Could a miracle foundation sponge from Japan be the secret weapon your make-up bag has been missing? How about a sensitive skin friendly cream blush from Scandinavia? We’ve scoured the globe for the best new beauty finds and be warned you’re going to want the lot…
Made In The US Of A
Fun, uplifting, and with a focus on clever ingredients (and even better results) we highly recommend that you acquaint yourself with this totally a.w.e.s.o.m.e lot.
LAQA & Co aims to arm women with quality, easy to use beauty products – a philosophy perfectly summarised by their rather saucy, high-gloss Sheer Lip Lubes, £14.00.
Desperately need a facial but can’t fork out the $? Try Tammy Fender Epi-Peel, £60 which refines pores and draws out impurities, leaving a smooth and flawless face.
Based minutes from the beach in LA’s hip Santa Monica district, Hourglass’s innovative makeup is a regular sellout in UK stores. Try the Modernist Palette in Monochrome, £56.00 – It’s five, richly pigmented and creamy eyeshadows make for hours of fun.
Those prone to breakouts should try Cane & Austin Miracle Pads, £47 which use Glycolic Acid and witch hazel to cleanse, tone and prevent imperfections.
CO Bigelow’s zingy Rosemary Mint Body Cleanser, £14smells good enough to eat - But please don’t. Instead lather up in its luxurious bubbles and reap the benefits of a nourishing and soothing aloe vera blend.
The cooling, calming Shaveworks Cool Fix Lip and Brow Formula, £21 instantly soothes waxed, threaded or tweezed skin, reducing redness and preventing ingrown hairs. Handy!
We heart the kitsch, design, 90’s pastel colour palette, and reasonable price point of Floss Gloss LTD Nail Lacquers. This week we are working Wavepool, £7.
Makeup artist Rose Marie Swift pioneered the natural makeup movement and is loved by models and celebrities alike and. Gwneth Paltrow, Miranda Kerr and Gisele swear by the lip2Cheek balms, £28.00. If it’s good enough for them...
Teeth grinding (often the result of stress), can cause facial discomfort, tooth pain and ear ache. Luckily H.Gillerman Clear Mind Jaw Cleanching Remedy, £36 contains a potent oil blend to relieve and soothe the situation for sufferers.
Founded by a chemist and his daughter in Pennsylvania (cute right?), Jao Brand produces natural, uplifting, and multipurpose products. Try Goe Oil All Over Body Oil, £35 which transforms even the driest skin, removes makeup and serves as a super-duper hair mask too.
Aussie Approved
A super-cool aesthetic and some serious respect for natural ingredients defines the best of the bunch from Aus. Cue a set of products you’ll be positively proud to put on your #shelfie.
Founded by Aussie Supermodel Miranda Kerr, Kora Organics harnesses potent blends of natural oils. We are particualrly partial to the Luxurious Rosehip Body Oil, £45 which instantly illuminates and hydrates.
We first found Frank Original Scrub, £11.95 on instagram, begged a international shipment and were fast hooked on it’s ground coffee, sea salt and peppermint blend which transforms cellulite, stretch marks, scars and acne with almost miraculous results. Now available in Blighty – Buy. It. Now.
A seriously moisturising serum and a broad spectrum SPF30 in one - Supergoop City Sunscreen Serum, £35 protects you from both aging and the sun and works a treat under makeup too.
Swapping chemicals for high quality botanicals, O&M brings you salon-ready results without the nasties. Oh and the prettiest packaging too. Try the brilliant Original Queenie Firm Hold Hairspray, £22.50
Love Ludie’s 100% Soy Candles are hand-poured in Bells Beach Australia. We love the Cucumber + Rockmelon Candle, $34.95 – fresh blend of honeydew melon, green cucumber and tart apples.
Cold pressed, organic coconut oil and aloe vera in Cocooil’s After Sun Lime Coconut Oil, £13.00(which, by the way, smells good enough to eat), soothes and repairs sun-exposed skin.
The Scandi Band
Our Scandi counterparts remain a constant source of beauty inspiration; we want their niche fragrance wardrobes, all-natural ingredients and seriously hardworking skincare. Given the option we’d most likely take their genes too.
Swedish fragrance house Byredo creates distinct, chic and impossibly cool eau’s. Their Bal d’Afrique Bath Oil, £88 will almost certainly cause you to spend a disproportionate amount of time in the tub.
& Other Stories regularly makes its way into our wardrobe and beauty cabinet. Strip off and scrub up with Belleville Bakery Body Scrub, £7 - Your newly soft limbs will thank you.
BioEffect EGF Day Serum, £110, contains a Nobel-prize-winning ingredient called Epidermal Growth Factor, which is proven to hugely boost the renewal of skin cells - hence the rather expensive price tag.
Stockholm-born beauty brand, Sachajuan combines paired-back packaging, luxe ingredients and skin-soft scents in this ever-so moreish Shiny Citrus Body Wash, £22.
The high levels of Retinol used in Verso skincare are an impressive eight times more effective than other non-prescription products, making their products a hot ticket for those wanting to reduce wrinkles and discolouration. Try Facial Serum With Retinol 8, £95.
Danish-born, New-York-based make-up artist Kirsten Kjær Weis created her own brand of all-organic products that are as kind to the environment as they are to the face, without compromising on colour or formulations. The Cream Blush in Blossoming, £38, is an A-list fave.
European Union
Boasting some of the world’s best pharmacies and beauty boutiques, Europe is the hot spot for all things bright and erm, beautiful. Even the toothpaste is ridiculously, ridiculously good looking.
Christophe Robin started his career aged 14 in a local salon in Eastern France and now his namesake products are used worldwide. The Clarifying Shampoo with Camomile and Cornflower, £25, is a must for bleached blondes.
Dr.Alberto created Couto Pasta Dentifrica, £9, in 1932 and it’s been a cult product amongst many pearly white-owning Italians ever since. Have you ever seen a toothpaste so sexy?
If there was an Oscars for skincare then Biologique Recherche’s Lotion P50, £52, deserves a lifetime achievement award. Beauty insiders have called on its exfoliating, skin smoothing benefits for years.
Oriental Beauty Express
Pioneers of truly innovative technology and wonderfully quirky designs, East Asia is fast becoming the world’s most sort-after destination for beauty junkies. Egg white face wash, anyone?
Herborist skincare is rooted in both traditional Chinese medicine and ritual massage. The T’ai Chi Black Mask, £59.95, is particularly special; with a two-step system based on Yin & Yang.
Egg whites aren’t just for omelettes - they’re also the star ingredient in Mizon’s Egg White Bubble Cleanser, £19, which is fast becoming a cult product amongst beauty insiders.
With summer (hopefully), around the corner, it’s time to get ahead on your grooming game. Japanese Exfoliating Towel, £3.50, makes smoother, softer limbs that much easier to achieve.
Japanese celebrity, Aya Yasude couldn’t find a mascara that ticked all of her boxes so created Fairy Drops Scandal Queen Mascara, £18.50. We have to say the lengthening, volumising benefits of the unique bobbled brush are really rather impressive.
This is not just a sponge! This is an all-singing, all-dancing Binchotan Charcoal Facial Puff, £18, by cool Japanese brand Morihata. Using a concoction of pure vegetable fibres and Binchotan charcoal powder, it gently exfoliates and balances skin’s natural PH level. Just add water.
This article originally appeared in Grazia Magazine by Rose Beer and Joely Walker.