It isn’t hard to see that Emily Weiss’ – founder and CEO of Glossier – has skin that looks almost flawless. Plus, she isn’t afraid to flaunt it on her Instagram page of 475,000 followers. The now 34-year-old started her brand based on the ethos of “skin first, beauty second.” And you know that Emily’s products can be trusted – thanks to her roots in being a beauty editor for ‘Into The Gloss’. Her days spent trying out perpetually every beauty product on the market informed the making of her dream products that are fun to use and actually work.

We’re sure that Anna Petrosian’s cult beauty brand, Dose of Colours, rings a bell. The brand just celebrated its sixth anniversary in May – a mere two months ago. What you may not know is that Dose of Colours started off with only three offerings of false eyelashes back in 2013. Today, the brand is widely known for its comfortable and wearable liquid lipsticks and boasts of an extensive range of makeup products – from foundation sponges to highlighters.

OG beauty youtuber Michelle Phan launched her cosmetics line in collaboration with beauty giant L’Oreal in 2013. Then known as Em Michelle Phan, the line consisted of make up palettes with three dozen colours (really extra, we know). Due to poor sales, it was later re-acquired by Phan and relaunched as EM Cosmetics in 2017. The initial launch saw just two ranges – a liquid lipstick collection and two eyeliners. The brand has since expanded its product line to include even more eyeliners, as well as eyebrow pencils and brow cream. Retailing at an average of US$20 (S$27.35) for a lipstick or an eyeliner, the price range is isn’t too steep. Plus, it ships internationally for a fee depending on what you’re carting.

Of course, everyone’s favourite Korean makeup artist Pony’s Pony Effect would be on this list. Besides the fact that Pony is a makeup artist who’s done makeup for CL from 2NE1, her makeup tutorials show that she has some serious chops. Plus, we’ve been seriously impressed with the wearability and colour payoff of some of the products we’ve tried. (Keep a lookout for the cushion foundations, lipsticks and eyeshadow). At $21.90 for an eyebrow pencil to $59.90 for foundation, the prices are on the slightly higher side but do make up for it in quality.

South Korean Youtuber and beauty influencer Liah Yoo cut her teeth working at K-beauty giant Amorepacific’s e-commerce and marketing department. She’s since started skincare brand Krave Beauty with simplicity being one of its core values – so no, you don’t have to stress out about having to use a 12-step skincare routine to keep your skin in great shape. The brand only carries four products – a cleanser, exfoliator, sunblock and serum, with a price range of US$16-28 (S$22-38) – and reviews from the Internet community have been largely positive so far. For now, Krave Beauty only ships within the US and in South Korea – so keep an eye out while travelling.

If you frequent Sephora as often as we think you do, you’d be familiar with Huda Beauty, the brainchild of make-up artist Huda Kattan. The brand’s eyelashes and eyeshadow palettes are almost constantly rated at least four out of five stars on Sephora’s website (both in Singapore and the US). Though the eyeshadow palettes are extremely pigmented and give great colour payoff with little effort, the products do lean towards the pricier side, with an 18-colour palette selling at $100.

You may not be aware of American makeup artist and Youtuber Christen Dominique if you don’t spend hours on Instagram or Youtube watching beauty videos, but the rising star has already been named one of Forbes’ top beauty influencers in 2017. In 2018, she launched her own makeup brand Dominique Cosmetics, which carries eyeshadow brushes, eyeshadow palettes and liquid lipsticks among others. We are particularly interested in her eyeshadow palettes, which cost US$42-44 (S$57-60), and host bigger pans for the use of bigger brushes than usual. This, coupled with a large variety of colours – one of points included in rave reviews – have put Dominique’s products high up on the beauty radar.