Spring has sprung which is the perfect time to add some newness to your beauty regime. These are the newest launches for spring 2023 that have caught the team's attention.
Finally, spring is here, along with a huge drop of new beauty buys to switch up your skin, hair and makeup for the new season. We have rich pickings this week - a glowy (not glittery) foundation from buzz US brand Saie, a hydrating but lightweight new serum from Ren, and a new highlighter from Rare Beauty (regular readers will know we’re obsessed with all of Selena Gomez beauty products). Let's go!
The perfect base: Saie Glowy Super Skin Foundation, £34
"We all have our own requirements of a foundation: mine has to be sheer to medium, properly hydrating and decidedly glowy (not glittery). Saie is a new brand whose stock-in-trade is glowy makeup, so I’m not surprised their base is perfection for me. Boasting a formula of 15% pigments and 85% skin serum, the stuff is completely weightless, majors on quenching humectants (hyaluronic, polyglutamic, glycerin, plus squalane and peptides), subtly perfects and even and leaves the most beautiful understated gleam, just like really healthy skin. It comes in 22 shades (36 in the States). Smashed it." Ingeborg van Lotringen, Contributing Beauty Editor
The blurring booster: Balance Me Niacinamide Complexion Booster Serum, £33
“Boosters are a great way to treat a skin issue and Balance Me’s latest launch (which joins its new Ceramide Barrier Booster) is for anyone in search of a glow up, whether that’s knocking back pigmentation, damping down oiliness or dealing with the signs of stress such as dullness, dryness or fine lines. Niacinamide is like a heat-seeking missile, it finds your issue and sorts it and this light watery formula with an effective seven per cent of the active ingredient.”" Victoria Woodhall, GTG Editorial Director
The gentle but gorgeous hair care: Necessaire Shampoo and Conditioner, £30 each
"Necessaire is a brand that only creates product if they are necessary (hence the name). We of course need to wash our hair so a shampoo and conditioner are needed but what is also required are products that care for the health of our scalp and integrity of our hair. These do that by not containing sulphates, parabens and fragrance and majoring on hyaluronic acid and niacinamide instead, both of which soothe irritated scalps and hydrate the hair.” SJ Corfield-Smith, GTG Beauty Director
The new season hydrator: Ren Clean Skincare Marine Moisture Restore Serum, £40
“I feel like all I talk about is how dry my skin is, thanks to Roaccutane! A new discovery I’ve added into my routine is this moisturising serum. Like all Ren skincare it’s suitable for sensitive and sensitised skin and it has a fluid gel consistency. It contains two different types of algae, hyaluronic acid and wild rosella all of which deliver hydration to the skin. So much so that the brand says the serum delivers 72 hours of moisture. My skin is loving it, literally drinking it up when I put it on morning and night and it leaves it feeling softer and smoother instantly.”Christina Callaghan, GTG Commercial Director
The pigment rich lip balm: Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Cherry, £23
"My latest addition to my sizeable lip balm stash is this sweet cherry red lip butter balm which leaves your lips hydrated, and soothed, with no stickiness whatsoever. Ideal for when your lips are feeling parched and chapped but want a bit of something as it delivers the perfect amount of pigment. You can even use this as an overnight lip treatment, but I’d recommend the clear shade, Vanilla, £23, for that to avoid any pigment transfer on to your pillow." Amy Rostas, GTG Beauty and Social Media Assistant
The face oil with a twist: Herbar The Face Oil, £65
"I love the cool '70s vibe of this bottle of oil, but its good looks are backed up by a good product: a hard-working blend of soothing hemp, smoothing rosehip, age-defying bakuchiol, antioxidant vitamin E and adaptogenic mushrooms. It’s non-greasy and it smells nutty enough to accidentally confuse it with a cooking oil. Best of all, it comes with its own lymph-draining mushroom massager that looks like something out of a fairy tale. How lovely." IvL
The nail rehab polish: Leighton Denny Renovate Shield and Base Coat, £14
"I’ve gone from being someone who never has a mani (can’t sit still long enough) and hides their unloved nails in photos, to the person that does a regular Sunday night ‘nail facial’. It’s all thanks to nail legend Leighton Denny who gave me this strengthening base coat that acts rather like a builder gel, but used alone with two coats gives a glazed donut effect for natural nails. The result is that my natural nails are finally presentable, they don’t flake and are for once camera-ready. If you’re taking a break from manis this is a your perfect rehab." VW
The hybrid moisturiser: Clarins Hydra-Essential Matte Gel, £38
“My oily-combination skin never needs moisturiser. Most are too heavy and a layer of vitamin C serum and daily SPF gives my skin everything it needs. Then I discovered this gel cream, which although described as a moisturiser I would put in its own category between serum and moisturiser. It has a blue gel texture that melts into a serum consistency and it leaves a gorgeous matte, but not flat, finish. It has the divine Clarins scent which makes everything seem better. A must-try for fellow oily skin types and my husband has been loving it too.” SJCS
The cult French cleansing oil: Oh My Cream Cleansing Oil, £34
"This silky cleansing oil smells divine and I leave it on my skin for a few seconds to let it lift everything off before rinsing it away. My skin feels so soft afterwards.. Oh My Cream (in case you haven’t heard of them), is not only a range of products but a chain of beauty concept stores in France and now here in the UK, stocking the best products from other brands such as Sunday Riley, Tata Harper and Augustinus Bader. This is the best-seller from their own range and I can see why." CC
The product to make your skin look like glass: Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter in Exhilarate, £23
"I find Selena Gomez beauty videos fascinating whether it's her skincare or makeup routine, I’m also a big fan of her brand and I think Rare Beauty has the best blush ever. The newest product is this powder highlighter, it comes in four versatile shades and leaves the skin with a high sheen finish. I love using this on the high points of my face to help lift and add life back into my skin. The powder is extremely pigmented so a little goes a long way." AR
The overnight lip plumper: Ole Henriksen Pout Preserve Peptide Lip Treatment, £17
"I swear by putting on a lip treatment before bed: lips have no oil glands and and an exceptionally thin barrier so are among the areas most prone to dehydration and forming lines. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know that a ‘treatment’ (invariably a pricier proposition) is any better than a mere lip balm, especially if the latter has a good combo of humectants, barrier lipids and occlusives, but I like the thought of a product that works even harder. This balm, with the consistency of a thick lip gloss, keeps lips nice and comfy and throws in collagen-supporting peptides and plant butters to work on keeping lips plump while you sleep. It has a lovely orange scent (that doesn’t irritate my lips - very rare for any fragrance), and is half the price of most lip treatments." IvL
The true eco beauty revolution: Kankan Body Cleanser in New Leaf, £18
“Aluminium is infinitely recyclable making it the perfect choice of packaging for concious beauty brand and I love the look of this body wash can (there are also hand washes on offer). For a short time it comes with the reusable pump included in the price, that you simply screw into the can. However, you can choose to pour the product into your own eco bottle of choice. The product smells divine, is vegan and cruelty free and for every can bought a tree is planted. This is eco beauty not only done well but with serious conviction.” SJCS
The sculpting stick: Merit Bronze Balm in Seine, £32
"Whether you apply your bronzer on top of your foundation or you dabble with the new underpainting makeup technique by Mary Phillips (Bella Hadid’s makeup artist) this creamy bronzing stick from Merit can be used in various ways. It creates a gorgeous bronzed but also contoured effect. As a balm, it’s quite sheer, but the coverage is buildable, easy to blend, and leaves a creamy sheen finish. All Merit products are formulated without any acne-triggering ingredients so this is a perfect cream bronzer for anyone." AR