The best beauty products to launch in January

SKIN

If you made a commitment to take care of your skin in 2021, Hush and Hush have launched a new trio of plant-based supplements, SkinCapsules, to target everything from dullness to dryness to breakouts from within the skin. Vichy’s latest incredible launch is a hyaluronic acid serum like no other, with vitamin C and the power to reduce fine lines up to in 6 weeks. Chanel has added a lotion to their cult Le Lift anti-ageing range; Le Lift Lotion contains firming and hydrating ingredients and will remove any pesky make-up left over from cleansing while prepping the skin for your next products.

How desperate are you to get back into a Penneys right now? Well, awaiting you, amongst fluffy socks and even fluffier pyjamas, are two new skincare collections from PS Beauty. There’s the Future’s Bright collection, with prices from €3.50, that contains four products; a jelly cleanser,  gel moisturiser, a serum and a glycolic toner. There’s also a new range called Booster Serums, which is a trio of serums at €4 each, with a 0.5 % retinol, 2% hyaluronic acid, and 10% niacinamide. We miss you, Penneys.

Caudalie have reformulated five of their brilliant Vinoclean cleansers with new, 100% recycled and recyclable plastic. Not familiar with the range? Take your pick of textures as there’s something for all preferences; there’s foam, oil, milk, gel and lotion, with each suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin.

Has excessive hand-washing and sanitizing absolutely ravaged your poor hands? Cult French skincare brand Avène have a solution for you. The Cilcafate range is designed to repair your skin’s barrier, is suitable for babies and children and comes in products for the skin, the lips and now, the hands. Their latest hand cream will keep hands nourished and hydrated through five washes, while soothing and repairing irritated skin.

Soap is officially cool again, and L’Occitane has just launched a new soap collection, made with at least 78% vegetable oils, in mood-boosting colours and energizing scents like lemon and tangerine and rosemary and clary sage. The Bonne Mère collection comes without packaging and the Shea Butter collection, in eco-friendly packaging, will nourish hands ravaged by over-washing. There are also two-in-one Scrubbing Soaps, in almond and shea butter, that gently exfoliate while leaving the skin soft. Prefer something with a little more grit? The new Ole Henriksen Lemonade Scrub is a sugary formula with chemical and physical exfoliators that’ll ditch your dead skin. 

If exfoliation is really your passion, you need to know about the new launch from the King of Acids, Dr Dennis Gross. His cult hero Alpha Beta Peel now comes as a body exfoliator, meaning you now have a full-body facial in a wipe. If you have dry, rough skin, if you have an uneven skin tone on your body, if you have ingrown hairs, spots or keratosis pilaris, you can now wipe them off your body with this new all-over body towel.

MAKE-UP

It was a big month for lipstick launches, with incredible new formulas that don’t budge, plump the lips and keep them hydrated all day from Charlotte Tilbury, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Nars and YSL; you can read about those in detail right here.

Chanel’s spring make-up collection Les Fleurs de Chanel launched this month, and it’s just the update your make-up bag needs if you’re feeling grey-faced. Inspired by flowers (for spring? This time it’s groundbreaking) and Mademoiselle Chanel’s beloved camellia, there are earthy tones and petal pinks in blush, eyeshadow, mascara, lipsticks and nail varnishes that will see you through to summer.

MAC also launched a new collection this month, Moon Masterpiece, with lipsticks, highlighter, blush and eyeshadows in electric shades to set the tone for the new year, all perfectly packaged in pop art.

Lancôme just launched the new Lash Idôle Mascara, a clump-free, 24-hour wonder mascara with 125 different sized bristles and 360 mini bristles to ensure you reach every bit of every lash for your most lifted lashes ever.

If you’re looking for the perfect light foundation, there are three new ones just launched for all your five-minute pre-Zoom preparation needs. The Ordinary’s new concealer, affordable as ever at just €5.80, is full coverage but leaves skin looking like skin and it won’t settle into your pores or fine lines (more on that here), and coming January 29 is Urban Decay’s Stay Naked Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator for dewy, comfy skin with 24-hour coverage and skincare-packed ingredients. If you prefer a matte, meet Clarins Everlasting Foundation and Concealer for long-lasting, long-wearing coverage and skincare benefits in 35 shades.

PERFUME

For Chanel, the lion is a special totem. She was a superstitious Leo and her apartment was filled with lion sculptures. Today, you’ll find lions pressed onto Chanel blushers and eyeshadows, embellished on brooches, belts and jewellery and inspiring the latest of the Les Exclusifs perfume range in Le Lion De Chanel, a warm and deeply oriental fragrance that is dying to be worn out on a late night.

In sunnier scents, Tom Ford’s Costa Azzurra, now in a sleek, elegant gold flacon, is unmistakably a holiday scent. Take an olfactory journey and scent your way to a summer holiday in the Mediterranean with this blend of sea air, fresh citrus and woody notes. Another sunshine-drenched scent is the new Lemon Island from Atelier Cologne, a fresh, light fragrance with lemons from the Indian Ocean, Madagascan vanilla and jasmine from India.

There are three, light as air spring editions of Marc Jacobs Daisy to see you through the end of winter and a new fragrance duo from Hugo Boss; Boss The Scent Pure Accord, with a gingery warmth scent for him and a musky scent for her.

The latest from Jo Malone London is Scarlet Poppy, a new addition to the Intense Collection, which are fragrances created from treasured ingredients from around the world. Scarlet Poppy, containing poppys from the steppes of Asia, is deep, sophisticated and rich and packaged in a sumptuous red bottle.

TAN

Finally, if tan is giving you the much-needed confidence boost to get you through the day, there are two great new collections to know about. Irish tanning leaders Bellamianta have partnered with Maura Higgins on a seven-piece collection of tanning mousse and water, shimmering glow mists and bronzer for sunkissed skin. Bondi Sands have launched a new range, Pure, packaged in ethically sourced, 100% recyclable packaging. The range is entirely colourless and scent-free and comes with skincare benefits like hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and vitamin E.