July 13th, 2018

Hot off this week’s news: ICONIC London have recently been acquired by BlueGem Capital Partners LLP, which will support a huge US roll our later this year and aims to increase the brand’s 30% US consumer share, and aid ICONIC London’s growing retailer portfolio in the UK. Founder Jade Elliott saw a gap in the market for a “fun and rebellious” affordable makeup range, and launched the brand from her bedroom. ICONIC London is dedicated to challenging the traditional beauty landscape, and have gained a cult following for their liquid Illuminator alone. Elliot will remain at the helm of the brand in her continued role as Founder and Creative Director, and says: “I am so excited and proud to be partnering with such a great team. To be part of their illustrious list of brands is an honour, and to have their backing to take ICONIC to the next stage is incredible”. Keep an eye out for new product launches too, as she promises that there are some exciting projects in the works.

The Body Shop do tend to be the frontrunners when it comes to thoughtfully formulated products, and their new Lash Sport Mascara (£11) and Brow Sport (£8) are designed with real life in mind. The mascara is waterproof, sweatproof, splashproof, and 100% vegan. The innovative oil-in-water base makes sure that lashes stay defined and volumised, but is easy to remove at the end of the day. The Brow Sport is designed to make brows look fuller, shaped, and more defined, and is also sweatproof, transfer resistant, and long lasting – perfect for summer days and nights. It has an angled brush for precise application, and the naturally inspired formulas match your natural brow colour. Available now from The Body Shop.

Vlada Haggerty is famous for her dripping, molten metal rose gold lips, and her new collaboration with Smashbox plays on this theme. The products in the new Petal Metal collection all come encased in shining blush coloured packaging. Included are the Always On Petal Metal Lipstick (£19), which promises to deliver a metallic sheen to the lips and comes in shades Desert Rose, XO Vlada, and In Bloom, and the Be Legendary Liquid Metal (£19) which is a gloss-like liquid lipstick designed to make lips appear plumped, and also comes in three colourways: XO Vlada, Rose Magic, and Petal Metal. You can also opt for Vlada’s signature eye look using the Petal Metal Liquid Eyeliner (£19) – available in the glimmering champagne 24K Rose or the blush-gilt-flecked Black Rose – and the new Cover Shot: Petal Metal Eye Palette (£26), whose blushing tones suit any complexion. Prime skin with the highlighting Petal Metal Primer (£30), then add more glow with the Petal Metal Powder Highlighter (£30) in shades Rosemantic, Gilded Rose, and Prismatic Petal, Petal Metal Shimmer Drops (£32), and the Petal Metal Shimmer Spray (£26). The collection is now available to buy from Smashbox and Boots.

Recently launched in the UK, Bioglitter has been designed to help tackle the problem of microplastic pollution, which is caused in part by traditional polyester based glitter. Bioglitter opts to switch out the traditional plastic for cellulose, which is stable in sterile environments and so won’t degrade on the shelf, but once it enters soil, compost, waste water or fresh water, the glitter naturally decomposes. Bioglitter are concerned that companies who claim to sell environmentally friendly glitter aren’t always what they seem, so they have come up with a system whereby the Bioglitter logo can be used to establish which brands are truly eco-friendly. So far, the brands in the UK included in the scheme are: EcoSparkles, Moon Creations, The Mermaid Cave, Eco Glitter Fun, Glitterlution, EcoStardust, Festival Glitter, Wow Glitter, The Soap Kitchen, The Soap Makers Store, 4CandlesUK, and Bay House Ingredients. Bioglitter will keep an updated list of retailers here.

OPV Beauty have released their oceanic Yemoja eyeshadow palette (£29). Inspired by the Nigerian myths of Yoruba, the twelve shades in this palette whisper of long kept secrets and mystical lands. Ranging from the rose gold shimmer of empire-inspired Oyo through the cranberry matte of Eko to the regal royal-blue shimmer of Oba, the shades in this palette are fit for Kings and Queens alike, and give dramatic colour pay off. The palette is available on beautybay.com.

Internationally renowned makeup artist Attracta Courtney hosted her celebrated Attracta Beauty Awards again this year on the 4^th July. The first ever awards to be created by a makeup artist, the awards recognise exceptional and emerging beauty brands. This year’s theme was “Let’s Talk About Beauty”, and focussed on driving conversation about why beauty matters so much to us, and how it impacts the environment. This is wholly in line with the recent shift towards being more conscious about the choices we make in consumerism. Attracta used her platform to open up this conversation, particularly focussing on paper recycling, good environmental practices in printing, and why we should all be more aware of plastic pollution and its impact. The ceremony itself featured talks from revolutionary environmental change advocates including Jo Ruxton from Plastic Oceans, Paul Regan of creative printers F. E. Burman, Margaret Sweeney of GF Smith, an independent British paper company. There were 64 winners spanning makeup and skincare, but some of the top winners this year are as follows: