Every Glittering Highlight From Our Inaugural Viva Beauty Awards Gala 2026

The Viva Beauty Awards Gala was a sparkling celebration of local and global beauty, filled with the best and brightest from across the industry. Here is your behind-the-scenes look at all the action from the night.

Last Tuesday, avant-garde rooftop bar Hi-SO was transformed into a sparkling celebration
of the best in beauty for the inaugural Viva Beauty Awards Gala, presented by Glow Lab.

For the first time in years, brand founders, content creators, beauty PRs and influencers gathered under one roof for an opportunity to network and celebrate the talent and innovation that cements New Zealand’s reputation for creating world-class wellness and beauty products.

Despite the Viva Beauty Awards launching three years ago, this was the first time Viva hosted a Gala-style event to announce its winners in front of key tastemakers and industry leads.

Sarah Reid and Isa Varga. Photo / Babiche Martens

Hosted by ZM day show host Georgia Burt, the vibes were high as guests filed into Hi-SO, the luxury-meets-quirky rooftop bar which occupies SO/ Auckland’s 16th floor. Sculptural floral arrangements, created by Isadia, complemented the bar’s aesthetic,with blooming banksia, orchids, dahlias and ranunculus.

The guest list included pioneering skincare founder Emma Lewisham, hairstylist turned entrepreneur Chloe Zara Munro, holistic skin expert Ashleigh Scott, lymphatic massage specialist Nicky Watkins and many more. Attendees even flew across the country to be there, including Kristen Teo, the founder of The Spa Nomad NZ and Numa Skin and Body Club from Wellington, and Kasia Stanicich, a freelance makeup artist and content creator from Christchurch.

Guests enjoy a cocktail at the Glow Lab bar. Photo / Babiche Martens

A handful of content creators had been spotted earlier at Viva’s Styling Suite, an immersive beauty experience spanning body care, makeup, hair and wellness.

The experience began with makeup appointments courtesy of M.A.C, wine tastings with The Uncommon, a dry hairstyling bar with Beautiful Environment (Davines Ltd), and mini wellness consults with Lifestream.

The Glow Lab bar was decked out with scents from the brand’s new Creamy Body Wash range. Photo / Babiche Martens

Back at the Gala, guests were invited to visit the Glow Lab bar, where mixologist Hollie Wright created four bespoke cocktails inspired by the scents in the new Glow Lab Creamy Body Wash range. The four indulgent scents – Oat Milk & Manuka Honey, Salted Caramel & Pistachio, Cashmere & White Blossom and Coconut & Vanilla Bean – were translated into a Chocolate & Pistachio Martini, a Coconut Hi-Coco Spritz, a Waiheke Honey Rye Whiskey with a twist, and a Lychee and Yuzu Sour.

For those who preferred wine, The Uncommon had three of its canned wine varietals on offer – a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, Rose and Pinot Noir.

MC and ZM day host, Georgia Burt. Photo / Babiche Martens

The awards presentation began with the people-focused categories, including big name awards like the Breakthrough Brand Of The Year, presented by Pure Mama; Sustainability Award, presented by ECOYA; Innovation Award, presented by Lifestream; and Hairstylist Of The Year Award, presented by Beautiful Environment (Davines Ltd).

Next came the product categories – spanning makeup, skin care, hair care, body care, fragrance, and wellbeing – including new additions like Best For Acneand Best For Curls Or Coils.

Viva beauty editor Ashleigh Cometti. Photo / Babiche Martens

The winners included Emma Lewisham, who took home four awards, including Brand Founder Of The Year, New Zealand Beauty Brand Of The Year, Best For Mature Skin and Best For Overnight.

Despite having recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Texas, Pure Mama CEO Lara Henderson was there to receive the Innovation Award for the brand’s new Complex Scar Serum.

Freelance special occasion and bridal makeup artist Kasia Stanicich flew up from Christchurch to receive the Makeup Artist Of The Year Award.

Kelly Manu, who also sat on the Viva Beauty Awards judging panel (but was exempt from self-nominating or voting in her category), took out the top prize for Hairstylist Of The Year.

However, the loudest shrieks of glee came from The Whitening Co. team when founder Kennedy Anderson was announced as the People’s Choice Award winner.

Photo / Babiche Martens

With the formalities over, guests continued to mingle and imbibe, soaking up the panoramic views of the Waitematā Harbour out on the deck or refreshing their drink at the bar.

As the night wound to a close, guests were gifted their very own Viva Beauty Awards goodie bag, filled to the brim with the latest beauty and wellness treats, including full-sized products and samples from Glow Lab, Davines, Lifestream, Pure Mama, ECOYA and Two Islands.

To everyone who sat on the judging panel, nominated, voted or won an award, thank you for making this year’s Viva Beauty Awards such a success. See you next year!

Check out the full gallery of party pics, below.

