Today’s inspiration came while I was staring at my hand, coloured with liquid lipstick swatches because I just wanted to pick one shade, and then I thought: isn’t this an odd but universal beauty junkie conundrum? You find yourself at your favourite makeup store, obsessively swiping all sorts of formulas on the back of your hand — lipsticks, foundation, eyeliners, highlighters, what have you — only to end up with flicks and patches full of various colours and finishes. How does it look to a person who doesn’t care about makeup? When did we learn to all swatch the same way? Huh.
That said, swatching feels like something you have to do before you’re about to buy any beauty item; you want to know whether the blue eyeliner on that model works for your skin in real life, or whether the bb cream’s your exact shade, or the true texture of a foundation, or whether these new eyeshadow shades are as dreamily pigmented as they are on that last YouTube tutorial you watched, so, you swatch. From makeup to even skincare, I got our team to confess what we’ve swatched recently — particularly, the ones we loved enough to snap up:
Amelia Tan, Associate Editor
Item: Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Girl Next Door / Chic Phreak, $50
So um, RiRi dropped her Fenty Beauty makeup collection and I’m not that ashamed to say that I went crazy over it, obsessively watching all the ‘first look’ videos and lapping up all the publicity photos thrown at me on Instagram, all gorgeous and importantly, girls that represented all types and skin tones. Honestly, that philosophy’s already great to get behind, and then you realise, wow, the products actually perform above and beyond their expectations. Good things have already been said about the natural skin-like quality of the Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, but being a bit of a magpie, I naturally went straight for the highlighters — I mean, have you seen that gilded Trophy Wife shade, the pigmentation’s #shinebright magical!
After zooming over to Sephora, I found myself right smack in front of the makeup counters and just overwhelmed, where do I start?! And somehow, this Killawatt highlighter duo caught my eye, simply because Chic Phreak’s such a beautiful rose gold. You can get a subtle sheen with Girl Next Door, but the gold glitter and peachy pink of Chic Phreak really stood out, especially on my skin. One quick swipe and I was all like ‘bitch, better go ahead have all my money’. The “supercharged” shade is loaded with superfine shimmer, and comes highly pigmented while still with a creamy texture, none of those too-obvious flakes. I was also told that this is a cream-powder hybrid, hence more longwearing, and it didn’t go on tacky like cream highlighters tend to do, or disappear like powder ones — this one stays on and melts into my complexion, then shows up on my face like I have the best lighting crew in the world. RiRi, go ahead and take a bow — we found love, alright.
Adele Chan, Editor-in-Chief
Item: Heroine Make Impact Liquid Eyeliner Super Water Proof in 01 (Black), $18.90, available at Watsons
When I asked NYLON’s Associate Editor, Tami for recommendations on a good waterproof liquid eyeliner, she introduced this one to me. She says that she uses it every day and swears by its staying power. I was apprehensive about it being a brush / pot liner (I’ve not tried one that’s as easy to use as a simple pen eyeliner), but once I got used to drawing with the brush, the formula is hands down the most waterproof out of any eyeliner I’ve ever tried in my life. I slicked it on in the morning before work, and at night when I got home, I splashed my face with water, blinked my eyes several times, and the liner did not smudge or budge. Then I took a wet ball of tissue and rolled it over my eyes, and still the liner did not come off or even run. Not only am I impressed, this is the one I’m taking with me to Legoland Waterpark. NOTE: The brush is quite soft and not in a good way; so it does take some skill to draw a smooth, neat eye line. Also, this eyeliner costs around $13 (¥1,080) in Japan, so stock up if you’re travelling there or know someone who is.
Patrene Mathieu, Designer
Item: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Alkaline, $32
After lipsticks, eyeliners are probably my fondest makeup vice. I’m a sucker for bold winged eyes, even more so if it’s done in a colour other than black. Though I usually go for liquid liners, I was thrilled to try out this range of pencils from Urban Decay, mostly because of it’s wide spectrum of vibrant shades. It even comes in a metallic finish! I was spoilt for choice. In the end, I settled on a shade called Alkaline, a reddish maroon that unintentionally matches my bag and is probably my favourite colour right now. Colours aside, the application did not disappoint either. The texture was akin to a gel crayon instead of a pencil — which I loved — and it went on as velvety-smooth as promised and so wonderfully pigmented that I’m hell-bent on collecting several shades of it now. Although I’m not that crazily adventurous, I’m eyeing those metallic shades next…
Nurasyiqin Sedik, Media Executive
Item: NYX Vivid Brights Eyeliner in Vivid Sapphire, $14
I never thought I’d experiment with blue eyeliner until I saw this girl on Instagram rocking the blue liner look and it looks so good! So I went into Sephora to get the specific brand she recommended, but unfortunately the colour payoff was underwhelming on me. I then went around to search for alternatives and came across NYX’s Vivid Brights in Vivid Sapphire; swatched it on my hand to compare it with the other blue liners I’ve already swatched — yep, NYX’s stood out the best. I thought the neon blue looked really good against my tan skin, it is super pigmented and it didn’t smudge when I ran my finger across it unlike the others. Very proud of this makeup find because it’s super affordable too!
Jade Yeo, Writer
Item: RMS Beauty Lip Shine in Sacred, $40
Generally, I’m not a fan of beauty products that are housed in jars and tiny pots, but this one’s an exception thanks to Rachel Nguyen of That’s Chic. In her ‘Bi-annual Favourites’ video, she swatched this shade on the back of her hand and applied it onto her lips, creating a lovely just-bitten effect. I immediately tracked it down in a local beauty webstore and hit “add to cart”. I can’t tell you how excited I got when it arrived in the mail and I finally got to try it out. Love at first swatch, indeed.
Because of the buriti oil and coconut oil in the formula, it glides on smooth and buttery, imparting a healthy sheen on my lips without leaving a tacky residue. The shade is described as “red with a gentle hint of pink”, but on my lips, the stain definitely leans closer to a pink which actually helps to brighten up the face (God knows I need help in that department). I’ll often layer this atop my 100% Pure Lip Glaze in Daiquiri to up its intensity.
Eleni Kontorigas, Media Executive
Item: Origins Drink Up™ Intensive Overnight Mask, $59
My skin has been prone to breakouts of late — I blame the humidity. Feeling determined to give my skin the proper hydration it’s been crying out for, I found myself at Sephora seeking a miracle product for help. My go-to skincare has been Origins and it’s fair to say, I am loving their range. The Drink Up™ Intensive Overnight Mask has been a life saver (for my skin situation, not actual life stuff). My routine has been consistent with my morning and night cleansing ritual — also using the Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash, then I apply the mask to a clean face at night. It’s certainly working; my skin is less irritated and my breakout congestion has decreased. Not just that, the smell is pure fruity heaven too.
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