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.
March brings the hope of spring - even if it’s more likely snow will be on the cards. From fresh fragrances, to summery shades, the latest newness will transport you to warmer weather without any reliance on what the British temperatures serve up. Treat your skin to innovations from Nobel Laureate Sir Fraser Stoddart-founded Noble Panacea and the unveiling of vertical farming label Ulé brought to us from the Shiseido Group.
It’s been a stellar month for scenting with Le Labo serving up the candle accompaniment to the Another 13 eau de parfum and the evolution of cherry in the Tom Ford offering.
For all this and more besides, see our edit of the hottest beauty drops you need on your radar.
Jo Malone London Blossoms Collection
Spring has sprung at Jo Malone with the unveiling of the fragrance house’s New Blossoms collection. Made up of three colognes, a hair mist and scent diffusers, the new releases will encourage you to feel enveloped in nature with the freshness and serenity that this brings.
There’s Osmanthus Blossom Cologne to usher in the new season with notes of apricot and suede with the fruity heart of orange blossom and cashmere wood.
Nashi Blossom Cologne puts the named flower front and centre, capturing it as an emblem of purity and the way that it blooms into juicy pears. It is set alongside rose and white musk to create an aroma that is fruity yet fun.
Waterlily Cologne is the third scent and uses the underated pond flower to diffuse its floral note and dewy freshness. This is taken up a notch with jasmine sambac and neroli.
Buy now £82.00, Jo Malone London
Too Faced Italian Spritz Lake Como Cocktail-Inspired Eye Shadow Palette
No trip to Northern Italy planned? No problem. With this new hero eyeshadow palette from Too Faced, you can get creative with the colours and scents of Lake Como. The makeup brand has paired vibrant hues in metallic, matte and shimmer shades with blendable textures and imparting a citrus aroma. This is the feel good makeup you need to banish winter blues.
Buy now £40.00, Too Faced
Milk Makeup Sculpt Sticks
Milk Makeup was born out of the desire to simplify the application process and so you’ll find bronzing sticks, primers with applicators, eye tints with rollerballs and pigments you can blend with your fingers. This is no-nonsense cosmetics that require no tools or any particular skill.
Fans of the label will be delighted to learn that there’s a new addition to the foolproof collection, Sculpt Sticks - contour products that blend right on with their creamy consistency. There are four colours to suit different skin tones and encourage you to get creative with creating depth and dimension to your facial features.
Buy now £22.00, Milk Makeup
Avene Hydrance Boost Serum 30ml
Whether it’s the winter chill and the effect of central heating, or sunburn or air conditioning, our skin doesn’t seem able to catch a break no matter the time of year. Incorporating hydrating formulas into your routine is a simple way to combat this and ensure your complexion is dewy and plump come rain or shine.
Avene has got those with sensitive skin or any other skin type sorted with the Hydrance Boost Serum that has been created to up hydration levels by 132 per cent, according to the brand. It in made up of the signature Avene Thermal Spring Water to quench parched skin alongside hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, the latter to encourage the skin to retain the moisture that the former provides. The ingredients are 96 per cent natural and the pipette allows for just the right amount of the serum to be used twice daily.
Buy now £26.50, Boots
Jo Loves Ebony & Cassis Fragrance
Each of the Jo Loves aromas takes inspiration from founder Jo Malone CBE’s life and the same runs true for this latest launch. “Ebony & Cassis is the first fragrance of a new era for me”, she explains. “One of the adventures I want to take you on is a trip to Musandam in Oman”.
The aroma is designed to transport you to the Middle East where Malone has mimicked the journey of a wooden dhow boat on the Musandam Peninsula in scent form, exploring the uniqueness of the rich tapestries adorning it and the natural landscape that you float alongside. There’s sweet notes with blackberry and cassis, warming rich nutmeg, myrrh and dates as well as blackcurrant buds that are given depth through patchouli and cedarwood.
