Your Winter Beauty Essentials
Hair Here
Currently dominating the social media hair scene across Australasia is MONDAY – an affordable salon-quality hair care line in supermarkets that’s cruelty, SLS and paraben -free. Following seven stages of R&D, this pink pump bottle delivers 11 amino acids and plant extracts to ensure efficacy without the crazy price tag. For those blessed with curls who require something to finesse the frizz, natural brand evo have created a five product range to clan, hydrate and add definition with an easy diffuse-dry.
MONDAY Shampoo & Conditioner, 350ml, $7.99 each.
Evo Spring Clean Deep Clean Rinse, Heads Will Roll Co-wash, Baby Got Bounce Curl Treatment, Liquid Rollers Curl Balm, Total Recoil Curl Definer, $TBC.
Home Security
Supporting local businesses and being community-minded has never been so important in these trialling times of living through a whittling economy. Natural luxury brand sans[ceuticals] has launched Moisture + Shield, 500ml, $65; a facial-grade serum to simultaneously kill 99% microbes while hydrating the skin. Harnessing our very own homegrown manuka honey for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties as well as the healing kawakawa and sugar beet betaine, this ingenious 2-in-1 formula adds a dose of grandeur to sanitising. Linden Leaves have also released the new Antibacterial Hand & Surface Sanitiser, 50ml, $9.99, with their signature rose fragrance ‘Memories,’ to make hygiene on the go a pleasant ritual. For a wallet-friendly alternative, new Kiwi-brand Melora also uses manuka honey and oil to provide antibacterial benefits in personal care products.
Melora Double Action Manuka Honey & Oil Hand Wash, $18.90
WithIn Skin
Following a huge global wave of ingestible beauty products and its proven results, the industry shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, there have been an abundance of new beauty powders and elixirs that show increased efficacy. Sustainable type 1 marine collagen is mixed with powerful antioxidants such as CoQ10, vitamin C and E in Aglow Collagen + Anti-Oxidants, $79, to improve skin elasticity and smoothness. Completely odourless and tasteless, this beauty powder is super easy to mix into your morning coffee, smoothie or water. No Ugly have also launched an innovative and seriously tasty wellness tonic, Skin, $6, with 10,500mg of ethically sourced French marine collagen and NZ’s very own antioxidant, Enzogenol, to help with tissue repair and generation in not only the skin, but also your muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments. For a vegan alternative, The Good Vitamin Co Good Biotin, $28.95, has vitamin B7 which is known to help with hair loss, brittle nails and stabilising glucose levels.
What Goes Around, Comes Around
The cosmetics industry produces 120 billion units of packaging every year with only 9% of plastics being recycled and 12% of them burned into the atmosphere. The rest end up in landfills. In light of this, Emma Lewisham has partnered with TerraCycle to launch an incentivised recycling initiative to spearhead social responsibility and divert waste produced from the beauty industry that would otherwise end up in landfills. Dubbed the Emma Lewisham Beauty Circle, consumers will receive a $15 Emma Lewisham voucher for every four plastic beauty empties sent through to TerraCycle. The plastic will then be recycled into a second life of picnic tables, park benches and materials for the local fashion industry.
The Nose Knows
From linen fresh to a deep chypre, these unique aromatic picks give off something different to the usual.
A floral ode to femininity, Viktor&Rolf have released another fragrance to the Flowerbomb saga – Dew, 50ml, $159. Delicate, silky and sparkling, top notes of pear and bergamot dance around a dewy rose and iris accord, leaving a trail of white musk and heliotrope. The aroma of strong black coffee is captured in YSL Black Opium Neon, 30ml, $118, alongside jasmine sambac, mandarin, orange blossom and vanilla emitting a tropical vibe. CK has launched an ultra-modern fragrance that’s fresh, youthful and gender-neutral for EVERYONE, EDT, 50ml, $69, with zesty organic orange oil, blue tea and cedarwood to evoke clean minimalism. An intense woody chypre of oakmoss, Chloe Nomade Absolu de Parfum, 50ml, $161, delivers an unexpected radiance with sweet mirabelle plum and velvety davana in a base of creamy sandalwood.
