Retro in Beauty is Back, and We Are Here For It

Beauty has always been personal for many, but lately it feels even more so. Maybe it is the pace of everything that makes us crave something familiar again. Not the next viral launch, or another reformulation we did not ask for, but the kind of product that instantly takes us back. 

Ah, the good times! We all have one. That scent we wore on repeat in our teens. The lipstick that lived in every handbag. The body mist felt like a small luxury after school. Those little markers of who we were, and these still carry the same feeling decades later. 

That is why the current wave of retro beauty returns feels so emotional. And when a brand brings something back from the archives, it can feel surprisingly intimate, like bumping into an old friend you have not seen in years.

From revived formats to packaging that feels straight out of our first makeup bags, beauty is looking backwards in the best way right now. And, we’re all for it.

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The Body Shop Dewberry Range – An Icon, Re-Discovered

As the ultimate 90s throwback, The Body Shop’s Dewberry has officially been relaunched. After years of overwhelming demand from loyal fans across the world, The Body Shop has revived its most-requested icon, reimagined for a new generation with updated formulas and modern textures.

The scent itself is vibrant, uplifting, yet able to spark instant connections to your past. And if not the scent, the packaging will certainly take you back to the 90s. 

The Dewberry return features a full collection designed for scent layering from head to toe. The Bath & Shower Gel offers a gentle cleanse without drying, leaving skin delicately scented, while the rich Body Butter is designed for deep nourishment, delivering up to 96 hours of moisture and enriched with Community Fair Trade shea butter. 

For those who prefer lightweight hydration, the Body Yogurt absorbs in seconds while still providing long-lasting softness, and the Hand Balm brings the same comforting moisture to dry hands and cuticles. The Fragrance Mist delivers an easy all-over boost, perfect for everyday wear. The most nostalgic of the line, the Perfume Oil is a concentrated format that offers the most intense, long-lasting Dewberry experience when applied to pulse points. 

Get the Dewberry Intro Kit for $65, featuring the Dewberry Shower Gel (250ml), Body Butter (200ml), and Fragrance Mist (100ml), a trio worth $77 that offers an easy introduction to the iconic scent. Plus, spend $120 net in a single transaction and receive a complimentary lilac cosmetic pouch, while stocks last.

Available at The Body Shop stores island-wide, as well as online via Lazada and Shopee.

^{Image Credit: Dior} 

Dior Miss Dior and J’Adior – Classics We Keep Coming Back To

Remember Miss Dior? Miss Dior has always been one of those fragrances we recognise instantly, even if we cannot remember where. It almost feels woven into our history, as a reference point of a dresser or the original department store counters. 

Dior’s Creative Director of Perfume, Francis Kurkdjian, has gone back to the original 1947 inspiration and reimagined it through the lens of today’s youth, balancing strength and grace, boldness and elegance.

The new composition nods to the legendary chypre structure of Miss Dior, but softens it with floral and fruity accords, wrapped in deeper ambery woods. There is also a beautiful tribute to the jasmine in the very first Miss Dior, chosen through a special extraction process that brings out unexpected rosy, almost fruity facets, lifted with bright hints of mandarin.

Even the bottle exudes nostalgia. The signature bow is rewoven with silvery Lurex threads, and the iconic Miss Dior houndstooth wraps around the glass in shimmering pink tones, a couture detail that makes it feel like a modern heirloom.

Find Miss Dior at Dior’s Boutiques in Singapore or online via their website.

Clinique Chubby Sticks
– Your Ride or Die from the 90s

Clinique’s Chubby Stick lip crayons were among the most recognisable makeup essentials of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Over the past year, the brand has expanded the range with fresh shades and multi-use options designed for lips, cheeks, and even subtle face contour.

Today’s Chubby Sticks still keep that playful twist-up packaging and creamy, fuss-free texture that made them so effortless to wear. The formula is infused with mango and shea butters, leaving lips feeling soft and comfortable, while the colour is beautifully buildable, making it easy to layer, mix, and experiment.

Best of all, they apply with the ease of a balm, no mirror required, just swipe and go.

