One of the best things about beauty product kits is that yours will be entirely unique, depending on your personal beauty goals and style preferences. You might select a bold, graphic, or muted look; perhaps something with a less-is-more approach, or more-is-more! Whatever it may be, most people are likely to opt-in to a few makeup essentials, which can be tweaked and personalised as you go. These essentials include skincare, foundation, concealers, powders, eyes, brows, cheeks and lips, and in what follows, we’ll go through each of them individually, looking at how they target your beauty goals and which specific products might be best for you from iShopChangi.

Skincare products for glowing complexion

Take a look at the Elle Primer, an ideal product for those with oily or dry skin. With a special formula designed to remove lines and creases from your face, this is a great first stop for your skincare needs. La Mer is another great brand offering primers that can help to remove signs of ageing from your face, with the added bonus of strengthening your skin. This Moisturising Soft Cream, for instance, uses largely sea-sourced ingredients which allow for a natural look you’ll love.

Olay’s Moisturising Lotion is specifically designed for sensitive skin, and will help you maintain hydration without disrupting your body’s normal epidermal processes. If you’re after something specifically for UV protection, you might like this Serum UV Moisturiser SPF50, PA+++ from Skin Inc, which protects your skin against the sun’s rays while simultaneously nourishing it with niacinamide, cica and hyaluronic acid.

Those looking for makeup removers should check out the Gently Off Makeup Remover Wipes with Micellar Water from MAC. Made with a hydrating solution, these wipes are intended to protect sensitive skin, especially for people who use makeup more often. Another smart option for sensitive skin includes the Aloe Vera Sensitive Skin Makeup Remover Wipes from Byphasse, which have the added benefit of including the natural herbal properties of aloe vera to replenish vitamin deficiencies in your skin.

Foundation, concealers, and powders for a flawless base

It’s easy to pick up your new foundation and cushion products from a range of brands on iShopChangi, including Huxley, Sulwhasoo, MAC and Elle. You can buy Elle’s Liquid Foundation, which comes in dark sand, honey, warm honey, fair and natural. This liquid formula provides all-day coverage, helping you move from occasion to occasion with ease. For concealers, check out MAC’s Studio Fix 24-Hour Smooth Wear Concealer, which is made specifically to cover acne and mask sweat. With 24-hour coverage, you won’t have to worry about reapplication again on busy days.

The Own Attitude cushion range from Huxley, which contains both a Moist Cushion and a Cover Cushion, is a standout option for cushion compacts, with three shades available in each: white desert, sand and sand dune. Sulwhasoo also offers an attractive formula with their Snowise Brightening Cushion and Perfecting Cushion Intense. The former has been described as giving off a glow like a radiant jewel or pearl, while the latter is designed with anti-ageing properties to fight wrinkles and keep your skin looking firm, fresh and youthful.

For the eyes and brows

Make sure to buy different eye make up products like eyeliner, eyeshadow, eye primer, eyelash curler, eye creams and eye serums alongside your foundation and concealers! Start yourself off with your next favourite eyeliner, like this Eyeliner Wax Pencil by Elle. The creative and bold among us will enjoy using this pencil for stylish new eyeliner touches, making it ideal for extravagant trendsetters. Coming in both black and brown, this pen offers a creamy, waxy application on the skin, which is ideal for framing your eyes. After a liquid eyeliner? In that case, check out the Designing Liquid Eyeliner by Sensai. This eyeliner offers delicacy and precision to your eye makeup, and is well-suited to people looking for neat finishing touches.

For eye creams, you can start with Est Lab’s OptimaLift A+ Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream. Made with the intention of casting away signs of tiredness and age, this cream restores elasticity and strength in the skin, reducing bagginess and wrinkles as it does. Not only that, this cream meets a number of impressive criteria for natural formulae: it’s free of parabens, phthalates, sulphates, mineral oils and alcohols, giving it a pleasant overall texture your skin will rejoice.

For the cheeks

A highlighter can instantly brighten up any makeup look, giving you that much coveted dewy look. Look no further than the highlighter collection put out by Bobbi Brown, which features staples like the Highlighting Powder 8GM. This highlighter brings together the best of gels and powders, offering a smooth, readily applicable formula intended for your cheekbones, nose ridge, Cupid’s bow and brow bones. Australis also has a great selection of highlighters, like their signature Highlighting Powder. For a bright, luminous look, this pick from Australis is second-to-none, and will help your features stand out with even a modest application.

For blushers, check out the Lovely Blusher by Ottie, which comes in Shimmer Pink, Shimmer Orange and Apricot Pink. You’ll brighten your cheeks in no time, giving them a warm colour which will pair well with bold lipstick, eyeliner and mascara application. You might also like SkinSoul Switzerland’s Sheer Highlighter Blush, which comes in colours such as Kiko, Endo and Ewa. Play around to see which you like best!

For the lips

You can buy all sorts of lipsticks from MAC, with bold red- and purple-based colours available such as Cremesheen, Matte and Frost lipsticks. Otherwise, you might like to buy a set of Decadent Lipstick from Estée Lauder, which features five of your favourite shades of lipstick in one convenient pack. Bobbi Brown’s Crushed Lip Color comes in tones like Babe, Buff, Ruby, Cranberry and Italian Rose, and distinguishes itself by being as gentle and easy to apply as a lip balm.

