Christchurch’s beauty experts on the au courant, the cool, and the regimens that get results.

BEAUTY

What’s a girl (or guy) gotta do for great skin?

The sun’s out and we’re once again showing our arms, legs and everything else that we’ve been hiding all winter, including our actual faces. It’s time to stop covering problem skin with makeup and invest in a treatment to let us rock the natural look with confidence. Needling is like building muscle; do a little damage, and everything comes back stronger. Nik at Mojo Beauty calls this process a “total game changer”. Dermal needling involves using a small electric pen with disposable needles to puncture the top layer of skin (not as deep or painful as a tattoo), triggering the body’s natural healing response. You naturally form new collagen and elastin for firmer, smoother and more youthful skin. Once you’ve recovered, slap on some good sunscreen and show off that gorgeous face.

Get skin like a… dolphin?

Trust us, dolphin skin is coming in. Sometimes called ‘glass skin’, this is all about making your face look like the dewy, wet skin of a majestic dolphin. We ask Probeauty what this is all about. Read more.

Bespoke skin treatment

Riccarton beauty salon My Beauty Clinic uses one of the most advanced skin revision systems to improve pigmentation, scarring, acne and the effects of ageing. It’s called DMK Enzyme Therapy. The team starts by analysing your skin type, texture and colour to inform which of over fifty different potential protocols is the best one for you. They then use enzymes to detoxify, hydrate, and strengthen your skin’s mitochondria.

Facelift over lunch

Chic destination beauty salon Le Plaisir recommends a treatment so gentle it can be done in your lunch hour: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound. Read more.

Microbiome: the rainforest of the face

You probably know about probiotics for gut health. We also have ‘good bacteria’ on our skin. Read more.

Light up

Pump up your pedi and enjoy classic beauty pampering while simultaneously treating your skin with an innovative ‘add-on’: mini LED treatment. Read more.

HAIR

Lop for a cropped top lob

Covid might have us itching to experiment; Miley Cyrus emerged from lockdown sporting a funky blonde pixie mullet cut by none other than her mother. Mums, maybe don’t try that at home. JUCO at Fox Hair says this year’s hair is all about short and feminine. Think textured layers up top, a little longer and softer than last year’s hyper-masculine look, and add some edge with a funky razor undercut. A bob for everyone! Posh had the ‘pob’, Jennifer Aniston got the ‘lob’, and Jenna from Jenna Blackwood Hairdressing says there’s a soft and flirty bob for you too. It’s a classic style that’s been around since the ‘20s, so it’s been through a ton of iterations. Your face shape determines which bob suits you, and Jenna can help you figure that out. Speaking of Spice Girls and Friends, the ‘90s are back with short and sexy ‘dos at Earth Organic Hairdressing. “Think lazy shag-type cuts and pixie mullets, all with vivid pops of colour,” Traci Aylmer says. It’s that surprising addition that makes the cut special, according to Adem at Valentino’s Hair Design. “It’s all about short and feminine, but with a funky edge.”

Mess is out; drama is in

When it comes to big event hair, mess is out and super sleek dramatic ‘dos are in. Bridal and events hairstylist Rebecca at Mint Hair Design says it’s all about sophisticated styles this season - think centre parts with smooth sides, sleek ponies, or Hollywood glam curls this party season. We’re thinking Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, so practise your smouldering looks for the cameras while you’re at it. True Grit hair salon has a treatment called Color Wow to enhance your hair’s colour and give what owner Jacqui calls ‘excessive’ shine. And when she says excessive, she doesn’t mean just regular, run-of-the-mill home-shampoo shine. First, a filter cleanses your hair of foreign bodies before your cut, and then your stylist blow-waves a cocktail of treatments into your hair post-cut. Seriously, it’s wow.

Plant-based mullet colour

To achieve funky hand-painted colours and majestic mullets, Traci from Earth Organic Hairdressing uses only plant-based products. Traditional hair dyes contain PPD and petrochemicals – which between them can cause allergies, cancer, and general environmental chaos. Traci says any colours that traditional dyes can achieve are possible with the environmentally-friendly products at Earth Organic.

Zen. Yes, zen for your head

Take the pace of life down a notch in Lyttelton with Soulstyle Organic Hair Salon’s blissful ‘zen service’: a relaxing pin-point scalp massage that concentrates on pressure points to increase blood flow to the hair follicles, giving your hair (and your mood) a natural boost.

Out: Maintenance. In: Carefree

For the warmer months, maintenance is out, semi-permanence is in.

