While winter brings the promise of cosy fireside mulled wines and chic scarves, let's be real—our favourite season can also wreak havoc on our beauty rituals, the sleekness of our hair and our all-important skin barrier.
So, in the face of shorter days and the rollercoaster of an overly-toasty AC, it’s all about working smarter, not harder. We've teamed up with Shark Beauty—who know a thing about all of the above—to round up our beauty overachievers of the season. Read on for the holy-grailers that'll have you swanning fresh and glowing out the door, all winter long.
Shark® SmoothStyle™ Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother
Brush, blow dry, comb again, straighten, detangle for the 22nd time—we think not, thank you very much. The road to smooth, silky-straight hair is paved with heated, soothing combs and a double-whammy of expertly spaced bristles on the Shark® SmoothStyle™ Heated Comb Straightener + Smoother. There’s a Wet-Hair Mode for a minimalist soaked-to-salon-hair transition, as well as a classic Dry Hair Mode for everyday styling in between.
Lush Super Milk Conditioning Spray
Hair oil obsessives, we present your new supreme: Super Milk Conditioning Spray by Lush. Very much an IYKYK cult product, this hair primer is true to its name, setting you up for all kinds of good hair days. It's a stand-in for conditioner, a de-tangling saviour, a smoother for flyaways and grizzly split ends, and a refresher for next-day curls. And boy is it refreshing—a crisp citrusy scent will follow you for hours.
Kit Gua Sha Body Tool
It turns out that an *everything* shower can set you up for better defence against the dreaded winter health slump. Seriously. A spot of lymphatic drainage—made chic, easy and doable at home thanks to Kit’s new body gua sha tool—can help set your system up to feel energised, your circulation boosted and your muscles relaxed. All thanks to a massage in your own home, no less.
Shark FlexStyle Air Styling And Drying System
Pretty on the dresser, pretty results: that’s the mark of a beauty must-have, in our world. Case in point—the FlexStyle Air Styling and Drying System from Shark which also comes in the limited edition Malibu Pink. Pop a range of bristled Auto-Wrap curling extensions on for a bit of bounce, or twist it down for *the sleekest* no-heat hair dryer. Your free-from-heat-damaged tresses aren’t the only ones that’ll love you for it—it’s easy on your gym bag or international travel allowance too.
OPI xPRESS ON
The OGs have released a BOG for the DIY nail scene: press-on nails. We don’t say this lightly when we tell you that these gel-inspired babies could easily cause you to forgo your nail appointment. They’re perfectly shaped, rounded, and in gorgeous tones (a far cry from the garish early Y2K version most of us were introduced to). Best of all, they’re reusable, vegan and set to last for 14 days.
Emma Lewisham Supernatural Vitale Elixir
Umpteen beauty treatments in a bottle, the latest release from Emma Lewisham was well and truly worth the wait—four years to be precise. Inside this potion, you’ll find a muscle relaxant that reduces muscle contractions—the pesky dudes responsible for fine lines—by upwards of 90% we’re told. And we believe it, given the extensive half a decade of testing and research.
Loops Clean Slate Detoxifying Hydrogel Face Mask
Days are shorter, mornings are harder, and skin is drier and more congested. Winter may not have your back, but these exfoliating face masks do—not to mention they're split in half for a rather couture fit to your face. Each hydrogel face mask treats you to a generous decongesting deep cleanse, and the splash of hydration one expects from these sheets (thank you aloe and bamboo water). Now that’s what we call working overtime.
Clemence Organics Ultimate Microbiome Spritz
We're hooked on any botanic concoction described as a ‘spritz’. So when we found out the latest release from Clemence Organics was exactly this—restoring the skin’s biome in a spray bottle instead of a wine glass—we couldn’t have been happier. When energy levels are low and stressors to that precious microbiome are high, this release couldn’t have come at a better time to restore it.
Hair Shots Perfectly Blonde
What’s more refreshing than finding a blonde-specific hair product that isn’t just a purple shampoo? Finding one that’s inclusive of *all* blonde shades, and that doesn’t require you to stand freezing in the shower while it soaks in, that’s what. That’s exactly the M.O. of this violet-toning booster and nourisher, where you only need a mere 2-4 pumps. Oh, and it can be added to shampoos, conditioners, even leave-in treatments—whatever floats your boat.
Alpha-H Healthy Scalp Exfoliating Treatment
Skipping your morning hair wash in favour of a snoozed alarm means one less hard thing to face in winter. We get it. But the build-up of dry shampoo does need a *serious* deep cleanse. This is where Alpha-H’s new concoction comes in. And get this: it goes on pre-shampoo, throwing about glycolic acid, BHAs and prebiotics while you bliss out in the shower as normal.
Tronque Body Exfoliating Refining Serum
Big sibling advice coming through: feverishly scrubbing your skin before applying oodles of lotion isn’t your ticket to soft skin from the neck down. A resurfacing body exfoliator—yes, the same you’d experience during a facial—is it. Tronque’s potion of 7 natural AHAs and BHAs (that’s the ‘it’ exfoliant, FYI) naturally exfoliates to set skin up to be smooth, oh-so-soft and ready to slurp up the goodness of the body butter that comes after it.
Ashley & Co Better Balm
Get more out of your overnight skincare. Or your perfume. Or both. Seriously, ‘slug’ any product with Better Balm and you’ll see, smell and feel the effects tenfold. It’s a hydrating lifesaver for anything that’s feeling worse for wear over winter—be it the sensitive T-zone, dry and stringy cuticles or even (shudder) cracked heels.
Ready to jump all-abord the high-maintenance-to-be-low-maintenance beauty train? Your ticket awaits in the form of the new heat-free modular styling by Shark Beauty. A good hair day isn't one that looks good for a matter of hours—it's one that leaves no lingering heat damage (thank you tight air-temperature settings) and keeps more good days coming.
Editor’s note: this article was produced in partnership with Shark Beauty. Thank you for supporting the partners who make Urban List possible. To read our editorial policy, click here.
Images: Supplied.