Buzzing about honey
No longer just for spreading on your toast, honey is the hot new way to bee more beautiful.
Mānuka honey must be one of New Zealand’s best exports. Sure, in a taxi overseas you’re more likely to get asked about the All Blacks or Lord of the Rings, but this honey is something of a marvel.
Anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, it’s a gift to acne-prone or ageing skin. As well as eating a spoonful of the stuff whenever you feel a sore throat coming on, you might do well to look into some skincare that uses it as an active ingredient.
New Zealand’s own Manuka Doctor is a leading brand in this area, as the name would suggest. And ApiClear Blemish Cream, $18, is one to buy two at a time. Apply it the second you feel a spot coming on and you have a fighting chance – its mānuka honey and propolis are delivered in a cooling, non-shiny cream that disappears under makeup and kills bacteria.
If dehydration is your concern rather than spots, Manuka Doctor’s ApiNourish Rejuvenating Face Mask, $50, is a goer. Calming and hydrating, it uses purified bee venom along with mānuka honey to repair stressed skin. Leave this on overnight and you’ll wake up to a decidedly fresher face.
Fellow Kiwi companies Antipodes and Trilogy have also long been proponents of the sweet stuff. If you’re in the market for a new eye cream, Antipodes Manuka Honey Skin-Brightening Eye Cream, $65, could be it. Like the oft-recommended Ole Henriksen Banana Bright, this hydrating cream brings a bit of life to your under-eye area, exactly what’s often required first thing in the morning. It also smells incredible, which won’t make it more effective, but does make it pleasant to use. Especially worth trying if you sometimes find eye creams make your concealer slip around – this one is meant for oilier skins.
Moving on to your whole face, and a product best for dry skin, it’s time for Trilogy Ultra Hydrating
Face Cream, $52 for a good-sized 75ml tube. Made with rosapene and lavender as well asm ānuka honey, this rich, luxurious moisturiser doesn’t mess around. Use a little and give it some time to soak, and you’ll be left with smooth, hydrated skin. If you’ve used Weleda Skin Food before, the texture here isn’t a million miles away. It’s also good to have on hand for dry patches on hands and elbows.
The buzz about our miracle mānuka honey is catching on overseas too – L’Oreal Paris has a whole new line based around the stuff, and I’m particularly intrigued by the Age Perfect Intense Nutrition Repairing Serum, $45. Here, the honey works alongside calcium and vitamin B5 to firm and smooth skin. I’m listening, L’Oreal. The line also includes day and night creams ($40 each).
With less of a Kiwi connection but still worth your time is the cult classic Egyptian Magic, $36. While the honey isn’t mānuka, this solid oil is still a gift to dry skin. Melt it between your hands and apply as a body moisturiser, night cream or hair oil. It’s one of those hippie products that actually works, and it’s made mostly thanks to our friends, the bees. Egyptian Magic isn’t the easiest product to find in New Zealand, but it’s worth a bit of fossicking around online. Many people love it for eczema.
Last up in terms of beauty products with an apiary connection is Burt’s Bees Lip Balm, $12. Long-lasting both in terms of wear time and how long you’ll get from one tin, it’s hydrating and softening. Pop one in each of your handbags.