Ready to shake up your routine for spring? Discover our top picks of the new-season beauty buys and brands to elevate your routine.
There’s a reason why the saying “Kiwi ingenuity” exists.
New Zealand brands have always punched above their weight, attracting global attention for their sustainable practices,
innovative approach and real-life stories.
This is especially true for New Zealand beauty brands, a handful of which have gone on to experience success on a global stage, opening factories and HQs in major cities including London and New York.
There’s something special about capturing a brand in its infancy and here we introduce you to four new brands that we predict have a bright future in beauty. These sit alongside a handful of game-changing product newbies from existing brands that continue to redefine what’s possible in their respective categories.
New Launches
New Zealand tanning brand Bonnie has unveiled two new face mists.
Bonnie Boost & Bronze Face Mists
Before its second birthday, New Zealand tanning and body care brand Bonnie has launched two new face mists – one to hydrate and refresh skin, the other to impart a natural-looking faux glow.
No one understands the demands of life on the go like Bonnie founder Mary Outram, who recently welcomed her first baby, Marlow. She wanted to design two products that slot seamlessly into daily life’s demands without adding extra time or fuss.
“I wanted to add something that fits into and around your entire day rather than asking you to stop for it. Boost and Bronze are made to be used anywhere, anytime. A few mists and you move on,” Outram says.
Ideal to spritz on bare skin or over makeup during the summer months, Boost Soothing Hydration Face Mist contains a blend of vitamin B5, ectoin, allantoin, cucumber and dragon fruit extracts to hydrate, soothe and restore the skin barrier.
Building on the success of Bonnie’s Glow Gradual Tanning Face Drops comes Bronze Gradual Tanning Face Mist, the same glow-giving formula now in a new format that builds a natural-looking, streak-free tan without blending (yes, really). The formula harnesses a blend of DHA and erythrulose that develops gradually and leaves an even tan when misted over skin daily or built up over time.
The new Bonnie Face Mists are available in 100ml sizes priced at $58 each. Available from selected stockists or see Bonnieskin.com.
Sans Ceuticals’ new Infusion line includes products geared towards scalp care.
Sans [Ceuticals] Hair Infusions
Renowned for its suite of sustainably minded skin, hair and body care, Sans [Ceuticals] has a new Intelligent Hair Science range that features four targeted hair infusions designed to support hair and scalp health.
The range addresses concerns such as hair loss, scalp irritation, breakage and dullness, which founder Lucy Vincent believes don’t exist in isolation. Instead, each infusion goes deeper to target multiple biological pathways rather than masking the issue at surface level.
“Hair has always told the truth about what is happening inside the body, we just have not always had the science to listen closely enough. Intelligent Hair Science was born from that gap and every formula in this collection was built to work with the biology of the hair and scalp, addressing the problem at its source rather than concealing it at the surface,” Vincent says.
For hair loss, and to support thick, dense hair growth, the Re-gen+ Hair Booster Infusion contains a blend of active ingredients to extend the hair’s active growth phase.
For irritation and to boost scalp health, the Biotic+ Scalp Reset Infusion breaks the dandruff cycle, targeting fungal overgrowth, sebum overproduction and scalp barrier dysfunction.
For breakage, the Re-Bond+ Seal Hair Treatment restores resilience and strength by rebuilding the hydrogen and ionic bonds that make up more than 60% of the hair’s total strength.
For dull and limp hair, the pH + Shine Corrector (an existing product) dissolves hair water mineral deposits that dull colour or weigh hair down, while restoring softness and smoothness from the first use.
The Sans [Ceuticals] Hair Science range is available from Mecca or Sansceuticals.com.
Supplement brand Cadence has unveiled its new sleep mocktail powder with Sleepy Girl.
Cadence Sleepy Girl
If sleep is hard to come by, consider switching up your nighttime routine with the newest addition to join the line-up from local supplement brand Cadence.
Sleepy Girl, $50, is a cherry-flavoured powder designed to be mixed with 250ml of water and consumed an hour before bedtime. Sleep-promoting ingredients run the gamut from Meta Mag magnesium glycinate to help wind the body down to key botanicals tart cherry and chamomile that help relax muscles for quality sleep.
Unlike other forms of magnesium, which can be tricky to digest, Meta Mag magnesium glycinate is crafted with patented mineral chelation technology, meaning it’s highly absorbable and gentle on the tummy. The formulation is also sugar-free, instead using monk fruit extract for a naturally sweet taste.
Trilogy is expanding its line of natural skincare with Dewy, a range aimed at tweens and teens.
Dewy by Trilogy
Founded in 2002, Trilogy is now turning its attention to a younger demographic.
Dewy is a fragrance-free, dermatologically backed skincare line created with tween and teen skin in mind. The range was developed in response to one of the fastest-growing beauty trends on social media – kids using skincare that wasn’t actually intended for them, such as those containing adult-strength actives including retinol or acids.
Dewy meets that need with a simplified edit of four products formulated to suit the needs of young skin for those aged 11-plus, adopting a microbiome-first approach to support the skin barrier and encourage youth to develop good skin habits early.
The Dewy routine includes the Fresh Face Cleanser, $20, to gently clear oil and impurities without stripping skin; Clear Up Toner, $20, an alcohol-free toner to swipe on post-cleanse to balance oils and remove lingering surface debris; Spotless Serum, $25, to calm redness and smooth uneven skin texture on acne-prone skin; and Dream Cream, $25, a lightweight, non-greasy moisturiser to lock in hydration sans shine.
