In our monthly Let’s Make-Up round-up, we bring you a selection of the tried and tested, freshest, and buzziest beauty launches that are worth adding to your basket.
All types of lotions and potions across makeup, skincare, haircare and more cross our desks and we take it upon ourselves to review them all so you don’t have to. If we include it below, then you know it’s a good ‘un.
It’s December and while we’re getting excited for Christmas and nabbing all the bargains and free gifts that the best beauty gift sets offer, there’s standalone newness that deserves your attention.
Transformed thirsty complexions and lips with the help of Medik8 and Fenty Skin respectively, perfect that party season makeup look with royal makeup artist Hannah Martin’s collaboration with Ciaté, and set the ambiance to your hosting duties with a limited-edition three-wick candle in one of the bestselling MALIN+GOETZ aroma.
For all this and more besides, see our edit of the hottest beauty drops you need on your radar.
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Fenty Skin Plush Puddin’ Intensive Recovery Lip Mask
It’s often an overlooked part of our skincare routine but no more. Rihanna is treating our lips to the care and attention that they deserve with the launch of Plush Puddin’, a conditioning mask that will revive parched pouts. The mask has plumping properties, all-day nourishment and imparts a clear sheen. Best applied overnight.
Buy now £19.00, Harvey Nichols
Medik8 H.E.O. Mask
Medik8 has reformulated its hydrating mask to create a two-step process sure to transform winter-parched complexions. It’s an overnight treatment that begins with the first part, which you apply all over the face, wait for a few minutes for it to absorb and then massage the second step into the skin. The formula is made up of humectants to attract water, emollients and occlusives to form a moisture barrier in order to prevent water loss, deliver and retain plumpness for up to 72 hours.
Buy now £57.00, Medik8
Ciaté London x Hannah Martin 24-piece pro brush collection
Instagram favourite makeup artist Hannah Martin has teamed up with Ciaté to create the ultimate brush set collection.
Known for her work with royals like Kate Middleton and Princess Eugenie (she was behind their bridal makeup looks), Martin’s signature is all about glowy skin and smokey eyes and these are the tools you’ll need to create it.
The vegan bristles are soft to the touch with a sturdy and durable wooden handle and a stylish leather storage case as the icing on the cake.
Buy now £169.00, Ciaté London
Code8 Beauty Limited Edition Lipstick - Rosso Vivo
The finishing touch to your festive makeup this year, a red lippy goes a long way. Code8 has one of the best formulas in the market for its creamy texture and impressive staying power, but just in time for Christmas, you’ll find Rosso Vivo, a mulled wine-inspired colourway that is suitably seasonal in all the right ways. As you’d expect from the brand’s formula, it glides right onto the lips with a moisturising formula that will be a treat to dry, flaking pouts.
Buy now £40.00, Code8
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 Sparkling Body Oil
‘Tis the season for giving and self-gifting should be front and centre on your agenda - so is there anything more luxurious than coating your skin in 24-carat gold? It is this ingredient that has been infused into the new limited-edition body oil that comes as part of the beloved Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 collaboration.
Known for its light and bright opening with deep and woody undertones with notes amber and floral touches, the eau de parfum that was the predecessor to this product can be whiffed with every use. The formula is enriched with apricot, macadamia and argan oils to treat your limbs, while leaving behind a welcomed glitter finish.
Buy now £195.00, John Lewis
NuFACE Mini +
Like going to the gym but for your face, contouring gadgets have seen a huge surge in popularity and NuFace is the bellwether of the beauty tech revolution. The device comes after four years of research and development and uses microcurrents for lifting, toning and contouring, packing a whole host of benefits into a compact, travel-ready size. There are three colourways available; Sandy Rose, Violet Dusk and Midnight Black.
Buy now £240.00, CurrentBody
Emma Hardie Moringa Luxury Body Scrub
Whether you’re using as a pre-tan exfoliator to maximise colour, or to smooth the skin to encourage better absorption of the moisturiser to follow, give your body the TLC it deserves with a body scrub.
This new formula from Emma Hardie is beautifully scented and luxurious on the skin. It uses mineral-rich Himalayan pink salts to buff the skin, leaving a velvety feel in its wake. Then the powers of crambe, hemp oil and fatty acid-packed blackcurrant oil alongside sweet almond and moringa oil nourish and boost moisture.
Buy now £33.60, M&S
MALIN+GOETZ dark rum supercandle
MALIN+GOETZ’s rum fragrance is one of the most addictive aromas on the market. The notes of bergamot, plum, leather and amber create a warm, sensual scent that is infinitely spritzable. It comes as an eau de parfum and one-wick candle form but, for the festive season, it is available in a three-wick variety to take the room-filling fragrance to the next level. The vessel is an attractive amber-hued glass that will sit stylishly among your festive decorations and has a burn time of around 180 minutes.
Buy now £159.00, Liberty
Rituals Private Collection Comfort range
Rituals is always a surefire gifting win and is set to become even more so this Christmas with the launch of its Private Collection Comfort range that will bring the five star hotel luxury feeling to your home. There are candles, fragrance sticks, hand washes, room sprays and cost-efficient refills in three scents.
The first has vanilla at its heart. This is combined with notes of cardamom, rosemary, patchouli, and vetiver. The second, Smooth Violet is fruity and floral with rose and violet leaf and last, but not least, there’s Cotton Blossom, a pampering and enveloping scent with jasmine, tuberose and violet.
Buy now £92.00, Rituals