More lipsticks than you could poke a stick at. Here’s a look at the very best beauty products to land on Australian counters in the last month.
This month sees the long anticipated Australian drop of fashion house Balmain’s collaboration with L’Oréal Paris. The collection consists of 12 Colour Riche lipsticks in limited edition colours, each with a matte finish- important to note, however, that a matte lipstick in a cream, traditional bullet formula will always have slightly more of a cream sheen to it than a matte liquid (I actually prefer this as I find creams to be less drying than liquids). I’ve always found the Colour Riche formulas to be consistently good- long wearing, non-drying and rich in colour. There’s some uniquely “Balmain” shades in here (take Balmain Instinct, a shimmering army green, or Rebellion, a deep blue, as examples), but there’s some real classics in here as well that will work for the casual beauty consumer as opposed to exclusively the beauty collector.
Balmain x L’Oréal Paris collection, available in Priceline stores nationally from June.
May saw the Australian drop of the Dior Addict Lacquer Plumps, a collection of 16 high shine, plumping, lacquer finish liquid lipsticks. The formula feels like a comfortable gloss on the lips but is as pigmented as a lipstick. High shine lip colours are never as long lasting as their matte counterparts, however when the shine of these lacquers wears away a rich tint is left in its wake.
Dior Addict Lacquer Plump, $53, available at Dior beauty counters.
Another major lipstick launch comes in the form of the Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Colours. Bobbi Brown lipsticks have been favourites of mine since I first became interested in beauty, and this new formula may be their best yet. What I find most impressive about these lip colours is how many ways they can be worn. The texture feels like a hybrid lipstick/balm, the pigment is rich, the finish is satin and the effect is almost more of a stain than it is an opaque block of colour, so the formula works as a tint or a traditional lipstick and can be used to create everything from ombré to a blotted down, worn in look.
Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Colour, $46, available at Bobbi Brown counters.
Rounding out this month’s lip colour offering are the By Terry Twist-On Lips. In the same vein as the By Terry Glow Expert Duo Sticks, these highly pigmented lipsticks contain two colours in the one precision bullet. The ombré can be blended out to create the illusion of fuller lips (applying the principle of “contouring” to the lips) or left as-is for a more editorial look. The colours can also be blended completely to create a solid custom colour.
By Terry Twist-On Lips, $46, available via Mecca Cosmetica.
Not quite lip colour but in the lip family nonetheless are the Frank Body Shimmer Lip Gloss and Shimmer Lip Scrub. I have repeatedly raved about the Frank Body lip scrubs, and I fall more in love with each new flavour. The latest incarnation has a subtle shimmer to it and smells like lemonade, while the formula is just as effective as both the original coffee and newer cherry versions. I find the texture of the gloss to be, as the name suggests, more of a fluid gloss than the other Frank lip balms, with the same lemonade scent as the scrub and without the tack that most old school shimmer lip glosses have. Thank god.
Frank Body Shimmer Lip Scrub, $14.95, and Shimmer Lip Gloss, $12.95, available via Frank Body.
Urban Decay is, arguably, the market leader when it comes to eyeshadow palettes, so the arrival of the brand’s newest palette has generated an unsurprisingly high level of buzz. Backtalk is inspired by Urban Decay’s all-time best-selling Vice lip colour of the same name and contains a removable magnetic mirror, four cheek colours (three blushes, one highlighter) and eight eyeshadows ranging from soft pinks and neutrals through to rich, deep plum, but all sitting comfortably within the “berry” colour family. This delivery system makes for the ultimate “do it all” palette. I’ve found the eyeshadows to be in line with the quality of previous UD palettes, and the cheek colours have been VERY impressive given I’d only really tried one of their blushes before- long lasting, highly pigmented and creamy in texture making them very easy to blend.
Urban Decay Backtalk Palette, $78, available via Mecca Maxima.
Three new additions to the Hourglass “Veil” collection landed last week, all formulated to blur imperfections and create the illusion of a truly flawless complexion. The Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder is designed to be dusted over the skin using the Veil Powder Brush (which is double ended, with a large fluffy brush for dusting over the whole face and a smaller, tapered brush perfect for setting under the eyes) to set makeup in place and deliver an almost airbrushed effect to the skin, containing zero talc to guarantee no flashback in photos. The Veil Retouching Fluid is a hybrid concealer, under eye corrector and foundation- while the size of the product doesn’t lend itself to regular use as a foundation, a little goes a long way and when buffed into bare skin it delivers the perfect wash of colour for a no makeup day.
Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder, $67, Hourglass Veil Powder Brush, $93, and Hourglass Veil Retouching Fluid, $49, available via Mecca Cosmetica.
