Skincare & beauty research
in Singapore
Consumers in Singapore smell the product before reading the label. They trust a friend's recommendation over a clinical claim. They abandon a serum that feels wrong on their skin regardless of the ingredients list. We help skincare brands, beauty retailers, and ingredient suppliers understand what actually drives purchase, repurchase, and loyalty in Singapore's beauty market.
Assembled has delivered beauty and skincare research spanning product sensory evaluation, packaging concept testing, brand perception mapping, ingredient claim validation, and retail purchase journey studies across Singapore's diverse consumer segments. Our beauty panel includes 3,200 active skincare consumers across age groups, skin types, and spending tiers.
Every project below follows our standard confidentiality practice. Client names are withheld. Participant identities in all photography are obscured or replaced in accordance with Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act. Product samples used in testing sessions remain confidential until launch.
Product testing and sensory evaluation
For a Japanese skincare brand entering Southeast Asia, we conducted blind sensory evaluation sessions across four consumer segments, testing texture, absorption rate, scent profile, and residue feel against three local competitors. Participants scored each product on 14 sensory attributes, then described their experience in their own words. The gap between what consumers scored highest and what they described most positively revealed that emotional language around a product predicted repurchase intent more reliably than attribute ratings.
We have also run extended home-use testing programmes where participants use products over two to four weeks and report through structured diaries. One study for a Korean beauty brand found that initial texture preference inverted after seven days of use, with the product that felt "too light" on day one becoming the preferred option by week three. That finding reshaped the brand's sampling strategy entirely.
Brand perception and positioning research
For a European luxury skincare house, we mapped brand perception across three consumer tiers in Singapore, from mass-market buyers to prestige department store shoppers to ultra-premium consumers purchasing through personal consultants. The research revealed that the brand occupied a distinct position in each tier's mental map. Mass-market consumers associated it with "pharmacy" credibility. Prestige shoppers saw it as "scientific but not luxurious." Ultra-premium consumers considered it invisible.
The positioning gap meant that a single brand campaign could not serve all three segments without undermining at least one. We designed a follow-up concept test for three communication strategies, each calibrated to a different tier, and measured which combinations of visual identity, language register, and channel selection moved perception without cannibalising adjacent segments.
Packaging design and claims testing
For a local skincare startup preparing to launch through Sephora Singapore, we ran packaging concept tests across six design variations using a combination of eye-tracking simulation, shelf-context photography, and qualitative reaction interviews. Participants evaluated each design at three distances, simulating the browse-to-pickup-to-read journey in a retail environment. The design that tested best in isolation performed worst on a mock shelf because its muted palette disappeared next to competitor packaging.
Claims testing revealed equally counterintuitive patterns. The phrase "dermatologist-tested" outperformed "clinically proven" among consumers under 30, despite being a weaker regulatory claim. Consumers over 40 showed the opposite preference. Ingredient-forward claims like "10% niacinamide" resonated strongly with a specific segment of educated skincare enthusiasts but confused or alienated casual buyers who associated percentages with chemical harshness.
Purchase journey and channel research
For a global beauty conglomerate, we mapped the complete purchase journey for skincare across Singapore's fragmented retail landscape, from discovery through social media and influencer content, to research on Reddit and beauty forums, to trial through samples and testers, to purchase across e-commerce platforms, department stores, and pharmacies. The study followed 120 consumers over eight weeks using diary methods, in-app screenshots, and follow-up interviews.
The research found that the average skincare purchase involved 11 touchpoints across 23 days, but the distribution was bimodal. Roughly 40% of purchases happened within 48 hours of first exposure, driven by social proof and impulse. The remaining 60% took three weeks or longer and involved deliberate ingredient research. Marketing strategies optimised for "the average consumer" were reaching neither group effectively because the two segments responded to fundamentally different triggers.
Why skincare research
matters in this market
Four dynamics make Singapore a uniquely demanding beauty market, and a valuable testing ground for the wider region.
Singapore's beauty consumers are among the most ingredient-aware in Asia. Social media and platforms like Reddit's SkincareAddiction have created a generation that reads INCI lists, understands active concentrations, and evaluates clinical evidence. Brands that rely on vague "natural" or "gentle" positioning face sceptical audiences who demand specificity.
Singapore's Chinese, Malay, Indian, and mixed-heritage population means products must perform across different skin types, tones, and concerns. Formulations optimised for East Asian skin may not suit darker skin tones. Research panels need ethnic balance to catch formulation gaps before they become market problems.
Singapore's year-round humidity and heat create distinct product performance expectations. Textures that feel premium in temperate climates can feel heavy or greasy here. SPF products face higher performance demands. Home-use testing in Singapore provides a genuine tropical stress test that lab conditions cannot replicate.
Singapore serves as a test market for Southeast Asian expansion. Brands launching across ASEAN frequently pilot in Singapore first because the market combines developed retail infrastructure with consumer diversity that approximates the broader region. Research findings here inform regional strategy for Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
For methodology details including focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnography, and quantitative surveys, see our practical guide. For other industry specialisations, see our healthcare, financial services, and food & beverage research pages.
Talk to us about
beauty & skincare research
Tell us what you need to understand about your consumers, your products, or the purchase experience. We will design the right study.
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