There are two types of girls—those who contour and bake their faces to perfection and those who love a quick five-minute slap and swipe. I fall under the latter. As a low-maintenance beauty girl, ease and effectiveness rank high, and it is one of the reasons beauty sticks are a staple in my kit. They’re versatile and can be used all over the face, the tool-free application makes them effortless, and they pack light—making them ideal on the go.

Brands are having similar revelations because recent viral launches—from the Milk Makeup’s Jelly Water Cooling Tint to Pocket Blush by Rhode—have mostly been swipe-on products. The former is a compact juicy stain while Rhode’s new blush gives you the sun-kissed flush that Hailey Bieber has popularised in a pocket-sized stick.

Blushes, bronzers, and highlighters especially lend themselves well to stick format. The multi-tasking products are a one-and-done beauty solution, streamlining your beauty routine. “Blush and highlighter are my favourites to use in stick form,” says Kritika Gill, celebrity make-up artist. The firm and creamy texture blends seamlessly for a natural finish and adds the right amount of lived-in colour to the face. “I enjoy using highlighter and blush sticks to add depth and dimension to the face,” says Namrata Soni, make-up artist and founder of Simply Nam. “The point of a stick is to get that even colour in places where I need to create colour and intensity.” While Gill is loyal to the Merit’s Flush Balm, Soni loves and uses the ones by Nudestix.

The MVPs (most valuable players) in my arsenal are the Multi-use Glow Stick by Chanel and the Pixi Beauty’s On-The-Glow blushes, which went viral in 2020. “The formula, as well as that I developed an oval stick, which perfectly hugs the contours of the face, was something different and effective,” says Petra Strand, founder of Pixi Beauty. “My inspiration was to create a product that makes you look super healthy with a subtle dewy flush of colour that can be swept on cheeks, lips, and eyes. It needs no tools and little blending,” she says. Pixi Beauty is known for its fuss-free, quick-fix beauty products. “I always try to create products that simplify the beauty routine, do what they say, and are easy to use,” says Strand. They delivered just that with the blushes, the success of which led to the Bronze and Superglow sticks. “To swipe on an eyeshadow or blush is such a convenient way to pull your look together in a few minutes,” says. “I think great quality and uncomplicated make-up and skincare will always be a winner.”

In the beauty realm, foundation sticks and concealers are game changers. Their skin-blurring prowess is underrated—cream formulas apply like butter, blend easily, and melt into the skin for an undetectable second-skin finish. Where liquid foundations tend to highlight texture, these deliver a hydrated and supple look. “Recently, I’ve been trying out cream stick foundations which perform well, unlike popular belief,” says Gill. “You will always get a more natural, skin-like finish.” This was precisely why homegrown brand SUGAR Cosmetics launched its Ace of Face Foundation Stick in 2017—India’s first foundation stick range. “It has become one of our top sellers, leading the foundation stick category in the country,” says Kaushik Mukherjee, Co-founder and COO of SUGAR Cosmetics. “We aimed to create a foundation product that would be portable, easy to apply, and long-lasting. We chose a stick format to speed up the routine.” He attributes the popularity of sticks to increased e-commerce penetration and exposure to global trends. “It is encouraging to see other large cosmetics companies also launching their foundation stick variants, and together, it should enable even faster adoption of this format,” he says. Recent notable launches include Nykaa Cosmetics’ Get Cheeky! Blush Sticks, Lakme’s range of face sticks and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Balm Serum Boosted Skin Tint.

While sticks dominate the make-up category, sun care and skincare sticks are becoming increasingly prevalent as more brands venture into it. Sunscreen sticks, safe to assume, are mainstays in our arsenal today, but trickling into the market are also toners and serums in stick formats. For instance, Tatcha’s Serum Stick erases signs of dryness to keep the make-up fresh and Medicube’s Deep CollagenVita Multi-Serum Stick improves elasticity and skin texture. Until recently, very few skincare sticks had actives. But that’s fast changing as beauty brands like Peace Out offer retinol face and eye sticks. Others are diversifying into body care sticks like the Cocokind KP Smoothing Body Stick and The Inkey List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick, which have glycolic acid to tackle texture and discolouration.

Our obsession with stick products has peaked, and innovative launches are spotlighting their supremacy. “They remain popular for their versatility and flexibility,” says Soni. We can get behind simplified beauty solutions because sometimes simple make-up products are the most transformative.

This article first appeared in Harper’s Bazaar India, October issue. 

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