The best stick foundations to help get your makeup done in a jiffy

Stick foundations are truly among the best makeup items on the market. Not only are they portable – perfect for touch-ups on the go – but they are also multi-functional. You can use them as a regular foundation for your entire face, and they take a matter of minutes — always a welcomed feature when you have your hands full with the kids, work, and errands.

Additionally, they can replace your usual concealer to conceal flaws and imperfections. If you select shades that are lighter or darker than your skin tone, stick foundations can also serve as highlighters and contouring wands.

What we love most about them is how easy they are to apply. Just swipe, blend with your fingers, and you’re ready to go! If you’re eager to try stick foundations, here are some of our favourites.

Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint Hydrating Foundation Stick, $71, Sephora

A moisturising foundation stick that offers a beauty filter-like glow! It can be layered for light to medium coverage, allowing you to “sculpt” your desired look. The smooth, soft-focused finish gives your skin a radiant, holiday-like glow.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Balm Serum Boosted Skin Tint, $72, Sephora

This product intelligently creates a silky second layer of skin. It provides light to medium coverage and is enriched with eight skincare ingredients, including hyaluronic acid and nourishing oils, to pamper your skin while you apply your makeup. Whether applied with fingertips, a sponge, or a brush, it blends seamlessly into the skin for a flawless, smooth finish.

Dior Forever Skin Perfect Multi-use Foundation Stick, $99, Dior Beauty

This multi-purpose matte foundation stick subtly adds shadow or brightness to enhance your face’s overall dimension through blending, brightening, or colouring. Just one swipe creates the perfect base – like sculpting or painting – while keeping your skin hydrated all day long.

Fenty Beauty Eaze Drop Blur + Smooth Tint Stick, $54, Sephora

This tint stick is moisture-proof, sweat-proof, and transfer-proof, with soft-focus properties that won’t clump or leave marks, ensuring your makeup stays perfect for hours. Infused with carnauba wax and sodium hyaluronate, it guarantees comfort during wear.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick, $88, Bobbi Brown

A best-seller for many years, this classiuc foundation stick is a backstage essential for numerous makeup artists. It provides a finish that closely matches natural skin tone while effectively covering fine lines, pores, and blemishes. Its lightweight texture applies effortlessly, adhering gently to the skin. It can be layered for extra coverage or used as a targeted concealer. Enriched with shea butter, it also moisturises the skin as you wear it.

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick, $83, Sephora

This foundation stick serves both as a foundation and a concealer. Apply a small amount to your forehead, cheeks, and chin, then use a foundation brush to make circular motions for maximum concealing effect. Plus, it’s waterproof and offers 12 hours of long-lasting coverage, automatically adjusting to your skin based on your body temperature.

Tom Ford Beauty Traceless Foundation Stick, $146, Sephora

This rich foundation stick has a nourishing complex to treat skin even as its creamy texture effortlessly glides over skin to give a natural, soft matte finish.

Smashbox Shaping Stick Foundation, $73.95, www.cosmeticsnow.sg

An all-in-one stick, this gives you coverage and sculpting on the quick. The foundation side gives you medium, buildable coverage, while the soft contour side shapes and sculpts with an angled tip.

Chantecaille Real Skin+ Eye and Face Stick, $104, www.lookfantastic.com.sg

This has a lightweight formula that feels feather-light and blurs imperfection. It’s infused with hydrating raspberry stem cell extract and hibiscus extract to moisturise and treat signs of ageing.

A version of this article first appeared on Female Singapore, with excerpts from Nuyou Singapore