August beauty is giving us a little bit of everything. K-beauty has found yet another way to make eye patches interesting, e.l.f. has dropped a lip-and-cheek tint for AED 30, Lush is taking on the summer humidity and AÏZA has built a beauty routine around the particular havoc travel can wreak on skin and hair. Here are the products worth knowing about this week.
d’Alba’s viral eye patches let you watch your skincare work
In a region where air conditioning and desert heat dry out even the most resilient skin, one under-eye category has become the internet’s most requested fix. d’Alba’s White Truffle Intensive The Real Eye Patch starts out opaque and gradually turns transparent over approximately 50 minutes as the essence absorbs into the skin.
The formula brings together Italian white truffle extract from Piedmont with vegan collagen, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and botanical extracts, targeting puffiness, dullness and fine lines around the eyes. The hydrogel is also designed to stay in place while you move around and is thin enough to sit comfortably under makeup.
Price: AED 300
Available at: Ounass
Lush has a summer game plan for curls
Heat plus humidity plus curly hair can be an ambitious combination. Lush has pulled together a summer haircare routine specifically for curly, textured, wavy and Afro hair, spanning cleansing, conditioning, leave-ins, oils and styling.
One of the more unexpected formulas is Super Milk Shampoo, which contains more than 18 per cent fresh tofu, alongside agave syrup, olive oil and meadowsweet infusion to cleanse, strengthen and soften the hair. There’s also Avocado Co-Wash, a shampoo-conditioner hybrid made with fresh avocado, extra-virgin olive oil and Fair Trade organic cocoa butter.
The brand’s bestselling Super Milk leave-in conditioner combines almond, coconut and oat milks with fresh lemon juice, while Sticky Dates Hair Primer uses date syrup, extra-virgin olive oil and jojoba oil to moisturise curls and leave a subtle shimmer. For styling, Curl Power combines linseed gel, argan oil and cocoa butter to hydrate curls and tackle frizz.
Yudashkin puts PDRN into an eye patch
PDRN has been having quite the beauty moment and Yudashkin is bringing the ingredient to the under-eye area with its new Power Active PDRN Eye Patches.
The hydrogel patches combine PDRN with caffeine, niacinamide, adenosine, hyaluronic acid, panthenol and allantoin, targeting dark circles, puffiness, dryness and fine lines. They take just 20 to 30 minutes and can also be placed on the forehead, between the brows or around the mouth when those areas need some attention too.
Each pot contains 60 patches, or 30 pairs.
Price: AED 150
Spa Ceylon takes us from the forest to the sea
Spa Ceylon has introduced ForestVeda and SeaVeda, two new collections that take their cues from very different sides of nature. ForestVeda is inspired by forest bathing, while SeaVeda looks to the restorative associations of the ocean.
ForestVeda combines peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, cedarwood and lemongrass across its body-care formulas. The Calming Discovery Set, AED 110, includes a Body Elixir, Body Cream, Body & Pillow Mist and Body Cleanser, while the Calming Bath & Body Care Duo, AED 150, offers a shorter route into the range.
SeaVeda swaps woodland notes for patchouli, spearmint, tuberose, lemon and lime. Its Uplifting Discovery Set, AED 110, also contains four products spanning body care and home fragrance, while the Uplifting Bath & Body Care Duo, AED 150, focuses on the bath-and-body side of the collection.
Both collections use sustainably sourced Ayurvedic ingredients and are cruelty-free.
Price: From AED 110
e.l.f. has an AED 30 lip and cheek tint
Thirty dirhams and two jobs. e.l.f. Cosmetics’ Sheer For It Blush Tint works across both lips and cheeks, with a lightweight, watery texture that leaves behind a sheer stain of buildable colour.
Hyaluronic acid adds hydration while the transfer-resistant formula is designed to keep the colour around. The shade names are also excellent: Cherry Cola, Plum Up, Orange Crush, Left on Red and Pink Positive.
Also in e.l.f.’s current line-up is the cult Power Grip Primer, a sticky gel formula with hyaluronic acid, available in regular, mini and jumbo sizes. There’s a Power Grip Primer Niacinamide +4% too, adding four per cent niacinamide to help brighten the appearance of dullness and even the look of skin tone.
Price: Sheer For It Blush Tint, AED 30; Power Grip Primer, AED 55; Power Grip Primer Niacinamide +4%, AED 55
AÏZA deserves a spot in your carry-on
Cabin air, a completely different climate at the other end and a skincare routine reduced to whatever made it through your liquids bag, travel can do interesting things to your beauty routine. Arab beauty brand AÏZA has put together a selection spanning skin, hair and scalp care for the journey.
Cloud Burst Hydra-Jelly Face Mist combines rose water and frankincense for a mid-flight hydration top-up, while Eliksir Brightening Face Serum uses saffron and honey. Hair gets its own travel companions with Scent Storm Protective Hair Mist, scented with rose and bakhoor, and Bayt Blend Scalp Mask. AÏZA draws on regional ingredients including dates, black seed and frankincense, combining them with modern actives in formulas produced in laboratories across Korea, Japan and Italy.
Summer travel guide with Asteri Beauty must haves
Asteri Beauty has edited some of its bestsellers down to a travel-friendly summer line-up, covering everything from SPF and complexion to colour and the final setting spray.
Start with The Queens Glow Primer for a luminous base, followed by Noorish SPF 50 Tinted Moisturizer, which combines complexion coverage with sun protection. Spectrum All-in-One Palette takes care of warmth, colour and definition in one compact, while Everlight Liquid Eyeshadow adds shimmer when the holiday agenda moves from beach to dinner. For the finishing touches, Maraya Lip Shine adds glossy colour and Desert Mist Setting Spray helps keep everything in place.
Dr. Barbara Sturm brings skincare to your summer bronze
Dr. Barbara Sturm’s new Everything Bronzing Drops deliver the warmth of a few days in the sun without requiring the actual sun part. The lightweight, buildable formula combines light-reflecting pigments with skincare ingredients, so the finish is less traditional bronzer and more luminous, just-back-from-holiday skin.
Hydrolysed Yeast Extract and Avocado Oil hydrate and plump, Red Clover Extract helps minimise the appearance of pores and antioxidant-rich Cocoa Seed Extract helps protect against oxidative stress. The formula also contains Dr. Sturm’s Biofermented Purslane and Skin Vitality Complex.
The drops can be applied directly and built up depending on how bronzed you want to go, or mixed into moisturiser or foundation for a subtler wash of warmth. They’re also non-comedogenic, making it the best meeting point between makeup and skincare.
