Our office skin wardrobe is pretty basic, if you ask us: An anti-aging serum, a lightweight lotion, a really good tinted sunscreen and just a smidgen of concealer is all we can bear on bleary-eyed weekday mornings, really.
When your complexion is this stripped down and laid bare, quality matters: We don’t suffer skin fools lightly, and have been known to toss just-opened tubes of product if they don’t meet our exacting standards (our penny-pinching Mum salvages them from the bin, but that’s another story).
We don’t think we’ll be chucking Collection Cosmetics’ Bright and Glow BB Cream anytime soon – and that’s high praise coming from us. Boasting a souffle-soft consistency that’s surprisingly sumptuous given the UK drugstore brand’s purse-friendly price, we like that the solid SPF 30 formula is fortified with free radical fighters like vitamin C and moisture magnets vitamin E and sodium hyaluronate.
How to use? Fynne Sor of The Make Up Room confirms what we already know: Modern makeup isn't about blanket coverage. Key takeaway? Different areas of your face demand different formulas.
Experiment with a deeper shade on the hollows of your cheeks for a natural contouring effect. Blend well in natural light – do your makeup next to a sunlit window, if possible – to make sure you're not overdoing things.
Personal beauty tip: Mix a twenty-cent coin's dollop of the BB cream into roughly the same amount of moisturiser. Use this extra-moist custom “highlighter” on your cheekbones for a sexy, out-of-the-shower look. We like the incredibly subtle light-reflective optics at play here, which lends a tantalising, is-she-or-isn’t-she luminosity that’s right up our no-makeup makeup alley.
Set with a light dusting of powder; try the matifying Compact Foundation from the same Collection range. Apply using deft circular motions, then pat off excess by lightly cupping your palms against your face. Viola! Makeup in a jiffy. Bonus: For further reading, read our “primer” on BB creams, and have fun beauty shopping!
Collection Cosmetics Bright & Glow Brightening BB Cream, $16.90 each, is available in Light-Medium and Medium-Dark. The Bright & Glow Brightening Compact Foundation, $18.90 each, is available in four shades: Vanilla, Ivory, Almond and Honey. For more information, visit www.collectioncosmetics.com.sg and follow Collection Cosmetics Singapore on Facebook and Instagram.