Clinique Chubby Sticks are available on Sephora.sg and Sephora stores.

^{Image credit - Selfridges.com}

Armani Luminous Silk Foundation
– Everyone’s Favourite Foundation, Got a 2026 Glow Up

Armani Luminous Silk is one of those foundations beauty editors never really stop talking about. You’ve seen it backstage, in makeup kits, and in countless “if you only buy one” recommendations since the early 2000s. Most of us know someone who has worn it for years, or have tried it ourselves and instantly understood the hype.

This year, it has found its way back into the spotlight, thanks to an expanded shade range and small formula tweaks, while staying true to what made it iconic in the first place. Not too matte, not too shiny, just that soft, real-skin glow that makes everything look smoother without feeling heavy. Some say it’s much lighter than the original. 

Proof that some retro products do not need a full reinvention. They just need a new moment, and Luminous Silk is having one.

The All-New Armani Luminous Silk Foundation is available at Selfridges.com.

Huda Beauty Blush Filter Blurring Blushlighters Palette – Powder Blush, Returns With a Bang

Can we have a moment for the powder blush comeback? After years of liquid and cream formulas taking over our makeup bags, there is something so satisfying about returning to that classic, velvety sweep of colour across the cheeks. Very 90s, very early 2000s, and yet feeling fresh again.

Huda Beauty is leaning straight into that revival with the launch of its very first powder blush, and it is as extra as one would expect in the best way. The new limited-edition Blush Filter Palettes come in three matte colour stories, each with three ultra-pigmented blush shades plus a pearl blushlighter for that soft, glowy finish.

There is Rosy Berry, a deeper rose-toned edit, Toasty Peach for warm, sunlit cheeks, and Baby Pink, which feels playful and sweet without being too much. The formula is buildable and easy to wear, giving that blurred, filtered flush that makes powder blush feel modern again.

The clever touch is the layering angle. Each palette pairs with a matching shade from Huda’s Liquid Blush Filter, making it simple to wear solo or stack for more intensity, the kind of makeup hack we all love when we want cheeks to really pop.

Powder blush may be retro, but Huda’s version feels like a full new-era update.

Huda Beauty Blush Filter Blurring Blushlighters Palette is available at Sephora.sg.

^{Image credit: Chanel}

Chanel Rouge Noir – The 90s Berry Revival

The 90s berry lip is back, and feels nostalgic with every swipe. After years of barely-there balms and soft pink tints, there is something so refreshing about seeing richer, moodier lipstick shades return, the kind we all remember from supermodel-era makeup and old magazine spreads.

Think deep plum, wine-stained berries, and that slightly gothic edge that made 90s beauty so iconic in the first place.

Chanel is the perfect reference point here. A shade like Chanel Rouge Noir, originally launched in the 90s, remains the ultimate throwback lip colour, still just as cool now as it was then. The colour combinations include shades of soft pink and electric magenta in limited-edition exclusive cases.

In fact, now, for the first time, the Rouge Allure Velvet case comes in the House's iconic colour. This limited-edition version was designed just for the shade Rouge Noir. Bold, instantly vintage, and pure 1996 runway energy.

Chanel’s Rouge Noir Collection is available at their boutiques and online via their website. 

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream – As Relevant Today as in the 1930s

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream is the ultimate example of a skincare classic that has barely needed updating because it simply works. First launched in the 1930s, it has stayed remarkably true to its original formula, and somehow still feels just as relevant today as it did generations ago.

Most of us have experienced the magic at some point, in our Mum’s drawer, on a makeup artist’s kit table. Yes, this is the mysterious tube beauty artists always keep within reach. 

A lot of the love around this icon is down to how multipurpose it feels. Even today, the Eight Hour Cream is used in all the same old-school ways, smoothing it over dry patches, tapping it onto chapped lips, and even brushing a tiny bit through brows for that glossy finish. You’ll also find it a trusty travel essential, the kind of product that saves skin mid-flight or fixes irritation in a pinch.

The Eight Hour Cream is available at IShopChangi.

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