Best Beauty Buys 2024: Top Products For Sensitive Skin

Best Beauty Buys is The Singapore Women's Weekly's annual awards to discover the most effective and game-changing skincare, haircare and makeup products for busy women and their families. The products were road-tested by a group of mums, and these are their picks.

The itching, redness, dryness, flaking, burning and all-round discomfort of your skin when trying new products with different active ingredients can be brutal. If you have sensitive skin, you’re probably put off by the prospect of veering off your usual beauty line-up. Trying new skincare trends can send your skin into meltdown mode, so it’s tough to keep your beauty regime fun and fresh. Sensitive skin sufferers, we see you.

Trust us when we say we know the feeling well. And that mild and minimal ingredients are what you look out for in your beauty products. 

These products got the approval of our judges with sensitive skin, for being soothing, non-triggering (no flare-ups), and even a joy to use. Sign us up.

1. Best Foam Cleanser: Cetaphil Hydrating Foaming Cream Cleanser

Enjoying the satisfying lather of a foaming wash can come at the expense of your sensitive skin. Fortunately, this foaming cleanser which is formulated with aloe, glycerin, niacinamide, and panthenol, hydrates and nourishes the skin barrier while providing a thorough, deep cleanse.

$25.65 for 473ml

Shop at Watsons (via Amazon Freh)

2. Best Value-For-Money Gel Cleanser: Grown Alchemist Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser

With cold-pressed rose petals to tone and soothe, chamomile, bergamot and willow bark to shrink pores; and aloe vera to calm the skin, this gentle gel cleanser works its cleansing magic like a soft breeze to your face.

$59 for 200ml

Shop at Sephora

3. Best Gentle Cleanser For Sensitive Skin: Freeplus Mild Soap A

This fragrance-free soap with a silky, creamy texture is a game-changer for folks with sensitive skin. Six Chinese and Japanese plant extracts work together to do wonderful things to your skin while you cleanse all the day’s grime and oil off your face with a satisfying lather. Its main ingredient is niacinamide, which helps boost your skin’s natural barrier and reduces inflammation.

$27 for 100g

Shop at Watsons (via Amazon Fresh)

4. Best Oil-To-Foam Cleanser: Pestlo Ourecipe Oil To Foam Cleanser

This oil-to-foam cleanser is a joy to use, especially when you want to clean off a day’s worth of makeup and get yourself ready for your after-work shift at home. The fact that it’s allergen-free, pH-balanced and contains anti-inflammatory ingredients like Indian pennywort is a big win for sensitive skin.

$35 for 200ml

Shop at Asian Beauty X

5. Best Micellar Water For Sensitive Skin: Bioderma Sensibio H2O Eye

Specially formulated for the sensitive eye area with provitamin B5 to strengthen lashes (yes!!), this biphase micellar cleanser water is an absolute dream to use. No rubbing needed to remove even the most stubborn makeup thanks to its 30% oil–70% micellar water formula. Natural sugars help strengthen the skin barrier, so that it is better able to withstand external stressors and damage.

$20.30 for 125ml

Shop at Amazon | Watsons (via Lazada) | Guardian (via Lazada) 

6. Best Face And Body Wash For Sensitive Skin: SunoHada Gentle Smooth Wash

Developed with Japanese dermatologists, this sulphate-free, alcohol-free and fragrance-free body wash can be slathered on your skin with peace of mind, as you revel in how soothing it feels. 

$20.30 for 500ml

Shop at Amazon | Lazada | Guardian

7. Best Pampering Gel Cleanser: Glowfully Charcoal Beads Gel Cleanser

If you want to indulge in a bit of a mini-spa experience with a luxurious facial detox, this charcoal gel cleanser is for you. Gently scented with sensitive skin-friendly geranium essential oil, and containing charcoal beads to draw out impurities from pores, this is the perfect pampering cleanser for sensitive skin. 

$40.80 for 100ml

Shop at Tangs | Lazada

8. Best Moisturising Spray For Dry And Itchy Skin: SunoHada Quick Itch Relief Moisturizing Mist

Sensitive skin does not wait for a convenient time to flare up, and having an instant remedy for itch relief is a lifesaver for those moments. It really doesn’t come any more soothing than SunoHada’s Quick Itch Relief Moisturizing Mist, which is steroid-free. Just a spray or two will do wonders to calm down irritated skin, without leaving any sticky residue behind.