The Hydration Station
The transition into this ice cold season has without doubt, strained our skin. A must-try remedy is the super-rich and superior Dermaviduals Vitamin Cream Mask, $124. Enhancing barrier protection and skin nutrition, this anti-ager is packed with vitamins A, C, E and B5 to protect, repair and regenerate skin cells. For daily use, Skinbetter Trio Rebalancing Moisture Treatment, $260, adds hydration back to the skin to improve the look of wrinkles and dryness while the Volition Beauty Celery Green Cream, $88, delivers celery juice for the skin in a lightweight and more aqueous formula. If you need to spritz on the go, RéVive Vitalité Energizing Hydration Mist, $200, will give your skin a boost of energy.
Clay Play
The latest in clay formulas are all about balance and and hydration sans the drying and pulling effects. Dermalogica Active Clay Cleanser, $75, uses kaolin clay, activated charcoal with prebiotics to effectively cleanse, purify and detox the skin without disrupting the skin’s natural microbiome barrier. Environ Skin EssentiA Hydrating Clay Mask, $62, is an impressive multi-tasking product infused with antioxidants such as barley seed extract, vitamin E, as well as hydrating panthenol, which can be used as a daily micro-exfoliant or a moisture boosting mask treatment.
Glow Girl
Traditional moisturisers are full of questionable petroleum based ingredients that are not only a cheap way to fill out products, but they also do more harm than good to our skin as it is unable to communicate with our skin cells. In this case, oils with omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids are best to nurture lipid dry skin, which many of us will be experiencing during winter. Rosehip oil is rich in linoleic acid and alpha linoleic acid, which is ideal for our wallets and skin. Glowlab Rosehip Oil + Plus, 20ml, $25, has added vitamin C for extra protection and brightening abilities. Linden Leaves Miraculous Facial Oil, 30ml, $54.99, is NATRUE certified organic with evening primrose oil and white tea for extra nourishing and soothing properties. Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil, 30ml, $100, also harnesses the power of rosehip oil alongside noni fruit extract, pomegranate oil and sea buckthorn oil, rich in vitamin A and C to heal, rejuvenate and deeply hydrate the skin.
Golden Getaway
Fake a golden tan with a delicious body regime in lieu of your Euro escape. Marzena introduces the new bio-compostable Natural Body Wax Strips (20 pack), $17, using sustainably sourced pine tree resin and hemp seed oil for a gentle wax. The latest in fake bake news is the Bondi Sands Aero Ultra Dark, $32.99; a weightless, quick-dry and no-streak aerated formula for a deeply bronzed glow. Exfoliate beforehand with the whisky and cacao -based Ed&i Before Dry Body Scrub, $34, and finish the ritual off with a blend of coconut, almond, macadamia and hazelnut oils in After Body Oil, $34.
Cover Up
In order of coverage strength, here is the lineup of the latest complexion fixing products to suit every skin type and budget. First off, Glow Lab Tinted SPF15 Facial Moisturiser, $20, imparts a luminous veil in one universal shade. For when you need a simple, multi-tasking product to get you out the door or straight to your desk, this vegan solution is worth a try. Next up, Sisley Phyto Hydra Teint, $160 – available in three shades, this formula covers most imperfections with a gorgeous, natural, fresh finish and builds up effortlessly if you need to further even out your skin tone. Bobbi Brown Skin Long-wear Fluid Powder Foundation SPF20, $69, is a hybrid formula that applies like liquid and self-sets as a soft-matte powder that’s lightweight yet stays on all day.
Cream Touch
Whether you’re opting for a matte or cream finish, moisture-rich formulas are what you need to be looking for. M.A.C. Powder Kiss Liquid Lipcolour, $50, and Eye Shadow, $33, serves a weightless mousse-like formula that creates the perfectly diffused blurred effect. YSL has also released an extension to their Tatouage line – Matte Velvet Cream, $69. Pigmented and cushion-soft with its oil cream base, long-lasting and comfortable colour has never been so easy. For a clean and vegan alternative, Jane Iredale Triple Luxe Long Lasting Lipstick, $64, delivers a creamy matte finish rich in nourishing moringa oil to keep your lips hydrated.
Stress Relief
On days that the skin is red and irritated, Kate Somerville DeliKate Recovery Cream Stressed Skin Relief, $128, is a soft and nourishing solution with ginger root and ceramides to calm and soothe the skin barrier. For an overnight treatment to help with dehydration, Serene Aqua Hydrating Masque, $119.99, uses seaweed extract, glycerin and manuka honey to plump the skin while you sleep. The fast-trending epi Nouvelle+ Naturelle Facial Mask, $43.50, is made from vegetable raw materials with 100% pure cellulose and is incredibly effective in cooling and moisturising the skin after treatments such as microneedling, peels, injections, IPL and skin resurfacing.