It’s New. In February. At MECCA
January 27 | 5 minute read
Words by Kerri Gordon
It always feels like such a privilege to be able to share my greatest findings with you, and this time I’ve discovered enough to restock your entire vanity. It’s the season of love, afterall, and love is exactly what I feel towards these newcomers from NARS, Gisou, Sol de Janeiro and more of my favourites. Walk with me.
LEVELLED-UP SKIN
When my favourite skincare announces a reformulation or reinvention, I get the sweats. I carry the PTSD of the ‘new and improved’ Arnott’s Shapes palaver with me every day. If it ain’t broke, you know?
Some of my favourite skincare formulas weren’t – and still aren’t – broke, but now they’ve got fun new iterations that (even I’ll admit), take things to the next level. It’s a win-win; like flavour you can see.
There’s Drunk Elephant’s new cleanser, Mello Marula Cream Cleanser, the perfect compromise between the brand’s existing jelly and balm formats. Tatcha’s new ferulic acid and time-released vitamin C elixir, The Brightening Serum, which has been clinically proven to provide 13 times more antioxidant power than traditional ascorbic acid serums! Mario Badescu’s newest repairing facial mist featuring multipurpose hypochlorous acid. And, Go-To’s Clarifying Face Hero, a new take on the brand’s bestselling MECCA Beauty Election winning oil, tweaked to a dry oil format with bakuchiol to better serve clogged, acne-prone skin.
And, drumroll please… my holy grail, feel-naked-without-it, desert island skincare product, MECCA COSMETICA’s To Save Face SPF50+ Sun Serum, just dropped in a new matte finish. While I LOVE the dew of the original, this is for all my oily-skin friends who turned their nose up at the serum’s now glowier counterpart. If you tell me you can feel this on your skin – you’re lying!
BODY CARE HABITS I'M TRYING TO KEEP UP
My new year’s resolution was to maintain a regular body care regime through to the year’s end. I’m known to drop off around April.
The regular-ish spray tans I’m getting as a prerequisite for my other career as a full-time bridesmaid are keeping me accountable for now, and as such I’m using this time to find products that bring me joy and results – not powdered sugar-coated Lululemons. For results, my first discovery is Necessaire’s The Body Retinol, a product I’ve been trialling for just short of a year. I love body serums as they sink in quickly and don’t turn my reformer Pilates bed into a slip-and-slide. I’ve noticed smoother, brighter, more even-looking skin all over, and a reduction in the keratosis pilaris on my arms.
For joy, it’s all Delicia Drench baby! Smelling like a creamy delight of nutty shea and vanilla, this has to be my favourite scent from Sol De Janeiro (did you know iconic perfumer Jerome Epinette is the nose behind some of their bestsellers?). It’s a little less sweet than some of the brand’s other scents, and layers really nicely with your personal fragrance. They’ve just extended the Delicia Drench range to include a deodorant, shower oil and set, and I’m lapping it up.
FESTIVAL FACE
It’s the summer of 365 party girls, and between Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Laneway Festival, we’re donning the glitter liners, metallic shadows and stick-on gems with the same level of dedication American influencers displayed as they (very temporarily) farewelled TikTok.
I’m a sucker for a single eyeshadow so when I found out MECCA MAX were whipping up a duo of them in celebration of their returning role as the Official Makeup Partner of the 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras, I was thrilled. In perfect cool-pink and true-blue foil-like shimmers (best applied with your finger for max impact), the Shade Parade Marbled Eyeshadow Duo is it. Even better, 10 percent of proceeds goes towards one of my favourite charities, Minus 18, an organisation improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ young people. Pair it with the new Eye Max Shimmer Gel Eyeliners and your look is sorted – I’m obsessed with the shades ‘Aquamarine’ and ‘Amethyst’.
As for the rest of my face, after years and years of begging, the Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint has arrived at MECCA - you bet I’ll be thrashing that perfectly cute bottle of sheer, dewy goodness all summer long. It’s one of those complexion products where no one will be able to tell you’re wearing anything (and you won’t feel it either), but everything just looks so much better.
SHARE THE LOVE
I get such a thrill buying beauty for the people I love. And in the process, nine out of ten times, I’ll pick up something for myself too. With Valentine’s Day approaching, celebrating young love, old love, queer love, platonic love, self-love, all kinds of LOVE, I have the perfect excuse.
I’ll be gifting my best friend of 27 years one half of the Diptyque Baies & Roses Valentine's Candle Duo like a grown-up best friend necklace (I had such FOMO for not picking this up last year so I am beyond thrilled that it’s back) and for my mum, NARS’ The Amour Collection Eyeshadow Quad and Blush. Those pinky, plummy shades will bring a sparkle to her beautiful brown eyes!
2025 IS THE YEAR I GLOW UP
I’m on track with my five-times-weekly microcurrent targets thanks to the NuFace Mini+ I dusted off and vowed to never place on a back shelf again, and I’m loving the results – even considering levelling up to the new Nuface Trinity+ Starter Kit which boasts 25% more microcurrent power (and a chic aubergine-y shade). It’s part of my goal to glow up in 2025, rather than succumb to the collagen decline and hair fall of my 30s.
Also on my agenda:
Hair! I won’t accept anything less than thick, lush and glossy for the foreseeable future, and I’ve heard great things about Gisou’s new Honey Gloss Ceramide Therapy Mask which is apparently insane for shine and hydration. I’ve also seen the most phenomenal before-and-afters of the new Living Proof Perfect Hair Day High-Shine Gloss and have been vying to get my hands on both. You’d think I’d know a guy.
Scent! It’ll take brute force to pry Tsu Lange Yor’s Luca and Sala EDPs out of my hands each morning, but Saddle by Perfumer H is set to be the hot girl scent of 2025 and I’m all for it. It’s smooth and alluring with amber and vanilla – and transformative on the skin thanks to bergamot and aldehydes – and is exactly what I’d imagine rodeo-era Bella Hadid to smell like.
Pink! Westman Atelier’s Baby Cheeks Blush in the shade ‘Petal’ has long been a favourite of mine for its nonchalance. It screams ‘look how cute I am without trying’. The iconic makeup artist has given the shade new form as a matte lipstick, highlighter and lip balm, and paired together they create the ultimate three-minute you-but-better face of makeup.