Speaking of lip balms: try one of dozens by Burt’s Bees, which you can order to taste like Honey, Mango, Pomegranate, Beeswax and Cherry among several others. Lip balms from Mentholatum also come in a range of flavours, such as Strawberry, Apple and Natural Treatment. Natural Treatment has the added benefits of an extra soft texture and the provision of natural vitamins, like Vitamin E and aloe extract. For more affordable options, choose Nivea, from which you can buy lip balms for well under $10 in flavours like Pink Smoothie, Peach Shine and Watering Lavender.

How you apply your makeup will vary vastly depending on the occasion. For an everyday look – which you’d prefer to achieve in five minutes – you would need three products — moisturiser, foundation and mascara. If you’re going out for a nice dinner, drinks or a celebratory event, you might want something a little more comprehensive. The key is to have fun!

Step 1: Set the foundation

Generally speaking, it’s best to apply makeup starting with products for the whole face or body. These include moisturiser, primer, foundation, and concealer. As a rule of thumb, these products will give you a great base for the other makeup products you will apply later on. Moisturiser is for maintaining hydration in the outermost layer of the skin, making it essential for skin health. It’s best to apply it when you’ve just come out of the shower, when your skin is still moist and damp. Primer, by contrast, is used to lengthen the amount of time your makeup will last on your skin, and is best applied using gentle, circular motions with your fingers or a beauty blender.

Foundation is used to create an even, bright tone on your skin before the application of other makeup products. You might want to enhance your natural skin tone. Apply foundation using a stippling motion, by lightly tapping it onto your skin. Concealer is a similar product which masks imperfections like blemishes, acne and dark spots. Most people would apply concealer using a brush, but you can also use your fingers. To finish off with the first steps, add some bronzer or blush, to give a warm, colourful look to your face.

Step 2: Pay attention to the details

Next comes the specific details to apply to your eyes and eyebrows, and includes makeup like eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara. Eyeshadow is usually used to add a good dose of colour to your eyelids, and can often be the most brightly coloured area of your face. As a way to define the intersection between your brows and the natural tones of your eyes, eyeshadow is a commonplace go-to for a large majority of makeup wearers. You can apply eyeshadow using a brush, moving in light, gentle strokes away from the centre of your face.

After this, you might want to apply some eyeliner, to accentuate the shape of your eyes. There are a number of styles in which you can apply eyeliner, such as cat eyes or winged eyes. Your best bet is to apply a small amount around the rims of your eyes and branch out from there. Eyeliner application can be applied using a pencil or liquid liner, to give a refined touch.

Mascara is another go-to for makeup fans, and may naturally come next in your makeup routine. Mascara enhances your eyelashes, and is applied using a wand in motions from the roots to the tips of your eyelashes. Typically, two to three coats are recommended to ensure your mascara stays in place for as long as you need it to.

Step 3: Apply the finishing touches

Following this, you might put on highlighter and setting powder, to round off your overall look in style. Highlighter is intended to help reflect light in a flattering way on your skin, and is usually applied using a brush on your cheekbones, cheeks and brow bones. Setting powder is used to prevent your other makeup products from slipping off or diminishing in their shine, and is best applied when your foundation is still wet.

For finishing touches, apply any of your favourite lip balms, lipsticks, or lip glosses to make your lips really pop. You might want to use reds, pinks or purples, to enhance the natural colour of your lips, or opt for something entirely different, like a bold black. Roll up the lipstick and apply it from the middle of your lips moving outwards, using the flat edge of the lipstick as the point of contact with your lips. 

There’s a huge variety of different looks, styles and trends you might want to get around when applying your beauty products. You might choose a natural look, which uses makeup sparsely or with fairly muted tones. At the other end of the makeup spectrum is the makeup-heavy e-girl and e-boy look, as popularised by artists and influencers like Pokimane, Rari Kari, Dua Lipa and Yungblud. The e-girl and e-boy aesthetics are commonly associated with dyed hair, brightly coloured blush, thick black eyeliner and lots of jewellery. There are a host of nuanced trends, like wearing graphic eyeliners, staining your lips or applying lip gloss to make them look extra bold, and wearing colourful mascara. The best way to find out what works best for you is to try a range of different makeup styles, and see how you feel!

Consider seasonal differences in how you apply your makeup, too. In winter, with a mix of biting cold outdoors and dry heat indoors, your skin is likely to become slightly drier than normal. In these times, you might want to apply more moisturiser, as well as liquid and cream foundation products, as opposed to matte products which might encourage flakiness on your skin. By contrast, in summer, you might opt for powdered forms of makeup which are slightly lighter and less likely to feel heavy during warm days. Sunscreen, for keeping out harmful UV rays, will also be helpful at this time.

For all of your makeup needs, head to iShopChangi today, to explore the best in foundation, toner, creams, eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick and more! If you spend $59 at the checkout, you can also have your makeup products delivered for free to postal addresses Singapore-wide. Enjoy duty-free prices online and find the best beauty products in Singapore today!