The beauty world is ever-evolving. With an abundance of new products and formulas hitting the market each week, it can be difficult to know which ones are actually worth parting ways with your money for – that's where we come into the mix.
As a beauty team, we're here to do our due diligence by spending the month spritzing, slathering and blending our way through a plethora of newcomers to the beauty scene - from the top long-lasting perfumes to the best tubing mascaras.
In fact, April has been a busy month for new beauty launches, meaning our last few weeks have been jam-packed with testing scores of fresh formulas to see whether they're actually worth spending your hard-earned money on. Happily, these 13 buys cut through the noise and earned our seal of approval...
The new beauty launches that left our team seriously impressed this April
While we all have our trusted go-to products, we're always open to new faces working their way into our beauty routines. This month, those lucky buys include one of the best hot brushes and limited-edition summer Sol de Janeiro scents, plus much more...
RRP: £189 each
In April, ghd launched two new Glide tools – the Glide+ and Glide+ Max. New and improved sister devices to the brand's original Glide Hot Brush, these two new brushes have been updated with snag-free bristles, upgraded technology and faster heat-up times. While the Glide+ Max has been designed with longer, thicker and curlier hair types specifically in mind, boasting an extra-large paddle brush with bigger plates that allow ultra-smooth, frizz-free results in just one stroke.
RRP: £13.99
"April is over, payday is nigh, and if you’ve got a few bob burning a hole in your pocket, I’d advise giving Maybelline’s first tubing mascara a little click. Here’s the pitch: tubing mascaras never smudge or flake off because they form tubes on your lashes instead of painting them. Sounds weird, but stick with me. This specific tuber is particularly good because it creates unusual amounts of length, flutter and definition - and it costs the princely sum of £13. The phrase impulse buy was invented for treats like this, no?"
~ Fiona McKim, Beauty Channel Editor at woman&home
RRP: £9.99
Designed to be applied to wet or towel-dried hair, this pre-styling treatment aims to give fine, flat hair an ultimate voluminous boost – without having to even pick up your styling tools. It's enriched with peptides that work to strengthen the hair's protein structure, giving the hair flexible grip and protecting it against temperatures of up to 230°C. Unlike other volume-boosting formulas, which have left my fine strands feeling sticky and looking greasy, this truly weightless primer could not be detected in my tresses. Yet it still delivered visible lift, shape and lightweight bounce, plus a healthy-looking shine, something that doesn't come naturally to my limp, fine hair.
RRP: £31
"If you struggle with dull, tired-looking under-eyes, Laura Mercier's new setting powders are a must-have. I've been loving the 'Soft Pink' shade for its subtle but brightening effect. The finely-milled formula is available in five colour-correcting shades and not only helps to illuminate, but also soothes and blurs the under-eye area with nourishing ingredients like glycerin and a coconut-derived emollient. It's so easy to just dust or press on, and I've found it really helps my concealers to last and not separate."
~ Naomi Jamieson, Digital Beauty Writer at woman&home
RRP: £9.99
I pride myself on my ability to spot a good concealer, having tried everything from luxury, high price point buys to drugstore formulas that don't cost more than a couple of pounds. This ultra-slim concealer stick from Sephora Collection falls into the Venn diagram category of being affordable and having earned my seal of approval. Despite what you might think of a stick, this concealer is incredibly creamy, gliding onto the skin and seamlessly blending in, without looking cakey or losing coverage. Its micro-tip allows for a precise and controlled application, depositing the product only where you desire it. Plus, its medium to high coverage corrects everything you want, while ensuring a skin-like finish.
RRP: £19.95
"I’m always chopping and changing what I wash my face with - do I want a gentle cream, fresh gel or the nourishing oil today? You see where this is going because, as the name suggests, this cocktails every flavour of face wash into one affordable tube. The texture is a fun shapeshifter; the formula’s got peptides and niacinamide in it, which is a help, and my skin feels supremely soft and sparkly after using it. One caveat: as the owner of sensitive eyes, this is a skin-only cleanser and not really one for taking your mascara off with (use a bit of micellar for that instead)."
~ Fiona McKim, Beauty Channel Editor at woman&home
RRP: £27
"Buildable and beautifully dewy, Lisa Eldridge's new Velatura Balms are the key to achieving a fresh and natural-looking blush. The formula is lightweight and so easy to blend out - I use the shade Hellebore Heaven, which is a lovely berry tone that mirrors my natural flush really well, though there are four other very chic shades to choose from too. Unlike some blush balms, these last very well and look just as flattering on the lips as they do on your cheeks."
