September often feels like a new year. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, it’s back to school season. In the southern hemisphere, it’s the onset of spring, and a reminder to us all all that summer is just around the corner. It’s a time for fresh energy and renewed rituals – a new scent, updated skincare, or easy makeup innovations designed to streamline your morning.
It’s also the beginning of party season, where brands begin to roll out new launched designed to make us feel and look our social best. From French cleansers to Korean wrapping masks to button-inspired eyeshadow, all our beauty favourites for September, below.
Fendi Eaux d’Artiface
Fendi’s return to fragrance has been a triumph. Eau d’Artiface is a scented interpretation of high jewellery sitting on a neckline – juniper, herbs, salty aquatic notes with a metallic finish, like a coin tossed into the Trevi fountain. It’s delicate but undeniably opulent.
CHANEL Beauty Les 4 Ombres Boutons Quad Eye Shadow
Eye shadow inspired by the buttons on a CHANEL tweed jacket? Say less. Like all CHANEL makeup, this quad is pigmented, but still very wearable. I love the Mademoiselle colourway, the pinks are fresh and the taupe is perfect for every day.
Balmain Cuir Élysées
Just in from Balmain, Cuir Élysées is an interesting mix of raspberry and leather – a sweet, syrupy fruit bowl with depth. If you want to get into gourmands but don’t want to smell edible, this is a perfect harmony of warmth, wood, rose and red berries.
Raaie Tranquility Activating Water Mist
Misting is the easier way to boost your skincare or improve moisture retention without the need for a complete overhaul. Raaie’s Activating Water Mist is super fine and enriched with thermal volcanic water from New Zealand to drench the skin in moisture, while improving the absorption of your remaining skincare. I love the purity and sensorial element of all Raaie’s formulas, they’re beautiful to use and visibly improve the look and feel of your complexion.
Tom Ford Black Orchid Lipstick
If you haven’t clocked the Tom Ford Black Orchid Reserve Tilda Swinton campaign, stop what you’re doing and immediately go look. After that, take in the perfect pink-berry hue of its matching lipstick, an homage to the classic spicy floral scent the house is known for. It’s a true but classic pink – feminine and statement-making without the commitment of a red.
Ameōn Supreme Energy Frozen Essence
Summer is coming and so too are soaring temperatures. One of my favourite skincare adjacent activities is facial icing. I almost always use a roller, but recently discovered these frozen facial essence cubes from Ameōn. You simply put them in the freezer and whenever you need an instantaneous skin fix, move the cube across your face, patting the essence in throughout the process. Great for sleepless nights, redness, puffiness, hangovers and the like.
Merit Great Skin Double Cleanser
If you know you should double cleanse but can’t really be bothered, this is the cleanser for you. Merit get that people are busy, and so they created a bi-phase formula that breaks down sunscreen and makeup while deeply cleansing for soft, pure, comfortable skin.
Mimétique Skin Cloud Nourishing Cleansing Balm
More facial cleansers, but this time from French brand Mimétique, a biotech brand with the ethos that formulas should work with our skin, and not against it. Skin Cloud begins as a dense balm that liquifies into an oil and then milk, removing all signs of makeup while replenishing moisture levels. It’s very gentle, so great for reactive, sensitive skin.
Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask
While not exactly new, Medicube has just launched at David Jones and the viral wrapping mask is in stock (for now). The mask itself has some beneficial ingredients, but it also acts as a bit of an occlusive seal, locking in all your skincare for a super bouncy, plump finish when you wake up and peel it off (kind of like glad wrap.
Kosas Dreambeam Comfy Smooth Tinted Base
Kosas do great base products, and Dreambeam is no exception. It’s a light fluid that floods the skin with moisture while gently evening out skin tone (plus sun protection – but you will need a dedicated sunscreen) for either healthy-looking bare skin, or prep for makeup.
Necessaire The Deodorant Olibanum
If you want an aluminium-free deodorant that smells great, feels nice and works, Necessaire Olibanum is the one. It’s dry and comfortable, smells soft but smoky and uses both zinc and AHAs to keep your armpits dry.
Images: Nécessaire, @merit