New Brands
Humble Bee Bio aims to address what it calls the “elastin gap”.
HumbleBee Bio Silk Doctrine
Most of us will be familiar with pimple patches, but one New Zealand beauty brand has unveiled a micropatch of a different kind designed to address what the founder has termed the “elastin gap”.
HumbleBee Bio this month unveiled its new Silk Doctrine micropatches developed with Elastrix, a bioactive molecule that claims to reactivate the skin’s elastin production.
Elastin acts as one of the skin’s building blocks, the protein responsible for its firmness and bounce. Elastin stores decline as we age and HumbleBee Bio founder Veronica Harwood-Stevenson says elastin production “switches off” as we enter early adulthood and declines further by the time we hit our mid-30s.
Silk Doctrine patches are formulated with key ingredient called Elastrix.
Until now, skincare has adopted a core focus on collagen, largely ignoring elastin because of how difficult it is to target.
“Despite the drastic impact loss of elastin has on the look and feel of skin, the skincare industry’s ‘gold standard’ approach to reactivating elastin production in skin hasn’t changed in over 25 years,” Harwood-Stevenson says.
Elastrix, the key ingredient in Silk Doctrine, was discovered in the silky material bees use to line their nests – Harwood-Stevenson’s discovery of the ingredient inspired a decade-long research project.
It’s delivered to skin via micropoints on each patch that dissolve upon contact with skin. Each micropatch can be applied to areas of the face where the signs of ageing are present, including the forehead and crow’s feet, with the brand claiming results are visible after four weeks of consistent use.
HumbleBee Silk Doctrine is priced at $275 for a four-week supply of patches, and is available from Humblebee.co.nz.
Mermaid’s Secret founder Victoria Shin.
Mermaid’s Secret
There were many things that Victoria Shin loved about New Zealand after relocating here from Korea in 2009 – not least diving.
Her obsession would drive her to develop a post-water ritual for skin and hair designed to be applied after she’d returned to shore.
Mermaid’s Secret is an edit of products designed for women who spend much of their time in and around water, built for their New Zealand lifestyle but harnessing traditional Korean formulation methods.
Mermaid’s Secret includes three products to restore hair and skin post-swim.
Shin worked with Korean manufacturers to build each formulation and develop key ingredient MerCell Repair Complex, which features in the range’s three products.
This ingredient couples low-molecular marine plant PDRN, full-spectrum centella complex and 300-compound aloe complex to rehydrate and nourish hair and skin after exposure to salt water or chlorine.
The range extends to the Seafoam Revive Oil-to-Foam Cleanser, $59, to gently remove sunscreen, zinc, salt and impurities without stripping skin; Sea Shield Water Cream, $62, to replenish hydration levels and leave skin comfortable and hydrated; and Sea Silk Leave-In Hair Serum, $83, to detangle and soften hair and restore shine post-swim.
Bodi is a new refillable deodorant brand housed in keep-forever cases.
Bodi
Co-founder Fiona Stanton spent two years and 39 formulations developing her refillable, natural deodorant range, Bodi.
The brand has now officially launched in Aotearoa and offers a high-performance and irritation-free alternative to the aluminium and bicarb-free options available on the market.
The formulation takes a triple-pronged approach to control odour without masking it, using ingredients such as magnesium hydroxide, triethyl citrate and zinc ricinoleate. Bodi is available in six fragrances, proving that natural deodorants can smell great, too.
“Everyone in this category is promising that you won’t smell bad, and that’s a very low bar,” Stanton says. “You put this on your skin every single morning. It should smell like something you chose, not something you settled for.”
Bodi’s scents span floral and fresh to those that lean powdery and woody, along with citrus and coconut. For those who select their deodorant for function over fragrance, there’s an unscented option, too.
The formulation is housed in a recycled plastic vessel, designed to be bought once and loved forever. The refills come in paper packaging that is home compostable and can be tossed in the garden bin after opening.
Bodi deodorant is priced from $15 for the case and $18 for the refills, available from Hapybodi.com.
Nail and cuticle care brand Cuti has released two sleep-promoting products in its Sleepy range.
Cuti Sleepy
Cuticle oil brand Cuti has unveiled its new Sleep range, including a pen and bottle format designed to live on your bedside table and applied as the final step of your beauty routine.
Designed to elevate any nighttime ritual, the restorative cuticle treatment supercharges the skin’s own overnight repair process, leaving cuticles and nails feeling nourished.
Cuti’s selection of products is made in Ōtautahi Christchurch but draws on 100% natural and organic ingredients used in rongoā Māori (traditional healing) for centuries and grown across the motu. This includes kawakawa harvested in Kerikeri and mānuka oil sourced from the Coromandel.
Sleepy’s balanced aroma is a blend of eucalyptus, spearmint and locally grown lavender from Banks Peninsula. Together, they give the sensorial signal it’s time to switch off for sleep.
“Night-time is when our skin gets to work repairing and replenishing itself, but cuticles are often overlooked in our evening routines,” co-founders Ashleigh Muir and Tessa Lyes say.
“We created Cuti Sleepy to give cuticles and nails the same overnight care we give the rest of our skin. It’s a small ritual that feels calming before bed, while helping support healthier, more hydrated cuticles by morning.”
The Cuti Sleepy Pen, $19, and Cuti Sleepy Bottle, $49, are available from Cuti.co.nz.
More beauty
Are you getting the most out of your sunscreen? What’s worth buying from Merit now that it’s available from Sephora? What’s next in skincare and appearance medicine? Beauty editor Ashleigh Cometti speaks to the experts for their hot takes.