Tonnes of New Products Landed on My Desk This Month, But These 10 Were the Best

By far my favourite launch of the month is Merit Beauty's Signature Lip Blush, which is everything I've ever wished for in a lipstick. Except, it's more of a sheer, tinted lip balm with a blurred matte finish that cloaks your lips in a soft-focus cocoon. It's more wearable than a traditional lipstick (which I find way too fussy and high-maintenance), meaning you can swipe it on without the need for a mirror and be left with a just-bitten finish. All of the shades are so wearable; however, my two favourites are Archival and Bespoke, which I'm wearing below (Hailey Bieber is also a fan of the shade, BTW). Bravo, Merit Beauty.

If you're anything like me, your hair might be feeling a little frazzled after a long winter. Thankfully, Living Proof's new Moisture Rescue Mask launched just in time to revive my lengths for spring. One of my favourite things about it is that you only have to leave it on for 5 minutes (because who has time to leave in a hair mask for 20+ minutes?), but it also deeply hydrates to leave your hair glossy, bouncy and smooth. If you're in need of a new hair mask, then I'd highly recommend you try this one. Even my hair colour looks more vibrant!

I reviewed and professed my love for the new Summer Fridays Softline Lip Liners this month, and they've become one of my favourite lip liners ever. Most lip liners tend to leave my lips feeling dry, but these don’t, and they're also long-lasting. They’re infused with hyaluronic acid spheres, coconut and jojoba oils, and plant waxes to keep lips hydrated and enhance their staying power. The formula glides on smoothly, making it easy to blend and diffuse—perfect for sculpting or contouring. You get just the right amount of time to soften and blur the edges before it sets in place. My personal favourite is Toffee for everyday sculpting, or Brownie for a '90s-inspired lip (which I'm wearing below).

When I heard that GHD was bringing out a new hair dryer, I just knew it was going to be good. But what I didn't anticipate was that it could genuinely dry my long, thick hair in less than 10 minutes. Drying my hair is one of those chores I utterly despair of when I wash my hair, but this aptly-named Speed hair dryer makes it so much faster. What's also genius is the halo technology, which blasts the air with a cooling halo around the central airflow, meaning less heat damage to the roots and scalp.

As a beauty editor, there aren't many eye creams that I trust. Most of them are a waste of money, but this new one from Eve Lom is one that I can wholeheartedly recommend. It contains ingredients that actually make a difference to concerns such as lines and dark circles, including plumping peptides, de-puffing caffeine and liposome encapsulated retinol to revitalise the eyes. The cooling applicator also makes it a total joy to use, helping to cool and de-puff tired eyes.

Trust me, this unassuming lip gloss rivals its luxury counterparts, and comes in at under £10. With the skin-softening texture of a serum and the shine of a gloss, this tinted lip balm drenches lips in hydrating hyaluronic acid, plumping peptides and protective SPF 15, whilst delivering a pretty wash of sheer colour. There are four shades to choose from, including berry-toned plum and cherry, as well as a rosy pink and peachy pink (my personal favourite of the bunch).

Key notes: Leather, suede, musk, white florals, amberwood

It's been a brilliant month for new perfumes, but Dior's new Cuir Saddle is a firm favourite. I'm not normally drawn to leather perfumes, but this gentle suede perfume has changed my mind, captivated my nose and has me smelling my wrists all day long. Inspired by Dior's iconic Saddle bag that sits close to the body, the scent draws on the leather and soft suede of the bag and skin-like musk that lingers close to the body. The result is a beautifully soft skin scent that becomes like a second skin as you wear it throughout the day. It's soft, suede-like and soft. And of course, incredibly expensive-smelling.

As someone who has tried hundreds of brow gels, I can honestly tell you that most of them are terrible (yep, even the expensive ones!). It might be a grand statement, but I think this might be the best brow gel I've ever tried. And the fact that it's an affordable buy makes me even happier. The clear gel coaxes brow hairs into place with long-lasting hold. It doesn't flake or go gunky, and your brows still feel natural to the touch. It's great to finish your brows to set them into place, but you can also layer it up if you want a full-on brow lamination look too.

I've long thought that peel-off face masks were a bit of a gimmick (they give me flashbacks to the drugstore ones of the 2000s), but this one changed my mind, as it's basically a fast-track to glass skin. The pink mask gradually turns clear after 20 minutes, peeling away to unveil skin that looks unbelievably glowy and hydrated. It contains ceramides to maintain the skin barrier, as well as cica, bio-collagen and astaxanthin (a powerful antioxidant) to improve hydration, elasticity and luminosity whilst reducing redness and irritation.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that you have to spend tonnes on good makeup, but E.l.f has once again proved that efficacious products needn't make your bank account cry. This concealer comes in at more or less the same price as a matcha latte. Lightweight yet deliciously hydrating, it melts into skin to brighten dark circles, dial down redness and softly blur spots without ever feeling heavy or cakey. The coverage sits firmly in that sweet spot: medium but beautifully buildable, so you can customise from a second-skin finish to something a little more polished.

