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The Beauty Edit

CF Beauty Editor's Favourite New Beauty Products This April

Citizen Femme’s beauty editor, Becki Murray, rounds up the best April beauty launches that have caught her attention across makeup, skincare and fragrance.

The weather may be set for April showers but there’s a new array of leading beauty products promising to brighten up your skin and your makeup bag this month. From skincare expert Caroline Hirons’ Skin Rocks face oil, to The Inkey List’s first-ever sunscreen, these are the best April beauty launches that are actually worth adding to your beauty routine.

THE POST-RETINOL HYDRATION

Before you start using retinoids, you need to have a cream like this one in your skincare arsenal. Celebrity facialist Shani Darden, a beauty editor favourite for her best-selling retinol – has released a formula that's perfect for treating retinoids main side effect – dryness. With not one but three hydrating heroes, you can trust this nourishing blend of shea butter, squalane and glycerin to keep your skin ship-shape.

 

THE LATEST SPF

This is The Inkey List's first venture into SPF and it's well worth the 63 formulations it took the brand to get it exactly right. The highlight is the inclusion of encapsulated polyglutamic acid – a super hydrating ingredient – teamed with glycerin and squalene for a super smooth finish that primes for makeup, rather than ruining it. The SPF 30 rating, provided by chemical filters, is suitable for all skin types and tones. 

 

THE BOOSTER SERUM

Any Westman Atelier product makes for an elegant addition to your beauty routine, but this formula is as impressive as the packaging is captivating. It contains four types of hyaluronic acid to help hydrate and plump; niacinamide for improving skin tone; and catcus prickly pear extract to calm irritated skin. Plus, a multi-lamellar delivery system that helps those ingredients penetrate the skin to where they can be most benefical. 

 

THE SKIN BRIGHTENER

This 96% skincare-based formula proves my hypothesis that the real secret to a natural-looking glow is skincare-rich makeup hybrids rather than lots of concealer. I'm not the world's best sleeper and have skin that tends to look dull from the slightest lack of sleep, but a touch of this dotted across my cheekbones provides a lifted, soft and glossy finish that makes it easier to fake, even after long flights.

 

THE CREAM CLEANSER

When it comes to cleansers, my biggest piece of advice is to choose one you actually enjoy using – considering it is the most intergal part of your skincare routine. This richer, more nourishing option from Dr. Barbara Sturm provides a brilliant luxury option for drier skin types, due to a formula packed with protective antioxidants and moisturising ceramides. Plus, it's fragrance-free.

 

THE FULL FACE PALETTE

When I travel, I always like to bring a full face palette with me, considering they can offer coverage, highlighter, bronzer and eyeshadow all in one handy portable place. What I like most about this one from Sculpted by Aimee is you can trust that the pigment will actually deliver and it's glow-boosting without having a very powdery finish on the skin. 

 

THE EXPERT OIL

Following the runaway success of her retinoid serums, this trusty face oil is leading skincare expert Caroline Hirons' 'fire extinguisher for the skin.' It's specifically designed to help soothe and calm sensitised, dehydrated skin, with its 100% plant-derived formula of squalane, jojoba, macadamia and sunflower oils. Your skin will love it.

 

THE NECK SERUM

Despite being marketed for the neck due to ingredients that can target tell-tale creases there, this botanical serum is equally as good when used on the rest of your body and face. It's certified by the Soil Association so you can trust its organic beauty claims, and it benefits from some great moisturising and antioxidant-rich oils, such as vitamin A-rich cacay oil, vitamin E and grapeseed oil. 

 

THE LIGHTWEIGHT VOLUMISER

Traditionally, volumising sprays toe a delicate line between actually thickening your hair and weighing it down due to heavy formulas. This lightweight mist makes achieving what you want a little easier, by focusing on boosting each individual strand. It's also a heat protectant, so you can boost the volume of your blowdry while guarding against damage. 

 

THE SHADE-MATCH FOUNDATION

Laura Mercier's new foundation has two really exciting things going for it. Firstly, its colour-matching is based on both skin tone and undertones, which means I'm not alone in finding it easier to get my exact shade from the 30 shades available. Secondly, the long-wearing foundation also stays looking smooth for longer due to a hydrating base that stops your complexion looking patchy.

 

THE FUSS-FREE TAN

I'm a tentative tanner to put it mildly, but when I do dare to bronze, it's always impractically last minute – for example post-outfit try-on the day before an event. For that reason, Tan-Luxe answered my beauty prayers with its Express Mousse. There's no guide colour to stain towels or clothes; lots of hydrating ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and vitamin C to ensure a smooth finish; and the glow-boosting colour develops in just 30 minutes without taking you too dark.

