In our monthly Let’s Make-Up round-up, we bring you a selection of the tried and tested, freshest, and buzziest beauty launches that are worth adding to your basket.
All types of lotions and potions across makeup, skincare, haircare and more cross our desks and we take it upon ourselves to review them all so you don’t have to. If we include it below, then you know it’s a good ‘un.
This May, scent for the season you want (not the season you have) with a warm weather-appropriate aroma from Viktor&Rolf’s enduring Flowerbomb collection. And speaking of beautiful fragrances, it doesn’t get much better than Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse in which there is a new sparkling addition to the revered line-up.
Not even the false tan arena is immune to an elevation in scent where a collaboration between Tan-Luxe founder Mark Elrik and the inimitable Paris Hilton has resulted in a spritzable tanner with notes of cassis, violet and white leather.
For all this and more, see our edit of the hottest beauty drops you need on your radar.
Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or Florale
Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse is the definition of a cult product. The multitasking formula coats your skin, face and body with nourishing and restorative oils. It was created back in 1998 and has stood the test of time – in fact, one sells every seven seconds worldwide. While its quick-drying finish makes it easy to slot into your routine, its addictive aroma is likely what will keep you coming back for more. There are three fragrances; the original, Neroli and Florale – and it’s the latter that has caught our attention this month.
The new addition to the collection takes the Florale scent and steps it up a few notches with ultra-fine natural-origin pearl particles. The glimmering element offers a natural glow when applied to the body. It has the same vegan formula as its predecessors, harnesses the power of seven botanical oils including tsubaki, macadamia, argan, borage, camellia, hazelnut and sweet almond and is brimming with antioxidant power. The beautiful scent combines notes of grapefruit, orange blossom and magnolia with a white musk base.
Buy now £22.00, Sephora
BaByliss Air Wand
BaByliss’ latest launch is on hand to streamline your collection of heated tools. Instead of three different devices to dry, straighten and style, the Air Wand does it all with just two attachments. The all-in-one gadget is designed for the time-poor and crucially, does not require skill or extensive know-how to use it.
The speedy wand has your drying needs covered but switch it up and it smooths or leaves your locks poker straight, depending on which of the brush duos that you select. There is the added bonus of a built-in Ultra Care Mode to protect the health of your tresses and the space-saving solution can be slotted into your luggage and used abroad.
Buy now £120.00, BaByliss
Givenchy Beauty L’Interdit Refillable Eau de Parfum
The stalwart Givenchy Beauty L’Interdit fragrance has been redesigned in a new refillable format. The luxury French house has given its signature aroma a sustainable twist with an easy-to-fill, precise tip that slots into your existing 100ml eau de parfum. It even has a button to control the process so not a single drop of the scent need be wasted.
The floral, woody aroma is no wallflower, the sensual scent may open with white flowers but there’s an immediate dark accord. Orange blossom, jasmine and tuberose are soon enveloped with vetiver and patchouli. It was created in homage to Hubert de Givenchy's first perfume with a round squared flacon, reflecting that this is a concoction that defies convention and rules.
Buy now £67.00, The Perfume Shop
Flowerbomb Tiger Lily
Viktor&Rolf first unveiled its Flowerbomb aroma back in 2005 and it is continually one of the best-selling and most sought-after scents. Each new addition to the range comes with an element of buzz and the latest is made for summer spritzing.
Flowerbomb Tiger Lily is designed to bring ‘unapologetic authority’ to the wearer, according to the brand. It has a lively, vibrant and warming note composition with an opening of coconut milk accord balanced in sweetness by a solar floral bouquet starring the name component. As it develops, mango accord meets a base of benzoin that turns up the heat, no matter the weather outside.
Buy now £95.00, Sephora
M&S 2024 Summer Beauty Bag
Each year, M&S bundles together hugely popular products from its ever-growing beauty offering in a value pack that is always too good to miss. For 2024, it will cost just £30 for £170 worth of skin, fragrance, body and hair with six full-sized and six travel-ready minis.
Housed inside a mesh washbag, you will find Clinique, L’Occitane and Dr PawPaw stashed within. There is a catch. To be able to purchase the bumper pack, you must spend £35 at the retailer in its clothing, home or beauty departments.
Buy now £30.00, M&S
THE FUTURE by Tan Luxe x Paris Hilton
You’re not Sliving unless you’ve tried this. Paris Hilton has added another string to her bow, taking on the role of tanning ambassador and faux glow entrepreneur to join her already impressively extensive CV. After meeting Tan-Luxe founder Mark Elrik, the duo created this innovative new formula designed to change the tanning industry as we know it.
Hilton explains that she has been spray tanning for over 20 years and has channelled this expertise into a formula that is, first and foremost, easy to use as well as long-lasting and kind on parched skin. It is also scented with a very Paris Pink Sands aroma with notes of cassis, violet and white leather.
Buy now £39.00, Selfridges
Acne Studios Par Frédéric Malle
Fashion and beauty collide with this It-girl-approved collaboration between luxury Stockholm-born label Acne Studios and French fragrance house Frédéric Malle. From the label behind Victoria and David Beckham’s favourite Portrait of a Lady comes a status symbol aroma.
The floral scent has notes of rose and violet with the invigorating and zesty addition of orange blossom. From these components, you may think that this is just a classic scent composition but the infusion of incense takes it in a different direction. Aldehyde echo is at the heart, bringing a mineral quality, while the vanilla base incorporates a touch of sweetness that is enhanced by the creamy sandalwood and peach skin.
Buy now £290.00, Cult Beauty
Joonbyrd
Dr. Alexis Granite is a name that regular ES Best readers will be very familiar with. We often pick the brain of the consultant dermatologist for all sorts of skincare queries. She acts as an ambassador and fountain of knowledge for CeraVe but now the expert has unveiled her very own label.
Joonbyrd is a wellness label spearheading a new type of category that it has trademarked Affective Wellness. Its mission is to go beyond just the body with performance products that enhance your mood (that all-important mind-body connection). The five-strong collection includes a body wash, lotion, scrub, butter and serum that are refillable and are made up of specialised technology to support the microbiome and care for the skin, while also ensuring efficacy with actives and containing functional enhancers to reduce stress.
Buy now £48.00, Joonbyrd
Hair Rituel by Sisley Fortifying Densifying Shampoo
Building on the success of the brand’s Revitalizing Scalp Serum (one is sold every four minutes around the world), Sisley has harnessed the highly esteemed hair loss properties into a shampoo.
This wash day essential was created to strengthen the strands and give an overall thicker appearance using a revitalising stimulating complex. It has been put through its paces in the brand’s researched labs where they found a 66 per cent reduction in broken hair.
Buy now £69.00, Space NK