I’ve been secretly testing the Manucurist Xtrem Top Coat prior to its launch this month, and I’m seriously impressed. It’s the next best thing to a gel manicure without the usual ingredients you’d find in gel formulas (making it great if, like me, you’ve developed an allergy to gel formulas, or want something that’s easier to remove. It works alongside the Manucurist LED Lamp and the Manucurist Green Flash LED Nail Polishes to keep your manicure chip-free for up to 21 days. I’ve found my manicure can easily last around two weeks, and it looks and feels just like a regular gel manicure on my nails. Thankfully, it’s much easier to remove than a standard gel manicure, so it’s a great gel manicure alternative to try.

A drugstore winner this month is the Maybelline Lash Sensational Body Mascara. Maybelline's mascaras are some of the best around, but I'd recommend this one if you want a lifting mascara that holds a curl all day, without compromising on length, defintition or volume. The flexible brush coaxes lashes up and stretches them to incredible lengths. I find one coat is plenty, but if you want a more dramatic effect, this layers easily without clumping. It's also smudge-proof yet removes easily at the end of the day.

I’ve previously sung the praises of Phlur’s Missing Person Body Oil for its incredible fragrance lasting power (it’s like wearing the fragrance from top to toe). Now, it comes in the Vanilla Skin scent, and I’m thrilled. It’s my favourite of Phlur’s perfumes and the perfume mists, with musky skin-like vanilla. It leaves a soft yet surprisingly long-lasting trail of scent in the form of the body oil, which also leaves my skin baby-soft. I’ve actually had compliments from wearing the body oil alone, attesting to just how incredible it smells and projects when you’re wearing it.

I’ve long been a fan of Medik8, which is one of the most-trusted skincare brands out there. So when I heard it was launching a niacinamide serum with peptides and NAG, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Niacinamide is brilliant for balancing oily skin, reducing enlarged pores and redness, whilst the addition of peptides and NAG helps to soothe the skin and give a glass-skin appearance. It’s all wrapped up in a lightweight gel-serum consistency that quickly absorbs, making it great underneath makeup, too.

Another brilliant launch I’ve tested this month is the L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Glass Skin Hydrogel Glow Masks. These sheet masks are designed to be worn for 90 minutes, during which they turn clear. I know, it sounds gimmicky. But, after testing them out, my skin was brimming with hydration and possessed a healthy glow that I wouldn’t ordinarily be able to achieve without having a facial. I’m stockpiling them in this pack of four for special occasions and travel when I want my skin to look its best.

Can you tell that this past month has truly been a great month for skincare launches? These hydrating toner pads from Mediheal have become a staple in my routine for keeping my skin hydrated as it toggles between central heating and freezing weather outside. They’re like miniature sheet masks, which are wafer-thin and flooded with hydrating ingredients (including 10 different types and weights of hyaluronic acid), which you can swipe on after cleansing as another layer of hydration. Alternatively, you can also leave them on the skin as a miniature mask treatment, making them great for targeting areas like the under eyes or other areas prone to dehydration. After a few minutes, my skin is hydrated and plumped once more

Speaking of hydration, I’m often asked for lip balm or lip mask recommendations at this time of year. I’ve been trying Gisou’s new lip mask, and it’s quickly become a bedside table-favourite to restore moisture overnight. With it being Gisou, it’s enriched with the same nourishing Mirsalehi honey as you’ll find in its cult hair oil. But in addition, it also contains ceramides, collagen actives and hyaluronic acid. Whipped together in a decadently thick mask, it generously cossets the lips to leave them feeling deeply nourished and plumped. I love using it as an everyday lip balm that’s long-lasting, or applying a thicker layer overnight for an intensive treatment.

Salthair has quickly become one of our favourite bodycare brands. Not just for its aesthetically pleasing packaging, but its heavenly scents and luxurious formulas that leave the skin so soft and supple. So much so, it’s reached sold-out status in many of the scents. Thankfully for us, Salthair has launched a new fragrance collection, Driftwood, which you’ll find in its body wash, deodorant, body oil and—my favourite—the Multi-Lipid Body Butter. It has notes of bergamot, sage and driftwood, making it a mysterious woody scent that’s incredibly addictive. The body butter itself feels thick to the touch as you scoop it out of the jar, yet it melts into a buttery, non-greasy texture on the skin, leaving your limbs satiny and beautifully scented. Trust me, this won’t stay in stock for long.

A new fragrance launch I was very happy to discover this month is Artifact. Featuring two scents in long-lasting extrait formulas, they’re both designed to move seamlessly with your skin chemistry throughout the day. Neo is a firm favourite, opening with a crisp, spring-like breeze of aldehydes and yuzu before drying down into cosy, skin-like musk and warming cedarwood. Hot, on the another hand, is resinous and a total joy to wear whilst its cold out, with smouldering cardamon, plum and whiskey that unfurl from your skin with a warming glow throughout the day. It’s hard to pick just one, but this set allows you to test both before redeeming the cost towards a full bottle of your favourite.

It goes without saying that Guerlain perfumes make our entire beauty team swoon, so you can imagine the excitement of learning that the heritage fragrance brand was launching candles. They have (literally and metaphorically) lit up my dark January evenings with so much joy. There are nine scents to choose from (all of which are incredible as the next), and you can even choose the candle vessel colour to suit your space, and then refill it once you’ve burned through the wax. They burn beautifully and fill the entire home with an incredible scent. If you’re stuck on which one to go for, you won’t be disappointed by Vanilla Planifolia, which is the most hypnotic vanilla my nose has come across.