Why New Zealand is the new beauty frontier: Products, brands and ingredients you need to know about

Korean beauty lines have reigned supreme for their fast-acting formulas in too-cute-for-words packaging, but a new beauty capital is emerging on the market and it’s likely the last place you’d imagine.

Thanks to a unique and diverse climate that runs temperate to harsh, New Zealand has quickly established itself as the go-to for all-natural beauty lines that are just as helpful as they are healthy. Ingredients like vinanza grape, manuka honey, kiwi and creamy avocado hail from New Zealand, and grow year round in some regions, making it a goldmine for beauty chemists looking to source from the crème de la crème of natural ingredients (think toners made with distilled antipodes water and bamboo-based body scrubs).

The chemical-free lines typically target sensitive skin and anti-aging, but as an added bonus for Canadians, New Zealand’s products are designed with its harsh climate in mind. Products are ultra-hydrating, packed with vitamins and antioxidants, to help protect against harsh seasons, something everyone should be considering as we head into fall and winter.

Nitasha Goel, owner of The Cure Apothecary in Toronto, stocks the shelves of her boutique with a mix of natural lines from Canada and around the world, with New Zealand brands taking centre stage. “The New Zealand brands are killing it.” says Goel, “They use local ingredients that other brands just can’t get their hands on.”

After falling in love with a manuka honey mud mask, given as a gift, Goel began researching its ingredients and where she could find similar products. At the time there were few New Zealand-based brands available in Canada, which fueled Nitasha to carry them at her boutique. “Through research, a lot of people are becoming more aware of these brands. People are attracted to how sensitive they are, how clean they are, and the unique ingredients that they’re using.”

Whatever leads you to New Zealand brands, whether their natural benefits, cool and unusual ingredients or the #beautybandwagon, one thing’s for sure, with winning products like these, this country won’t be giving up its beauty capital status anytime soon. Flip through to see three New Zealand beauty brands we currently got our eyes on.

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