Buy now £115.00, Jo Loves
The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter
This is a limited-edition version of the Camomile Cleansing Balm in which one sells every 17 seconds. The hugely popular creamy cleanser will ignite the senses and brings the freshness of spring with every use. The reformulation adds Japanese camellia oil to the ingredient line-up that enhances the light aroma, while still packing a punch dissolving makeup and impurities as you massage it into the skin.
Buy now £12.00, The Body Shop
Noble Panacea The Elemental Cleansing Balm and Exfoliating Refiner
Begin this two-step treatment with the Cleansing Balm that turns into an oil texture as it is massaged into the face and then a milky emulsion when combined with water. Then comes the Exfoliating Refiner that preps and primes the complexion to encourage a better absorption of the rest of your skincare routine. Together they’re a heavy-hitting duo that removes dirt and grime, improves the appearance of hyperpigmentation and leaves a healthy glow in their wake.
Buy now £172.00, Noble Panacea
Ulé
Ulé is a new label that is part of the Shiseido Group and takes a different approach to your run-of-the-mill skincare brand by being powered by vertical farming. The conscious label harnesses the power of nature to provide efficacious skincare with minimal environmental impact. There are four ranges which are derived from the eponymous Ulé Eco-Farm and are packed with active ingredients.
Highlights include the Je Suis Chill Fortifying CBD Moisturizer (£70) to calm, hydrate and soothe, the multi-tasking Avoir It All In & Out Nurturing-Phyto Oil (£64) that can be used as either a supplement or topical radiance-boosting formula and the Rêve of Pure Anti-Pollution Gel Cleanser (£34) - a gel to foam texture with the aroma of neroli and lavender.
Buy now £34.00, Space NK
Chantecaille Beautiful Wild Meadows Collection
To honour its 25th anniversary, botanical skin and makeup label Chantecaille has launched the Wild Meadows collection in line with its conservationist ethos. The wildflower is a symbol of happiness and biodiversity and it is set on the exterior packaging of the keepsake-worthy floral-inspired cosmetics. The limited-edition springtime collection includes an eyeshadow quad, two blushes and three lip shades with sunny season colourways of blush.
Buy now £64.00, Space NK
La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream
Not content with resting on its laurels, La Mer has reformulated its beloved Moisturizing Soft Cream with an even more advanced formula and delivery system. The product now includes additional multi-sized moisture spheres that leaves a smooth texture in their wake and encourage the skin to more effectively hydrate for long-lasting moisturisation. This is all while remaining lightweight when applied onto the complexion. In tests, 86 per cent of people said their skin looked more youthful in just one month of use.
Buy now £78.00, La Mer
Barry M Eyes Wide Mascara
This brand new innovation from Barry M has taken the idea of a mascara and run with it, resuting in a clear strenghtening product with the brush of the makeup product to nourish our precious lashes. The applicator ensures that each and every lash is covered in the green tea extract and vitamin B5-enriched formula so that they are given the moisture and conditioning that they need, whether you are following with a pigmented product or letting your natural eyelashes shine.
Buy now £5.99, Superdrug
Le Labo Ambroxyde 17 classic candle
If you are already a fan of Le Labo’s Another 13 eau de parfum, listen up. The New York fragrance house has unveiled the home fragrance accompaniment to the bestselling aroma with Ambroxyde 17. A close cousin to the traditionally hypnotic moss, jasmine and ambrette seed-based aroma, the candle sets the named ambroxyde note with musk, wood, jasmine petals and moss. While it’s almost too attractive to burn, it’s not until you set it alight that you’ll experience the high proportion of fragrance oils and natural fibre wick that will transform the scent your space.
Buy now £61.00, Le Labo
Tom Ford Electric Cherry eau de parfum
Tom Ford has built on his love of cherry by adding not one but two new scents featuring the heady note to the brand’s fragrance offering. Lost Cherry has been a stalwart in the collection and is now joined by Cherry Smoke and our personal favourite, Electric Cherry. The latter has a lively and energetic olfactory experience that is remniscient of morello cherry with a musk and jasmine base. Cherry Smoke is more sensual and deep where the traditionally sweet component is playing with fire with its osmanthus and smoke wood concocotion.
Buy now £280.00, Selfridges
