A new season is here with a slew of new beauty movements. Here’s what you need to know to give your beauty bag a spring makeover.
Words by Amy Starr
From fresh floral fragrances to smart skin-firming tools and an MVP mask, here are the new trends to try and exciting new beauty buys that will bring a sense of joy back to your daily routine.
Magic (Mascara) Wands
For inky lashes that’ll last through the day, try pushing Gucci’s buildable mascara to its limits. Apply one coat for glossy, lifted and defined lashes or keep going with small strokes at the lash line and along bottom lashes to build volume and open eyes. It’s a perfectly customisable formula that lets you personalise your preferred mascara look, from classic to bold and everything in between.
Fresh Formulas in Foundation
While dewy make-up is a match made in heaven for dry skin, getting that subtle glow just right can be a balancing act. For dreamy skin that won’t leave you looking like a disco ball come 3pm, try Burberry or YSL’s light-medium coverage gel formula foundations to even out imperfections while letting skin breathe and freckles peek through.
Fragrance Goes Full Bloom
With their gentle, sweet and creamy notes, white florals will always be timeless and nostalgic – but don’t think you need to wear the whole bouquet. Balancing single florals with delicate woody notes, Gucci’s tuberose and sandalwood combination offers brighter, understated nods to the classics.
The Best Gets Better
Estée Lauder’s iconic skin-repairing super serum, Advanced Night Repair, has been a beauty staple in cabinets all over the world since it launched in 1982. The much-beloved formula now features faster repair and new youth-generating power, which makes its skin-boosting prowess faster, better, stronger. Expect firmer, plumped, bouncier, more radiant skin. Whether you use it morning or night, apply it before moisturiser at either end of the day.
Find Your Light
Perfect contouring by doubling down on glow-making shades and finishes. For luminosity that smooths over skin’s texture troubles, reach for superfine illuminating powders that diffuse into skin like a cream. To add a peachy blush and sun-kissed bronze, dip into M. A. C’s tri-tone palette – or Guerlain’s super-fine and flattering bronzer.
Healing Hands
Diligent hand hygiene doesn’t have to leave your skin dry, just reach for skincare-driven sanitisers. Grown Alchemist’s vegan and organic hyaluronic acid-based gel cleanses and hydrates, while antioxidants protect skin from irritation. To keep hands soft between washes, follow by massaging this delicately fragranced orange peel hand cream into skin and cuticles.
The Art of Doing Less
A full face of perfectly polished make-up doesn’t feel right for the times, particularly if you’re still spending your nine-to-five on Zoom calls. Hold back on the heavily contoured cheekbones and focus energy where it counts: on brows. Brushed upwards, they give a lift to the face and pop the cheekbones. Shu Uemura’s eyebrow mascara allows for precision. The tinted gel formula of Guerlain’s Mad Eyes brow framer gives natural oomph to brows, plus skincare benefits.
Mask All Night Long
Switch out 10-step regimens and rich creams for a mask that helps skin regenerate through the night. Applied as a weekly treatment or to pamper at home, Lancôme’s innovative mask is infused with 24-carat gold and Grand Rose Extracts from its iconic Absolue Soft Cream to improve skin regeneration and give a younger-looking appearance, all in a good night’s work.
A Smart Skin Care Tool
With a couple of quick, firm strokes, Hunter Lab’s gua sha-inspired tool instantly depuffs tired eyes, defines cheekbones and shifts any unwelcome chins, while microcurrent technology stimulates facial muscles to keep skin lifted, perky and plump over time.
Scents Go Intense
The weather is warming up and so can your scent. The ‘intense’ version of your favourite eau is a stronger concentration of juice, meaning it lasts longer on skin. The original of YSL’s bold Libre fragrance, a study in sexiness-in-a-bottle, has been turned up to eleven in this assertive combination of lavender, orange blossom and orchid. It leaves behind a trail of compliments.
Air in the Hair
As days become warmer and our routines lazier, it’s time to embrace low-maintenance hair. Make the most of hair’s natural texture, volume and shine with a few lightweight necessities, like a pump of R+Co’s multipurpose elixir (R+Co Centerpiece All-in-One Hair Elixir, $46) to nourish dry ends and keep flyaways under control. To add soft body and airy texture to fine strands, rake a handful of Sachajuan’s Hair Mousse through dry hair, or zhush with Oribe’s Dry Texturizing Spray to add texture without compromising movement.
Say ‘Hi’ to Hydration
If skin’s neglected, tight or a little dull, hit refresh with a dose of hydration. Clinique’s gel-cream moisturiser with hyaluronic acid and aloe vera hydrates and plumps skin, topping up the moisture barrier and replenishing lipids for soothed, supple skin around the clock (three times over).
All Smiles
The four minutes spent brushing your teeth might not be the most entertaining part of your day but that doesn’t mean it can’t be luxurious. Extending the wellness makeover that the rest of your beauty regimen is currently getting to other parts of your self-care routine, Marvis pairs fluoride and xylitol to make toothpaste (Marvis Aquatic Mint Toothpaste, $13.95) with a light, sweet freshness that’s hard to resist.
The Good Acid
Hyaluronic acid has been a potent ingredient in skin care for years but in 2020 the super hydrator is upping the ante. It plays the lead in Elizabeth Arden’s new Hyaluronic Acid Ceramide Capsules – an extension of the brand’s single-dose capsule collection of potent actives. The formula, packed with skin-strengthening ceramides, hydrates while working to plump, firm and dial up dewiness.
Sun Care Gets Really Good
No one knows effective sun care like the Australian brands dominating the scene. Our vast experience with exactly what kind of damage the sun does has paved the way for brilliant formulas. Ella Baché’s latest sun care superstar (Sportsbloc Great SPF50+ 130ml, $39) is water resistant for four hours, with skin-nourishing ingredients like lanolin and cocoa butter, and feels light on the skin.
Trust Your Gut
In a skin funk? If topical solutions aren’t doing their part, try turning your quest for clearer and calmer skin inwards. Get an unbalanced gut back in check with an antioxidant- and Vitamin C-rich supplement. KORA Organics’ blueberry, noni extract and matcha powder calms inflammation and boosts energy while prebiotics support a healthy gut microbiome to keep skin glowing.
Primer Plus
If you’re expecting your primer to just prep for make-up, then you need to up the game. The latest innovations work smarter, not harder. Estée Lauder has a lightweight formula that doesn’t add yet another creamy layer. If you’re a little dry, La Mer The Perfecting Primer’s Miracle Broth™ and rose algae smooth and soften skin, making a perfect canvas for your complexion products.