While there may be plenty of renowned makeup brands sitting on the shelves of Sephora, not many of these brands may understand the struggle of keeping your makeup en pointe in Singapore’s warm and humid weather.
From velvety liquid lipsticks to fuss-free designer nail wraps, here are 11 affordable local makeup brands developed by Singaporeans for Singaporeans.
You’ll notice a common theme across the products from Reflection Organics—they’re mostly formulated with ingredients that can be consumed.
They’ve got mascaras with coffee powder, blushers with rice powder and lip glazes with coconut oil. Even their Sun Protection Powder boasts natural ingredients such as rosemary oil and tapioca starch that hydrates and protects the skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays.
Buy from: website
Coat Colour’s polishes aren’t just vibrant and pretty but also relatively toxin-free. Singapore’s first *8-free nail lacquer brand, the brand produces organic nail lacquer that allows oxygen and water vapour to pass through, to prevent nail discoloration.
The brand’s polishes are specially tailored for Asian skin tones and they carry an astounding range of colours—the last time we checked, they’ve got over 40 shades!
*8-free: Toluene-free, Dibutyl Phthalate-free, Formaldehyde-free, Formaldehyde Resin-free, Triphenyl Phosphate-free, Paraben-free, Xylene-free and Camphor-free.
Buy from: website and selected stores
It seems like age is merely a number for Candela Cosmetics founder Erin Jung, who started vlogging on Youtube at 11 years old before launching Candela Cosmetics at 16 years old. The young entrepreneur uses natural derivatives in her formulations such as mango butter, coconut water and soy-rice peptides.
Currently, her website only has brushes and an eyeshadow palette in stock but there’ll be a series of new products slated to launch summer 2017, so keep a lookout for them!
Buy from: website
Back then, fibre mascara was all the rage but most of them had white fibres. So Faux Fayc co-founder, Eileen, decided to take matters into her own hands and developed a fibre mascara with black fibres that’ll complement Asian lashes.
They’ve since expanded their product offerings to foundation, blushes and even matte liquid lipsticks. If you prefer swatching makeup in a physical store, they have an outlet at Plaza Singapura so you can find the shade that fits your skin tone.
Buy from: website, selected stores, and their flagship store
If you’re into fancy nail art but can’t be bothered to wait for the manicurist to draw them out stroke by stroke, you’ll love Gummi Nails! With most of their designs priced at $5, they’re affordable, chic and convenient—just peel and paste their nail wraps and file off the excess.
For something uniquely Singaporean, check out their fun lingo nail art designs in collaboration with Goodstuph.
Buy from: website and selected stores
Developed by Singaporean makeup artist, Marie Soh, INGA Cosmetics tailors their lipstick shades to Asian skin tones.
The cruelty-free matte lipsticks are named “beautiful” in different languages and are available in a range of wearable shades from rose nude to bold red.
Buy from: website
Combining their faith and passion for makeup, sisters Amira and Alia came up with their line of Halal cosmetics ranging from eyeshadow palettes to matte liquid lipsticks.
They’ve also got a series of *5-free, breathable and wudhu-friendly nail polishes so you can have bright and glossy nails without “suffocating” them underneath a layer of chemicals and toxins.
*5-free: Toluene-free, Dibutyl Phthalate-free, Formaldehyde-free, Formaldehyde Resin-free and Camphor-free.
Buy from: website
Besides being made with sustainable materials such as highly recyclable aluminium, 13rushes’s line of cruelty-free synthetic brushes also use material technology, ‘dryklon’ (quick-drying and mold-resistant fibre) so their brushes are not just soft and amazing, but also work well with liquids, creams and powders.
Their brushes are also entirely handmade by 26 craftsmen over 12 production stages!
Buy from: website
Suiinaturals uses natural/food grade ingredients in their makeup whenever they can.
Besides their travel-sized lip and cheek palettes, another best seller is the BB face powder that works pretty much like a mineral foundation powder—just buff it in, and you’re good to go. On top of that, it also contains Titanium Dioxide and Iron Oxides that provides natural sunscreen protection.
Buy from: website
Three of Shophouse Sixtyfive’s handmade lip and cheek tints are named after Singapore’s Kampong girls (bubbly pink), Samsui ladies (poppy red) and colloquial term, ‘Chio Bu’ (nude rose). They also sell travel-sized lip brushes for germaphobes who refuse to dip their fingers into the product.
Buy from: website and selected stores
Handmade Heroes is no stranger to the local skincare scene. Besides their popular face masks and dry shampoo, the all-natural vegan brand also produces lip tints in two flavours, French Rose (sheer rose colour) and English Rose (sheer pink nude colour) that moisturises your lips and gives a natural hint of colour.
Buy from: website and selected stores
If your parents chide you for blowing half your allowance on these stellar cosmetic products, at least you can tell them that it’s all in the name of #supportinglocal brands.
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