$15.20 for 100ml

Shop at Amazon | Watsons (via Amazon Fresh)

9. Best Lightweight Moisturiser For Tropical Weather: Cerm Microbiome Balance Moisturizer

When the microbiome and pH levels on your skin are off, that’s when sensitive skin hits the hardest. You’ll want to have Cerm’s Microbiome Balance Moisturizer in your arsenal to stave off those days and bring balance back to your skin. 

$16 for 50ml

Shop at CERM | Lazada

10. Best Moisturising Cream For Sensitive Skin: Curel Intensive Moisture Care Moisture Facial Cream

When all you want is an intense, one-and-done moisturising cream for your face, this is it. It checks all the boxes for an everyday moisturiser for sensitive skin: lightweight, pH-balanced, fragrance-free, alcohol-free, and extremely hydrating. Ceramide is the key to this cream’s efficacy, working to build up your skin’s natural barrier against dryness and external pollutants.

$30.45 for 40g

Shop at Watsons | Lazada

11. Best Gel Moisturiser For Sensitive Skin: Glowfully Healing Elixir

Gel creams are always welcomed in our hot, sticky climate, made even warmer when we have to juggle so many roles at home and at work. Glowfully’s Healing Elixir is just the thing for our tired, sleep-deprived skin. Packed with lots of good stuff like amino acids, aloe vera and chamomile extract to soothe and protect skin, you’ll find yourself reaching for this over and over again to refresh your skin throughout the day.

$56.80 for 50ml

Shop at Shopee | Lazada

12. Best Face Mist For Sensitive Skin: Lazy Shark Magik Toning Mist

Biphase formulas (that’s oil and water) are the best, almost like a BOGO deal because you get the best of both oil- and water-based products at once. A super-hydrating and soothing cocktail of centella, rosewater, rosehip oil, tamanu oil and chamomile, this face mist for sensitive skin can be enjoyed as a midday pick-me-up, or as an essence right after cleansing.

$48 for 100ml

Shop at Shopee | Lazada

13. Best Calming Serum: Fresh Tea Elixir Skin Resilience Activating Serum

Lack of sleep and stress are major culprits for triggering sensitive skin woes and hastening the signs of ageing, so when you know there’s a serum out there to mitigate these effects, you want to get your hands on it. With its nourishing ingredients of niacinamide, ceramide and hyaluronic acid, the serum does a great job of calming your skin down after a long, hard day.

$188 for 50ml

Shop at Sephora

14. Best Serum For Sensitive Skin: Bioderma Sensibio Defensive Serum

Adeptly countering the effects of ageing while keeping sensitive skin calm and well-behaved, this light and milky serum is a winner. Glycerin and hyaluronic acid provide deep hydration and protect the skin’s barrier, slowing down the ageing process by countering inflammation. 

$72.90 for 30ml

Shop at Guardian | Lazada

15. Best Gel Sunscreen For Sensitive Skin: Ultra Violette Clean Screen Sensitive Skinscreen SPF30

Glide this gentle, clean-feeling and weightless sunscreen on like a second skin to start your day right. Offering broad-spectrum SPF 30+ protection while soothing, hydrating and conferring a lovely glow upon application to boot, it’s a true BFF to sensitive skin that’s prone to breakouts.

$52 for 75ml

Shop at Sephora

16. Best Hydrating Mask For Sensitive Skin: Mtm Labo Custom-Blended Hydrating Mask

Experiencing the double whammy of dehydrated and sensitive skin? Consider trying this custom-blended mask that’s deeply hydrating. It contains gentle ingredients such as sodium hyaluronate, chamomile, and cornflower extract to flush your skin with moisture without triggering breakouts.

$198 for 61g

Shop at Mtm Labo | Lazada

17. Best Makeup Remover: Biore Makeup Melting Cleansing Oil

This incredibly effective cleanser leaves skin feeling clean and refreshed without the requisite rubbing, tugging and scrubbing. Plus points that the mineral oils and other hydrating ingredients protect your skin barrier too.

