SMART THINKING

Whether you want to fight the sun’s harmful rays, add a burst of hydration to your skin, get an all-round glow or enhance your beauty sleep, we’ve got the top products to help you look your best.

Twelve of the best beauty buys to make you look and feel fabulous this season.

01 SUN DEFENCE

Forget about sunscreens that leave skin with a ghostly white film – Dermalogica’s all-skin-type-friendly Invisible Physical Defense SPF30 ($103) has landed. The game-changing weightless formulation glides onto skin and blends easily onto all skin tones, protecting skin from UVA and UVB rays as well as providing added blue-light protection. “We’re really excited to have a physical sunscreen that will suit the diverse cultural make-up of New Zealand – meaning it will be invisible on all skin colours and is soothing enough for all skin types, and ages from six months,” says head of education for Dermalogica New Zealand, Caroline Parker.

“WE’RE EXCITED TO HAVE A SUNSCREEN THAT WILL SUIT THE CULTURAL MAKE-UP OF NZ.” CAROLINE PARKER, DERMALOGICA NEW ZEALAND

02 BRIGHT IDEA

As much as we love warm summer days, spending too much time soaking up the sun’s rays can wreak havoc on our complexions. Sisley Phyto-Blanc Le Concentré Pure Bright Activating Serum ($580) is the perfect postsummer skin solution as an innovative combination of pigmentation-fighting ingredients works to restore clarity and radiance to skin. With repeated use, skin is visibly brighter, dark spots are less apparent and skin is well protected from further damage.

03 FACE TIME

Gone are the days where your serum just targeted just one skin concern. The latest addition to the Snowberry skincare collection, Youth Renewing Face Serum ($110), is a clever multitasking formulation that works to enhance skin tone, radiance, resilience and youthfulness while reducing the appearance of pores. The nourishing formula is powered by Snowberry’s eProlex triple peptide complex – a blend of three peptides that target different areas of the skin, helping to plump skin and reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

04 HYDRATE HAIR

Your skin isn’t the only thing that needs hydration; summer leaves our tresses parched, too. Joico’s new HydraSplash

Collection ($38) restores lustre, hydration and volume to hair. With a shampoo, conditioner, masque and leave-in treatment that all provide round-the-clock hydration, dry locks are transformed into soft and shiny tresses in no time at all.

05 EYE SPY

The delicate skin surrounding the eyes is often the first place to reveal the signs of ageing. However, it’s not always an easy area to care for when it comes to skincare – dark circles and discolouration that plague the area are stubborn and call for innovative skincare science to really see results. La Prairie White Caviar Eye Extraordinaire ($865) is enriched with a game-changing illuminating molecule called Lumidose. By targeting chromatic disturbances that dull the skin, the clever formulation is able to enhance skin luminosity, while golden caviar extract boosts collagen production, strengthening the skin surrounding the eye.

06 RISE & SHINE

A change in seasons can disrupt skin, causing it to become unbalanced and in need of extra love. Drunk Elephant F-Balm Electrolyte Waterfacial ($89 from Mecca) features a blend of moisturising and barrier-replenishing ingredients that restore hydration and suppleness. Use it as an overnight mask to rise and shine with hydrated, happy skin.

07 BEAUTY SLEEP

Aesop Sublime Replenishing Night Masque ($170) is set to redefine the meaning of beauty sleep. Packed with nourishing vitamins – B, C, E and F – the soothing gel-cream formula helps repair and rejuvenate skin as you get much-needed shut-eye. “Sublime Replenishing Night Masque is ideal for nurturing skin when a life well-lived has taken a toll,” says Dr Kate Forbes, Aesop’s Innovation Director. “Parched skin will relish the immediate and sustained hydration it provides while skin-nourishing vitamins help to even and brighten the appearance of skin dulled or fatigued by life’s excesses.”

08 BASE CAMP

Creating the perfect base is all the difference between a foundation that stays put and one that doesn’t. Primer queen Laura Mercier has launched the Pure Canvas Primer collection ($65) – five new skincare-focused primers that guarantee a flawless base every time. And because no two skin types are the same, Mercier has created five unique formulations that talk to skin needs such as radiance, hydration and pore perfection.

09 NIGHT SERUM

New Night Reboot Serum ($120) is the star of YSL’s recently launched Pure Shots skincare collection which features skinhealth-restoring botanical ingredients in their purest forms. The unique exfoliator-in-oil has been designed to help you make the most of your beauty sleep. Moonlight cactus extract enhances the skin’s barrier, protecting skin cells, while glycolic acid gently sloughs away dead cells so you rise and shine with smoother, glowing skin.

11 TREATMENT TIME

Treatment-inspired skincare products are big news in the beauty world right at the moment. Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Accelerated Clarity Renewing Ampoules ($180) is the latest launch that we have promptly added to our beauty routine. The intensive 14-day treatment has been formulated with a powerful array of skin-changing ingredients – activated vitamin C, glycolic, lactic and phytic acids, and active antioxidant Bisabolol – that work to regenerate the skin and improve clarity and radiance.

12 EYESHADOW

One can never have too many nude eyeshadows ... and no one does a great neutral hue like Bobbi Brown. The limited-edition Bobbi Brown Nude Drama Eye Palette ($130) celebrates 16 must-have nude shades that are perfect for creating an array of beauty looks. The palette includes shimmering shades as well as beautiful mattes, which means there’s something for every occasion.

10 BESPOKE BB

Imagine if your favourite BB cream was formulated with your unique skin concerns in mind. The scientists at Clinique did just that. The end result is Clinique iD Dramatically Different Moisturizing BB-gel ($75), a first-of-its-kind custom-blend BB cream that addresses your unique skin concerns. The BB-gel does a lot more than simply provide skin with a subtle hint of radiant colour. It has been designed to be combined with Clinque’s Active Cartridges. Pick a cartridge – there are six of them to choose from that target everything from fatigue to uneven skin tone and lines and wrinkles

– combine with the BB-gel, and you have a bespoke formulation that combines the best of both worlds.

“ONE CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY NUDE EYESHADOWS.”