The experienced and precise crew at Nirvana Beauty Lounge recommend microblading, which will keep your eyebrows on fleek for up to a year and a half. Microbladed brows are created with a pen-like tool that delicately scratches the skin surface and imparts a little medical-grade pigment into the skin, creating fine, realistic hair strokes. If you’ve haven’t been down the Instagram-microblading rabbit role, check it out. The results are insanely realistic.

Get It Beauty recommends eyelash extensions to amp up your fresh-faced, low-maintenance look. The experienced team can do all lengths, from natural medium lashes to dramatic longer lengths. To round out your low maintenance routine, Olympia at Mya Makeup in Sydenham is an expert with cosmetic, semi-permanent eyeliner. The professionally-trained and qualified beautician offers tattooing on either the upper or lower lid – whatever mimics your usual makeup routine and brings out your eyes’ natural beauty. The results last about two years – so no more worrying about smeared eyeliner when you’re going from the beach to the bar.

In the I-just-woke-up-like-this hair stakes, balayage will continue to be a huge trend this summer. To achieve this look, the stylist fades your natural-coloured roots into lighter ends, so you don’t need to touch up any re-growth. The team at The Hair Room is experienced with balayage, and recommends a colour only every six months, with a toner touch-up every six weeks or so. These touch-ups can be done in the salon or with one of their salon-quality products at home.

Tour de coiffure

Cityscape takes you on a quick tour of some cool spots to get a cut.

Super-fun and friendly Shirley salon La mode Hair keeps up with current trends and creates exciting styles. Surreal Hair has been supplying St Albans with fabulous cuts and colours for 21 years. Mod’s Hair stylists travel to Paris for creative sessions at the Mod’s training headquarters, and bring the latest techniques home with them to Merivale – read more on page 97. Mood Hair sisters Iwona and Ada learned the tricks of the trade in their mother’s hair salon in Poland, and they’ve brought those skills to New Brighton. Located in The Colombo mall in Sydenham, Black Hairdressing’s fabulous team do killer cuts and colours, as well as hair loss solutions for women – read more on page 98. In Lincoln, family-friendly salon Collective Hair Design can take care of the whole whānau in the same place.

Celeb tips and Top five 2020 eye makeup trends

Catherine Zeta-Jones has a surprising hair treatment: beer. “I smell like the bottom of a beer barrel for days afterwards,” she says, “but it’s very good for the hair!” Any brew works; you don’t need the pricey crafties.

Some beauty trends just don’t seem worth it. Among Gwyneth Paltrow’s stranger beauty routines is apitherapy – bee stings to reduce inflammation and scarring. “But man, it’s painful,” she says.

Sunset eyes Get inspired by the vibrant shades of the evening sun. Blend gold into hot pink, then orange, with a pop of purple on your outer lid. White eyeliner This simple way to achieve a brighter, wide-eyed look comes Tyra Banks approved. Pumpkin orange eyeshadow Layer a bold orange over your eyelid and lower lash line. The beauty world can’t get enough of this colour to make any eye colour pop. Coloured mascara Give black a break and try cobalt blue, deep burgundy or an out-of-this-world deep green. Highlighter lids For an edgy runway vibe, pick up some neon yellow or lime green eyeshadow and let your lids make a statement.

nails

Geometric designs or poison frog print?

Nails by Tomo’s Tomoko Tsuji is putting a modern twist on the classics this spring. The French manicure is having a major revival, with a subtle ombré version rocked by J.Lo at this year’s Golden Globes. Tomo adds her own flair with bright neon tips or layered colours, like dark green rimmed with white and gold. She’s also loving intricate French tips with overlapping angles. Reow! Millie from Shape of Elegance is all about animal print, the likes of which we’ve seen on Kylie Jenner’s tips. Millie hand-paints each nail, and for something a bit different she’s got some slick reptilian patterns, or even poisonous frog print in striking yellow and black.

Locally-made, world-class nail products

Experienced tech and Cashmere local Candace Woods always found something a little bit lacking in the products she was using – whether it was the way the products felt, or the chemicals and harmful animal testing that went into them, Candace felt she could do better. She now supplies her own range of professional products to salons all around the country – and they smell like bubble-gum. Check them out at designernails.co.nz

Strengthen your nails, not just your polish

If you haven’t tried an IBX nail strengthening treatment yet, party season is the perfect time to spruce up your claws. After a bit of a tidy, the treatment is applied onto the natural nail, and gentle heat helps it sink into your nails and toughen them up. Renske Grant at Simply Envision says that an IBX treatment pairs well with a gel polish, to strengthen nails inside and out.

Coming soon

Keep an eye out for new nail salon Bhava opening in Merivale Mall mid-November.