$23.85 for 190ml

Shop at Amazon | Watsons | Guardian

18. Best Soothing Serum: Grown Alchemist Instant Smoothing Serum

Remember, niacinamide is your friend if you have sensitive skin, because of the good work it does on your skin’s natural barrier. This soothing overnight serum contains precisely that, as well as botanical extracts of echinacea and ashwagandha to reduce the appearance of fine lines and rejuvenate your skin. 

$76 for 25ml

Shop at Sephora

19. Best Gel Mask For Tropical Weather: Grown Alchemist Regenerating Gel Mask

On warm and sticky days, a rich mask may be the last thing you want to apply on your face. This mask seems to be made just for our tropical weather. Lightweight gel texture? Check. Cooling and refreshing? Check. Say thanks to ingredients like rambutan, pomegranate, echinacea and green tea that’re doing awesome things to your skin: soothing, rejuvenating, toning and hydrating all at once.

$75 for 75ml

Shop at Sephora

20. Best Gentle Serum: Cetaphil Bright Healthy Radiance Perfecting Serum

Can you lighten those annoying spots on your face without turning to stronger ingredients if you have sensitive skin? Turns out you can. This gentle serum evens out your skin tone while protecting your skin from harmful environmental pollutants, and it’s hypoallergenic and fragrance-free.

$47.35 for 30ml

Shop at Amazon | Lazada | Watsons

21. Best Nourishing Serum For Mature Skin: Bioeffect EGF Power Serum

Fatigue got you in its stronghold, creating new wrinkles and crow’s feet with each day of accumulated sleep debt? Bioeffect’s EGF Power Serum contains the holy grail of rejuvenating ingredients, EGF (which stands for Epidermal Growth Factor), to plump up fine lines, rejuvenate your skin, and basically counter the effects of sleep deficit and stress on your skin.

$314 for 15ml

Shop at Amazon | Tangs

22. Best Gentle Face And Body Wash For Family: Illiyoon Ceramide Ato 6.0 Top to Toe Wash

You know it’s going to be wonderful for your sensitive skin if even babies can use it. Containing a unique ceramide complex that continuously moisturises and repairs the skin barrier even after rinsing off, this gentle wash is truly soothing on even your worst sensitive skin days.

$20.50 for 500ml

Shop at Lazada | Guardian

23. Best Soothing Moisturiser For Sensitive Skin: SunoHada Soothing Lotion

SunoHada’s very aptly named Soothing Lotion calms your skin down whenever it starts to act up. Whether your changing hormones or stress is causing your skin to flare up, this gentle lotion is a great addition to your daily routine.

$25.40 for 270ml

Shop at Amazon | Watsons (via Lazada)

24. Best Milk Cleanser: Fawn Labs Fawn + Milk

A milk cleanser feels especially soothing on the face, especially on sensitive skin days. This Fawn Labs Fawn + Milk cleanser is a joy to use as you clean your face at the start of your skincare routine. Nourishing ingredients such as rice extract, rose and frankincense hydrosols, helichrysum, and of course, niacinamide work together to leave your face feeling smoother, brighter and softer. 

$26 for 30ml

Shop at Fawn Labs

25. Best Gentle Cleanser: Glow Recipe Avocado Cleanser

A facial wash that keeps moisturising long after the last bit of cleanser has been washed off is the gift that keeps on giving. You will particularly love how this gentle cleanser leans on natural ingredients like avocado oil and oats to deeply hydrate skin, as well as prebiotics and postbiotics to maintain a healthy microbiome balance. 

$45 for 150ml

Shop at Sephora

26. Best Anti-Ageing Moisturiser: Caudalie Premier Cru The Cream

Adulting is fun, until you realise that years of sleep deprivation, stress and worrying have taken a toll on your skin. Give your skin a treat with this lightweight cream that is potent and gentle at the same time. Containing a unique blend of hyaluronic acid to smooth the surface of the skin, viniferine (grapevine sap) to correct dark spots, sugars to tighten, and the heavily researched combination of grape extract with magnolia extract to reduce all eight signs of ageing, this luxurious cream is worth every cent.

$165 for 50ml

Shop at Sephora | Amazon

Prices are accurate at time of publication.

All the items are independently selected by our editorial team. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. But we only recommend products we love. Promise.