 

THE SKIN PLUMPER

Peptides are set to get us all talking this month, as a skincare ingredient that can keep your skin looking fine-line free for longer. Peptides are small chains of amino acids that form the basis of collagen and elastin in our skin. By popping them into our skincare products, its suggested they can act like messengers encouraging collagen and elastin production, meaning firming, soothing and hydrating benefits. Strvectin's latest offering is my pick.

 

THE SUPERCHARGED CREAM

Skinceuticals' best-selling moisturiser just got supercharged with even more science-backed ingredients for smoothing out wrinkles. The cream is now formulated with 12.6% concentrated Proxylane (20% more than the original formula) to help firm and smooth your skin by supporting collagen production. Antioxidant-rich blueberry and pomegranate extracts, plus moisture-locking niacinamide and soothing liquorice root extract are all included too.

 

THE WARM FLORAL

If I could bottle the energy that the summer sun tends to give me, this warm floral fragrance would be it. It's the sort of summery spritz that you can't help but smile at every time you smell it. There's the sparkling burst of bergamot and red mandarin at first spray; the floral heart of neroli, jasmine and orange flower, and the hint of sea salt in the comforting base. It will spritz you away to sunny holidays and memories of summer romances. It looks set to become my summer fragrance love affair.

 

THE MASCARA

If you love the look of false lashes but hate the time and technique it takes to apply them, Fenty Beauty's new mascara has been called "falsies in a tube" for a reason. With a swish of the wand, I found I could achieve a fanned-out look that made my lashes appear super long and more volumised without clumping. My tip: use the tapered brush in a sideways motion along your lower lash line for the same effect.

 

THE SCRUB

L'Occitane wants to bring the spa to you this month with circulation-reviving body products that utilise a rather uncommon bodycare ingredient – artichoke. It's purifying and detoxifying powers have, until now, been overlooked, but the ingredient is rich in polyphenols and inulin that can help promote lymphatic drainage. The full routine features a massage cream, body gua sha and the brand's first beauty supplement, but my favourite is the warming body scrub which leaves your limbs feeling so much smoother.

 

THE SCULPTOR

The latest social media trend for makeup is actually super wearable and, what's more, Milk Makeup's latest launch will help you achieve it in a single swipe. Soft-sculpting, as the name suggests, is all about subtle, buildable definition for a more natural-looking alternative to traditional contouring. This creamy stick provides the cool tones and blendable texture you need.

 

THE OILY SKIN SAVIOUR

All three of Kiehl's newly launched serums are exciting – with their targeted ingredient lists (of 10 ingredients or less, in fact), which are designed to tackle the main concerns of each skin type. However, the highlight among them is definitely the 5% niacinamide serum. The cult status ingredient is exactly what oily skin that is prone to shine and breakouts needs, without any unnecessary fuss. 

 

THE PILLOW MIST

I like to use this mist not just on my pillow but in the bathroom as I'm brushing my teeth as part of my nighttime routine. Its scent – a natural blend of 10 essential oils, including lavendar, rose geranium and roman chamomile –  immediately makes me feel relaxed and ready for sleep, however busy my day has been. 

 

THE ALL-IN-ONE SERUM

Multitasking moisturisers are nothing new but when one contains eight superstar ingredients you take notice: that's the case for NUORI's The One Serum. You can find niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, bakuchiol, ceramides, peptides and vitamin C among others in this formula, which focuses on keeping your skin plump and smooth for longer. If you can only cram one cream into your travel bag, try this one.

 

THE SPF Moisturiser

If you hate the feeling of SPF on your skin, especially if you tend to be on the oily side, Byoma have you covered. The original gel moisturiser from the brand has already gone viral for its lightweight but super-hydrating feel and now there's an option with SPF 30 to keep your complexion protected too. You can expect a naturally-glowy finish that sits smoothly under makeup with all the benefits of hydrating hyaluronic acid, ceramides and beta glucan.

 

THE NOURISHING ESSENCE

An instant skin refresh in a bottle, the latest iteration of Shiseido's award-winning essence provides the burst of hydration your complexion needs when it is feeling dry and dull. I like to use it both pre-and-post-flight as it supports the skin barrier to lock-in moisture. Plus, it contains a trio of brightening ingredients to spark new life into your complexion; namely fermented kefir extract, Japanese yuzu extract and dark spot targeting 4MSK.


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Lead photo credit: Tan-Luxe

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