Centella asiatica is a popular ingredient in K-beauty circles. It’s a herb that grows primarily in Asia that is well-known to promote the process of wound healing, is anti-inflammatory and helps to boost antioxidant and hydration levels – which is why it’s frequently found in products designed to repair the skin barrier.

Dr.Jart+ is perhaps one of the most prominent brands that’s synonymous with the ingredient with its beloved Cicapair range and the latest from this collection is a nifty moisturiser that promises to tone down any facial redness you might be experiencing. If you’re on TikTok and a skincare fanatic, you might have seen how this green-tinted moisturiser changes from a mild wasabi-esque colour to beige after putting it onto your face and rubbing it in.

It’s not really a big secret; it’s simple colour theory. Green is known to cancel out red and this moisturiser simply combines that with a dose of centella asiatica to both soothe and neutralise any bout of redness and inflammation you’ve got going on.

Ah ceramides. This humble ingredient is not the most exciting thing in the world BUT it is one that plays a very important role in the recent push towards being respectful of your skin barrier and with good reason; it’s something that already naturally exists in your skin.

To put it simply, ceramides are basically “good” lipids (fats) that are found in the skin’s outer layers (FYI: the composition of healthy skin is made up of a whooping 50 per cent ceramides).

Ceramides help to fortify the skin barrier, and increase hydration and suppleness – in other words, they help to keep the skin in tip-top shape. But the amount of ceramides can decrease over time – be it through ageing or other factors (such as people with chronic conditions such as eczema). Drunk Elephant’s latest product emphasises on this ingredient (hence the name, we suppose), containing a three per cent ceramide blend, as well as plenty of omega-rich plant oils and butters to help nourish the delicate skin around the eyes.

American haircare powerhouse Olaplex is famed for its signature ingredient (Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate) that focuses on repairing and restoring broken bonds found in each hair strand. Its newest product is designed to remove build-up – be it from hairstyling products, excess oil, hard water minerals, chlorine, or even heavy metals and pollutants.

While clarifying products are great for those with oilier skin, they usually come with the drawback of being stripping. The brand claims it can do all of the above without causing dryness.

Sunscreen fanatics, keep an eye out for this upcoming SPF 40 mist by Supergoop! (which seems to be able to come up with a sunscreen-related product for every single conceivable category).

This setting mist does sound like a pretty good addition to your sunscreen and makeup arsenal – it reportedly goes on with a matte finish that helps lock makeup in place and extend its wear, and more importantly, the mist format means it’s one of the most fuss-free ways to “top up” your sun protection factor before heading out for say, lunch, when the UV index is at its most dangerous.

If you’re battling with issues of hyperpigmentation or trying to get rid of dark spots, you might want to keep an eye out for homegrown giant Allies of Skin’s soon-to-launch Tranexamic & Arbutin Advanced Brightening Serum. Over the past year or so, tranexamic acid has steadily become more popular in skincare circles, usually found in products designed to address hyperpigmentation.

Ingredients that fight hyperpigmentation such as the classic vitamin C and gold-standard bearer hydroquinone usually have some drawbacks or can potentially cause your skin to be sensitised if used too often, but tranexamic acid is commonly found to be much less irritating, which is one of its advantages.

As promising as tranexamic acid sounds, experts usually say that because hyperpigmentation is such a difficult issue to address, it’s best dealt with using a cocktail of notable skin brightening agents (as opposed to pinning all your hopes on just one). Allies of Skin’s version includes three per cent tranexamic acid (a potent concentration), five per cent mushroom complex that is said to provide skin with a hefty dose of antioxidants, as well as alpha arbutin (which helps to even out skin tone) and everyone’s favourite all-rounder, niacinamide.

Charlotte Tilbury continues to expand her signature Airbrush Flawless range – the latest being the very similar sounding Airbrush Brightening Flawless Finish Powder. According to the makeup artist, she’s very familiar with the way light is strategically used to flatter a person’s face after working with photographers for nearly 30 years and has transferred that knowledge into this product.

