Best Beauty Buys is The Singapore Women’s Weekly’s annual round up of the best and most effective products currently on the shelves. This year, we spotlight the skincare and makeup needs of busy mums who juggle children and demanding jobs who want to look and feel good doing it. The products were road-tested by a group of such multi-tasking women, and these are their picks.
Whether it is in the day or at night, the use of essences, toners and exfoliators make up the first step of our skincare routine post-cleansing. Essences and toners work in similar ways – they help to balance the skin’s pH (as cleansers can be harsh and stripping due to their alkalinity) and prep our skin to better absorb the subsequent skincare we apply. Essences and toners these days have also gotten a boost with the addition of active ingredients, allowing us to further plump our skin with hydration using hyaluronic acid or treat hyperpigmentation with niacinamide for example.
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Exfoliation, on the other hand, helps to slough off dead skin cells to help with issues of dullness and rough texture. Chemical exfoliants such as alpha-hydroxy acids (glycolic acid, lactic acid and more) and beta-hydroxy acids (salicylic acid) also provide additional benefits including aiding skin cell renewal, targeting dark spots, boosting collagen production and unclogging pores of excess sebum.
Here are our favourite essences, toners and exfoliators to get now:
The Shiseido Eudermine essence has been well-loved for more than a century since its introduction in 1897 thanks to its ability to soften the skin texture and impart hydration with hyaluronic acid.
Powered by minerals and nourishing qualities of the Rose de Granville oil, the Dior essence works to rebalance the skin’s oil production and refine skin texture and the appearance of pores. The rose oil has been fragmented into micro-droplets to aid absorption.
Epion Aesthetics uses retinol to combat signs of ageing while rapeseed phytosterol ensures bolsters skin barrier function to reduce irritation. Antioxidants ascorbyl glucoside and tocopheryl acetate also help protect against environmental damage.
A toner, essence and mild chemical exfoliant in one, this Augustiner Bader product employs lactic acid, phytic acid, salicylic acid and gluconolactone to gently slough off dead skin cells without stripping the skin of moisture.
One of the products synonymous with Dr Dennis Gross, the daily peel is formulated with seven types of exfoliating acids with antioxidants and vitamins to get rid of dead skin, excess sebum and impurities while improving skin texture and tone.
A non-abrasive exfoliator, Porcelain employs natural enzymes to soften dead skin cells. At the same time, aloe vera and natto extracts infuse skin with antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E.