New year, new beauty - January arrivals to love

The start to 2026 has been a hot one here in Aotearoa, and it’s safe to say that premium SPF and setting spray formulas have been my MVPs since the get-go!
‘Hot’ is also the perfect word to describe the new beauty releases and innovations being rolled out and whispered about just a few weeks into the new year, with so much happening that your average beauty freak (i.e. me) is already veering into over-stimulated territory.
K-beauty looks to still be dominating the industry on a major scale, which gets two thumbs up from me as the newness consistently coming out of that country is absolutely blowing me away. Rhode is launching at MECCA next month, which is huge and super exciting for makeup lovers everywhere. The official announcement has thankfully slowed the never-ending content from people who sound like they have passed a cursory glance over the brand’s website but now purport to experts on all things created by Hailey Bieber, with IRL customers finally able to start compiling their wish lists and ready experience the super cool Rhode offering for themselves. A friend worked on the initial launch, and I’ve had a play myself with most of the brand’s offering since it first dropped in the US back in 2022, so I’ll be first in the door for top-ups at my local MECCA come February.
But back to the here and now – read on for the January releases I’m most excited about right now, and why…

DIPTYQUE Ilio Hair Mist

I love a hair mist, especially on humid days and nights when perfume feels a little too heady but you still want to sport your favourite scent. DIPTYQUE’s new Ilio Hair Mist is a super light, sheer mist that enhances and intensely perfumes hair with its fresh, floral, deliciously fruity notes, for a Mediterranean vibe that is so perfect for right now. It’s also enriched with nourishing and protective camellia oil so serves as both a beauty treatment and a perfuming gesture, leaving a fresh, fruity-floral scent in its wake. It’s beautiful alone and of course perfectly paired with the original Ilio EDT

LolaVie Powder Perfect Dry Shampoo

In my eyes LolaVie can do no wrong, and as a dry shampoo connoisseur I’m super keen to see how this beauty performs. A non-aerosol, talc-free dry shampoo that claims it makes “second-day hair look better than day one” (!!!), it uses ingredinets like Rice Starch and Bamboo Silica to soak up excess oil and control odour for instantly refreshed hair. Another cool addition to the ingredient deck is Pea Peptides, which plump and thicken each hair strand for root lift without heaviness or build-up. Like all LolaVie products it’s made without Silicones, Sulphates (SLS & SLES), Artificial Fragrance and Parabens, which always gets a big tick from me.

Glasshouse Fragrances Oui Oui Emily limited-edition candle

Created as a love letter to Paris and sitting prettily alongside the latest season of Emily in Paris, this limited edition beauty from Glasshouse Fragrances is unabashedly playful and irresistibly bold. The Nude Violette & Praline fine fragrance has top notes of Lychee, Peach, Pear and Raspberry, while the base of Patchouli, Vanilla, Caramel and Praline certainly places it firmly in the Floral Fruity family. Brand founder, Nicole Eckels says: “Emily in Paris embodies everything we love at Glasshouse Fragrances - style, confidence, and that sense of play. Fragrance is fashion’s invisible accessory; it completes the look and elevates the moment.” No truer word was said, although as someone of French heritage who loves the show (and the scent!) the less said about the hordes of visiting influencers in berets posing en masse with baguettes on Pont Neuf, the better… ; )

No Ugly SALTY™

As aforementioned, the last few weeks have been a scorcher, and I have fallen hard for the latest creation from No Ugly, SALTY™ — a still, all-clean, isotonic electrolyte drink in a 500ml can. Also the perfect go-to post-flight when I arrived home from Europe, SALTY™ is available now in Berry, Citrus, and Watermelon, with Blood Orange reportedly joining the line-up soon. Unlike most electrolyte products that overload on sodium or sugar, SALTY™ delivers smart salts — not salt bombs. Each can contains a precise balance of the five key electrolytes lost in sweat — sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride — in an isotonic formula designed for fast absorption and zero gut drag. The clean formula is also low sugar and low calorie with less than 2.5 g sugar per 100 mL and clean carbs from maltodextrin to support sodium–glucose co-transport without the crash, both of which I appreciate hugely as a prediabetic managing the condition without meds. My favourite of the offering was the Watermelon variant, although the minute Blood Orange drops I’m thinking it may take its place!

The Ordinary Rice Lipids + Ectoin Microemulsion

Launching on January 22, this may well just be the moisturiser we all call on most over the humid summer months. An intensely hydrating but lightweight, fluid formula, it takes the milky texture usually found in toners and serums and places it elegantly in a killer hydrator, and I’m in love. Through microfluidisation, the formula seamlessly combines molecules that hold onto water such as Ectoin, with nourishing, occlusive ingredients like Rice Lipids and Jojoba oil into a stable emulsion. Rice lipids refers to the lipid (oil-like) components found within whole rice, which are recognised for their lightweight, non-greasy feel, and moisturising, barrier strengthening properties. Meanwhile Ectoin is a powerful molecule found abundantly in microorganisms that live in harsh climates, helping them survive the moisture stress present in their natural environment. Delivering 24-hour soothing hydration and repairing the skin barrier after just one use, I am beyond obsessed!