse off clean, but that doesn’t happen at all. When I add water to it, it doesn’t emulsify much, so I only use this at night and follow up with another cleanser.
Rating: 2.5/5
What is it: A bi-phase micellar water for the face and eyes, and a pack of makeup remover wipes infused with micellar water.
Why I like it: The micellar water melts off waterproof makeup easily. It doesn’t sting my eyes and there’s no synthetic fragrance in the formula. The cleansing wipes are handy to have and they do remove waterproof makeup as well.
What I don’t like about it: The micellar water smells a tad like nail polish, while the makeup wipes contain loads of alcohol and they’re fragranced too—two major no-nos for my sensitive skin. I’m fine using a wipe to clean off makeup swatches on my arm, but it’s not going anywhere near my face.
Rating: 4/5, 2/5
What is it: A 12-pan eyeshadow palette that features matte and metallic finishes, and a full-coverage foundation that doubles up as a concealer.
Why I like it: The eyeshadow colours are bold and pigmented. They blend across my eyelids with ease too, so there’s minimal tugging. The foundation hides my acne scars, blemishes and panda eyes, and I don’t even have to use much of it.
What I don’t like about it: The shade Gold-Getter has loosely-packed metallic glitter particles that fall out quite easily if you’re not careful, so don’t apply too much of it at once. The foundation takes a long time to dry, and it continues to move around throughout the day.
Rating: 4/5, 3/5
In makeup artist Violette’s video of her beauty routine, Tylynn Nguyen whipped out her Kosas palette and patted on the bronzer to sculpt her (already high) cheekbones. I immediately knew I had to have that product. Granted, we have different skin tones, but if I could emulate this statuesque goddess in any way, I’ll do it.
Back to the Color & Light palette. Bronzers run the gamut from powder to cream and brown to orange undertones, but Tropic Equinox’s contour shade strikes the perfect balance of formulation and shade.
The golden brown shimmer has a slight terracotta tinge to it that warms up my pale skin and adds a dewy effect. I tend to get red as soon as my skin is exposed to the sun, so this is a much safer shortcut to a healthy, natural-looking tan. The cream feels light on my skin too, and it doesn’t make my cheek area break out.
Wearing tons of blush is key to my everyday makeup look, so I do rotate this duo amongst others, but I’m still surprised by how lovely the colour is every time I go back to it. I get many compliments every time I have this on, so it’s going to be a staple for a long time to come.
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