Move over K-Beauty. Right now, when it comes to international beauty hotspots, New Zealand is certainly having a moment. In the past year or so, the country has served up a raft of innovative new beauty brands that have (thankfully) made their way onto UK soil.

First, there’s the incredibly chic home fragrances and fancy hand washes of Ashley and Co and then there’s the playful body products from Only Good. I’m particularly in to Girl Undiscovered, the Instagram-friendly skincare line that fuses NZ-native ingredients with satisfyingly decadent textures. But the latest NZ brand to land over here is Syrene, a sustainable skincare line inspired by the depths of the Pacific Ocean. And if you ask me, this is one brand that is soon to become pretty popular.

Syrene’s MO? To harness the most powerful ingredients from the local New Zealand environment to create soothing, hydrating skincare products. In each of the formulas you’ll find things like seaweed, marine-sourced collagen and sea salt, as well as land harvested substances such as manuka honey. They also focus heavily on extracts from native plants such as the black fern, the kawakawa plant (a herb used in traditional Maori medicine), and the pohutukawa — a tree found along the country’s coastline. Basically, it’s the best of NZ flora, bottled.

Now, this isn’t a range that is going to solve every skincare bugbear under the sun, and you won’t find intense actives like retinol or acids. But, it is the ideal range for anyone with dehydrated skin like me. Why? All the formulas focus on plying skin with hydration, as well as nutrients beneficial to overall skin health.

Better still, the textures are all very light, so they feel extremely refreshing, but it also means they’re a good option for anyone with dehydrated yet oily skin. The moisturiser, for instance, is way more hydrating than it’s lightly-whipped gel texture would suggest, but without the richness of heavier moisturisers, it doesn’t exacerbate greasiness. Ideal.

As for the packaging, it shouldn’t matter, but it does help that it looks nice. But better still, the brand uses recycled ocean plastic to make it. 

I’ve had a few of the formulas in my bathroom cabinet for months now — I first found out about Syrene when researching for a feature on the new global beauty hubs — and can really vouch for how hydrating, soothing and generally comforting they are on skin. 

Interested? Here’s a rundown of the entire collection.

Images: courtesy of brand.

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