This month also brings with it two new limited editions to the cult that is the Nars Orgasm family. I’m going to cover these in greater depth in another story as part of a new Glow Journal series, but the new arrivals include a Jumbo Orgasm Blush, Orgasm Lip Balm and Orgasm Illuminating Loose Powder Blush.
NARS Jumbo Orgasm Blush, $57, NARS Orgasm Lip Balm, $41, and NARS Orgasm Illuminating Loose Powder Blush, $41, available via Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Maxima.
Mecca Cosmetica have added three new beauty kits to their signature line, curated with three scenarios in mind- desk-to-drinks, mid-flight and pre-workout. I got my hands on the aptly named Party Ready Edit, containing a compact mirror, fabric hair ties, Lit From Within Primer, Lip De-Luscious, Oil Blotting Papers, Mecca-Morphosis Hydrating Moisturiser and Mecca-Morphosis Transforming Facial Cleanser houses within a Cosmetica pink vanity bag.
Mecca Cosmetica Party-Perfect Edit, $75, available via Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Maxima.
The perfect accompaniment to Ole Henriksen’s Banana Bright Eye Cream, the C-Rush Brightening Gel Crème, landed at Sephora Australia last month. It possesses the same brightening powers of the eye cream thanks to the wonder vitamin that is Vitamin C, and while I’ve not trialled this for long enough to vouch for it as yet, if it’s anything like Banana Bright then its worth snapping up before it sells out (Banana Bright is sold out almost year ’round due to its justified popularity).
Ole Henriksen C-Rush Brightening Gel Crème, $58, available at Sephora Australia.
The Drunk Elephant C-Tango Eye Cream also landed in stores to much fanfare last week following its pre-launch at Meccaland in April. At risk of copping it from Drunk Elephant devotees, this eye cream didn’t do it for me. I’d read multiple articles comparing it to my beloved, the aforementioned Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream, praising it for its C-powered brightening properties, however I saw no different to my eye area at the conclusion of a month long trial. Don’t take my word for it though- I’ve read countless positive reviews and it’s important to remember how different everyone’s skin is.
Drunk Elephant C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream, $93, available via Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Maxima.
It’s AHA season! And by that I mean it’s winter, which means everyone’s skin is dryer than usual thanks to environmental factors, which in turn means we need more exfoliation than usual. Undisputed AHA king Dr Dennis Gross has added three new products to his best selling Alpha Beta range- the Alpha Beta Pore Perfecting Cleansing Gel, Alpha Beta Exfoliating Moisturiser and Alpha Beta Medi Spa Peel. The cleanser and moisturiser both contain AHA levels low enough for daily use without irritation, while the Medi Spa is a riff off the original Alpha Beta peels, the very peels that Dr Dennis Gross most likely credits with his cult following. Where the original peels contain 5 acids and the Extra Strength contain 7, the most recent incarnation contains a whopping 15 skin-loving acids.
Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Pore Perfecting Cleansing Gel, $55, Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Exfoliating Moisturiser, $99, and Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Medi Spa Peel, $93, available via Mecca Cosmetica.
Also on the acid front this month, we’ve seen Hungarian brand Omorovicza launch their Acid Fix serum into Australia. A blend of both AHAs and BHAs (namely lactic, glycolic and salicyclic), this is designed to work for dry and oily skin types, removing dead and dry cells as well as drying up any acne-causing oils beneath the skin’s surface. It also contains highly moisturising ingredients to plump up the skin and replace any of the moisture lost during exfoliation.
Omorovicza Acid Fix, $168, available via Mecca Cosmetica.
The acids and exfoliants don’t stop from the neck down, with both REN and This Works launching chemical and physical exfoliants respectively for the body. REN’s AHA Smart Renewal Body Serum contains lactic acid to gently but effectively “dissolve,” for lack of a better word, dead skin, while This Works’ Perfect Legs uses pink Himalayan salt to physically buff away dryness.
REN AHA Smart Renewal Body Serum, $61, and This Works Perfect Legs 100% Natural Scrub, $47, both available via Mecca Cosmetica.
This last launch technically landed a few months ago but is brand new to me, so I’m including it and don’t argue with me. I’m used to spa branded, take-home skincare to be a bit fluffy, which is why I’m so impressed by the ingredients in all the products in the new(ish) Endota Spa New Age collection. Containing everything from peptides and retinol through to hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C, this collection is full of active ingredients bolstering Endota into the realm of truly serious skincare.
Endota Spa New Age collection, available via Endota Spa.
All products have been supplied to media as part of press launches however all opinions are, as always, my own.