~ Naomi Jamieson, Digital Beauty Writer at woman&home
RRP: £165
If you're on the hunt for a scent that transports you to the sunny Amalfi Coast, let us introduce you to Acqua Di Parma's new Buongiorno collection. While the range makes home to five new fragrances, you can trial the entire lineup at once with this set of five 10ml Eau de Parfums. Housed in gorgeous ribbed glass bottles with colourful lids, each blend represents small gestures and moments and translates them into a fragrance. My personal favourite? Buongiorno Al Bacio – a woody musky scent with notes of bergamot, orange flower water, neroli, musk and white woods. This fragrance transports me to sitting in a Sicilian bar overlooking the blue seas, truly delightful.
RRP: £45
It's no secret that I'm a fan of the Oribe Supershine Moisturising Cream for lightweight nourishment of my tangle-prone fine hair. However, with many using this cream to create sleek updos and keep unwanted frizz and flyaways at bay, the brand has answered customers' wants with the newest addition to the range – the Supershine Smoothing Wax Stick. This creamy balm features all the conditioning benefits of the cream to allow for polished, flake-free and frizz-free styling. Boasting flexible hold, this buildable hair wax offers smoothing haircare in a nifty stick format.
RRP: £19
Up until now, my search for the perfect bronzer has been no easy feat. I've tried scores of them in hopes of finding a formula that doesn't leave my complexion patchy nor with a tangerine tinge, but this new launch from Morphe has swanned in and taken the top spot in my daily makeup routine. While this buy arrives with both a satin cream and a powder formula, the former takes the top spot for me. Not only is it super blendable, it's sheer enough to provide a subtle and natural-looking sun-kissed glow, while also boasting the ability to be built up for a more defined finish. I also have to hail its long-lasting, seamless nature, which doesn't go patchy or streaky on my skin.
RRP: £120
Meet the newest skincare innovation from Zelens, the Collagen Solution Firming Serum. Aiming to transform the appearance of lacklustre complexions, this silky formula boasts a proprietary CM-5S botanical complex and a plant-based, skin-identical collagen polypeptide to encourage a more resilient skin barrier. In turn, it aims to smooth fine lines and boost firmness and elasticity. The luxurious milky elixir is also ultra-lightweight and hydrating, which makes for comfortable wear, not to mention it also left my skin with a radiant and plumper appearance.
RRP: £25 each
Summertime is right around the corner, which means one thing – Sol de Janeiro is back with its trio of limited-edition summer scents. Designed to be layered and lived in, these perfume mists instantly transport you to golden beaches, warm breezes and carefree Brazilian summer days. My favourite of the three, Cheeky Biquíni is a true fruity scent with notes of apricot nectar, crushed orange blossom and sheer vanilla for a free-spirited summer aroma. The other two mists in the lineup include Limonada Gelada, a fresh coastal perfume with rainforest orchid, sea breeze, Brazilian blue cactus, and Refresco Paraíso, which includes notes of Brazilian lemonade accord, coconut milk, and brown sugar.
RRP: £34.99
Forget dealing with messy pipette serums, RoC's latest serum launch arrives in the form of an easy stick that is designed to be swept over the skin. Equipped with seven concentrated forms of hyaluronic acid, pro-collagen and bio-blue peptides, this formula aims to intensely hydrate the complexion, boost elasticity and visibly plump fine lines for smoother, youthful-looking skin. Especially perfect for dry and sensitive skin types, it also feels incredibly cooling and soothing as you apply it, leaving the complexion rejuvenated.
In other news...
🧴 The Inkey Lab launches in Boots with a limited-edition skincare product drops every 8 weeks
💅 Townhouse x Champneys partner up to bring luxury nail services into the iconic UK spa estate
🌿 Sustainable self-care brand, Commune launches a new monthly Slow Scent workshops exploring the art of natural perfumery
☀️ Merit Beauty extends their Uniform SPF range to include five new shades
🛵 You can now shop the weekly Boots £10 Tuesday sale now on UberEats, with delivery in as little as 30 minutes
🪒 Estrid launches their bestselling razor in a miniature design to make for easy hair removal while on the go
‼️ Having tested dozens of new products this month, we have to give honourable mentions to other notable newbies, such as the Huda Beauty Strawberry Latte collection, Glow Recipe's Watermelon Milk Peptide Glow Cushion Cream, the Jones Road Blushing Stick and UKHAIR Advanced Hair Supplements.