Arrivals

Renee Brown and Steph Wood. Photo / Babiche MartensKennedy Anderson, Oliver Tyack, Tess Woolcock, Annemarie Mason and Ineke Pronk. Photo / Babiche MartensJanelle Brunton-Rennie, Brooke Lean and Renee Hohaia. Photo / Babiche MartensRachel Soo Thow and Aki Curtis. Photo / Babiche MartensGabrielle Houghton, Kasia Stanicich, Chloe Zara and Mary Outram. Photo / Babiche MartensMadeleine Crutchley and Ashleigh Cometti. Photo / Babiche MartensSarah Reid, Kristen Teo and Isa Varga. Photo / Babiche MartensCharlotte Laville, Imogen Sutcliffe and Greer Holford. Photo / Babiche MartensAshleigh Scott and Scott Glack. Photo / Babiche MartensIzzy and Michele Jans. Photo / Babiche MartensStephanie Stewart and Gemma Vovchenko. Photo / Babiche MartensThe Beautiful Environment team. Photo / Babiche MartensGeorgia Burt, Gemma Vovchenko, Stephanie Stewart and Kat Blackburn. Photo / Babiche MartensVarsha Reddy. Photo / Babiche MartensMhairi Bryan, Grace Connew and Anna Lawson. Photo / Babiche MartensRyland Wood and Danny Pato. Photo / Babiche MartensJulia Juhasz. Photo / Babiche MartensTessa Stockdale, Karen Stockdale and Helena Nuich. Photo / Babiche MartensBianka Dalton. Photo / Babiche MartensYasmin Shepherd, Maggie Kidd, Abbey Gilfoyle, Lara Henderson and Jess Dudson. Photo / Babiche MartensIneke Pronk and Annemarie Mason. Photo / Babiche MartensRenai Hagstrom, Greer Bland, Michael Mendel, Ellie Jarvis, Lexie Galloway and Klara Allen. Photo / Babiche MartensTatum Savage and Sarah Reid. Photo / Babiche MartensTallulah McLean and Brendon Vailahi. Photo / Babiche MartensTau Subritzky and Sean Mahoney. Photo / Babiche MartensJake and Francesca Pagnuzzi. Photo / Babiche MartensSheresta Dewan and Krystle Wallace. Photo / Babiche MartensIsa Varga and Kirsten Teo. Photo / Babiche MartensSamantha Herewini and Esther Cunningham. Photo / Babiche MartensIneke Pronk, Annemarie Mason and Tess Woolcock. Photo / Babiche MartensTroi Atkins and Chloe Hulme. Photo / Babiche MartensNatasha Bourke, Isabelle Suter, Angie Montgomery, Foster Hanitijo and Catrina Sewell. Photo / Babiche MartensMichael Mendel. Photo / Babiche MartensAnna Farrera, Bridget Taylor and Lauren Went. Photo / Babiche MartensPetrina Morgan and Vikki Dong. Photo / Babiche MartensNicky Watkins and Angelique Fris-Taylor. Photo / Babiche MartensHayley Carville, Hamish Mullan and Sandy Kilgour. Photo / Babiche MartensJulia Juhasz and Leandi van der Walt. Photo / Babiche MartensImogen Duff, Samantha Mills, Kyla Packer and Hannah Corbett. Photo / Babiche MartensSam and Ashleigh Cometti. Photo / Babiche MartensRenai Hagstrom, Greer Bland, Ellie Jarvis, Lexie Galloway and Klara Allen. Photo / Babiche MartensDenni and Stacey Fraser. Photo / Babiche MartensNikita Chaithoo and Kylee De Thier. Photo / Babiche MartensReynaldo Saludares, Rachel Dunn, Stella Wang and Ava Wardecki. Photo / Babiche MartensKate Grant, Angelina Ashcroft and Jayne Henry. Photo / Babiche MartensKennedy Anderson and Oliver Tyack. Photo / Babiche MartensKate Smith, Caroline Springhall, Claire Barnes and Bevan Tonks. Photo / Babiche Martens

Winners

Emma Lewisham. Photo / Babiche MartensDanielle Lagos. Photo / Babiche MartensKelly Manu. Photo / Babiche MartensBianka Dalton. Photo / Babiche MartensFrancesca Pagnuzzi. Photo / Babiche MartensImogen Sutcliffe. Photo / Babiche MartensCharlotte Laville. Photo / Babiche MartensJayne Henry, Angelina Ashcroft and Kate Grant. Photo / Babiche MartensTanya Pene. Photo / Babiche MartensKasia Stanicich and Danielle Lagos. Photo / Babiche MartensMichael Mendel. Photo / Babiche MartensJackie Ashley. Photo / Babiche MartensThe Glow Lab team. lPhoto / Babiche MartensNicky Shore. Photo / Babiche MartensClaire Barnes. Photo / Babiche MartensAnnemarie Mason. Photo / Babiche MartensOliver Tyack and Kennedy Anderson. Photo / Babiche MartensEmma Lewisham and Becca Haegar. Photo / Babiche MartensRenai Hagstrom. Photo / Babiche MartensThe Pop Publicity team. Photo / Babiche MartensAshleigh Scott. Photo / Babiche MartensJulia Juhasz, Leandi van der Walt and Amanda Vela. Photo / Babiche MartensGrace Connew and Anna Lawson. Photo / Babiche Martens

Highlights

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More Viva Beauty Awards 2026

Meet all the winners from this year’s Viva Beauty Awards 2026; go behind-the-scenes with our judging panel; and learn about other leading brands who took out the top prizes below.