It contains finely milled pearl pigments that cause light to bounce off the skin for a brightening effect, as well as a host of skin goodies such as Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid to further improve the user’s skin. The powder is available in two shades: Fair-Medium is a translucent powder that’s suitable for brightening the appearance of fair to medium complexions, while Tan-Deep is a yellow-toned shade designed for tan and deeper skin tones.

You don’t need us to tell you that vitamin C is extremely popular but what you may not know is that there are many forms of Vitamin C available on the market – and they each have varying pros and cons. L-ascorbic acid is the “pure” and original form of vitamin C and it has the most data and research to prove its efficacy but it’s also known to be extremely unstable and oxidises (becomes ineffective) quickly when exposed to light, heat and air (read: use it as soon as you buy it).

For those who want L-ascorbic acid’s effectiveness but prefer it in a more stable form, there are promising alternatives like tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (commonly known as THD ascorbate).

The latter is a highly stable form of vitamin C and seems to be able to penetrate deeper into the skin because it’s oil-soluble. It also appears to have all the good qualities of L-ascorbic acid (it gives antioxidant protection from both UVB and UVA rays, it increases the creation of collagen and it has a skin brightening effect) – with the only downside that it has not been as extensively studied and tested as L-ascorbic acid.

If you want to give THD ascorbate a try, Sunday Riley’s upcoming C.E.O. Afterglow Brightening Vitamin C Gel Cream is a good candidate. It’s a lightweight gel moisturiser (great for our hot local weather!) containing THD ascorbate and other goodies like ergothioneine (an antioxidant that further helps to stabilise Vitamin C), hydrating sodium hyaluronate and soothing allantoin.

Here’s one for the Hello Kitty legion: British beauty label Pixi has launched a special nine-piece collection together with pop culture juggernaut.

The collection features special feline takes on some of Pixi’s most popular products, like the exfoliating Glow Tonic (which contains five per cent glycolic acid), Chrome Glow Palette (a nine-colour multi-purpose face palette), Eye Effects (a nine-colour eyeshadow palette) Endless Silky Eye Pen (a water-resistant, long-wear eye liner), Lip Tone (a lip tint that adjusts to your own skin tone), Hello Glow-y Powder (a highlighting powder), Makeup Fixing Mist (contains rosewater, willow bark extract and green tea to soothe, hydrate and balance the skin), A For Apples (a hydrating sheet mask) and Anywhere Patches (a portable silicone mask infused with a hydrating serum that can be applied wherever).

Buzzy sunscreen label Ultra Violette has just become available in Singapore and for the uninitiated, the Aussie label has been making waves in its native country with its stylish “skinscreen” line-up (the brand’s term for sunscreens packed with skin-boosting ingredients). Australia has some of the strictest requirements for sunscreens in the world (the country takes sun protection seriously, given its high rates of skin cancer) and Ultra Violette is known for its cosmetically elegant formulas.

Those with oily skin might want to check out the Lean Screen SPF 50+ Mineral Mattifying Skinscreen (pictured), while dryer skin types might prefer Ultra Violette’s signature Supreme Screen SPF 50+ Hydrating Skinscreen instead.

If you’re a fan of period drama Bridgerton, don’t sleep on this collaboration with the mother of makeup herself, Pat McGrath. The latter isn’t known for doing rampant collaborations (a rarity these days), but she’s spoken previously on her love for Bridgerton and the #Regencycore craze it sparked.

Her latest SatinAllure Lipstick was inspired by the show’s second season and features seven highly pigmented shades that all come with a dewy finish, thanks to a unique infusion of botanical collagen and passion fruit oil. Bonus: for those who like collecting limited-edition drops, this collection comes with a hot-pink paper box packaging in a nod to the Netflix drama, as well as a custom ribbon-ed tube.