Fresh, clean beauty innovations we want ASAP this August

We're only half way through summer (glass half full, y'all!), and the beauty hits keep on coming. Black and white charcoal are becoming a trend in shampoo and conditioner, both for their clarifying properties; skin is definitely still in, including a few new ways to help banish blemishes; and the latest innovation in shellac is about to help minimize the time you actually spend with your nail tech!

Here is our round up of the best of the beauty best for the month of August.

Destination inspiration

Taking cues from the major K-Beauty trend of the past few years, Lise Watier worked with a Korean laboratory to create its new line of cleansers, launching this month. The four-step regimen includes a cleansing oil, scrub, foam cleanser and toner. We're partial to the rose petal scrub, which gently exfoliates the top layer of the skin thanks to sugar and rose petals (it's as divine as it sounds!), and the toner, a gel-textured version that also infused with rose petals, so the juice is as good for the skin as it smells.

Lise Watier Gentle Rose Petal Scrub, and Lise Watier Soothing Rose Petal Gel Toner, both $26, available at Hudson's Bay, Shoppers Drug Mart, London Drugs

All about you!

On August 15th, Calvin Klein will launch its next big hope for a fragrance juggernaut — Calvin Klein Women, the first scent developed under the creative direction of Raf Simons, who joined CK in 2016. This time around the brand brought two A-listers on board as not only the faces of the scent, but to also shine a light on two of their biggest influences. Saoirse Ronan, who counts Sissy Spacek and Nina Simone as two of her idols, and Lupita Nyong'o, who listed Eartha Kitt and Katharine Hepburn as women who inspire her, represent the new age of women according to CK. Consisting of eucalyptus acorn, orange flower and cedarwood, the juice is a modern take on a feminine scent, marrying contrasting notes seamlessly and bringing the idea of "we are stronger together" into the fragrance aisle.

Calvin Klein Women, $92 (50 mL), Shoppers Drug Mart, Hudson's Bay, Jean Coutu (August 15, 2018)

Glimmer & glow

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Winky Lux, a kitschy-cute cosmetics brand from NYC, has just landed at Murale in Canada. Top of our wishlist? The Glimmer Balm. It's a cruelty-, paraben- and gluten-free lippy that reacts to the skin's pH levels to create a truly custom shade of pink, with just the right touch of glimmer. It also smells like coconuts, so… we'll take one, please!

Winky Lux Glimmer Balm, $18, beautyboutique.ca and Murale

So fresh and so clean

While summer calls for us to get our hands dirty, park hangs, cottage stays and everyday things like applying sunscreen, mean we're piling on dirt and grime wherever we go this season. Enter Live Clean's new Foaming Hand Wash. It comes in three uplifting scents, our favourite, the White Tea & Cherry, an unexpected blend that also contains aloe vera and chamomile. The formula is made from 98 per cent plant-based ingredients and does not include nasties like sulfates, petrolatum, silicone, phthalate, parabens, etc. It's also vegan and comes in recyclable packaging, so you'll feel even better when you suds up.

Live Clean Foaming Hand Wash in White Tea & Cherry, $4.99, Shoppers Drug Mart, London Drugs, Walmart, Jean Coutu, and Well.ca

Staying power

"Time is the new luxury," fabulously dressed co-founder Jan Arnold recently said at an event for CND, the brand who first brought shellac to the market. And she is so right! With their latest innovation, CND is cutting down the down time on nail colour even further. Shellac Luxe, in spas and salons now, dries 10 times faster than previous iterations and only takes one minute (yes, you read that right!) to remove, meaning it can save you up to 15 minutes per nail appointment. The new formula comes in 65 shades, 15 of which are new, which also means that your fave CND shade is likely there, or you can easily find a new one, like the royal purple Temptation or the standout grey hue, Silhouette. Added bonus? The formula doesn't feel as thick as other shellac, giving it more of a regular polish feel. We like.

CND Shellac Luxe, pricing based on salon, available at select spas and salons across Canada.

It still isn't over

Did we mention that we're only about halfway through summer (yay!), and it may be time to replenish our SPF supply. Thankfully, clean beauty brand, Beautycounter has something new: Countersun, a mineral sunscreen mist that uses an airless bag technology to push out the formulation, instead of pesky chemical propellants. They also utilize a non-nano zinc oxide for broad spectrum UVA, UVB, and blue light rays from phones, computers and tablets. Also, with the addition of California poppy extract, an antioxidant rich ingredient that helps to condition the complexion, the formula, which is reef-safe, will leave a slight white cast, to ensure that you know where you're putting it, but will then blend to a subtle-matte, non-greasy, finish.  

Beautycounter Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist SPF 30, $46, beautycounter.com

Blemish control

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Caudalie founder Mathilde Thomas has finally launched a line with a natural form of salicylic acid, made to perfect acne-prone skin. Thomas and her team found that wintergreen extract contained SA in 2015, and spent the last few years developing Vinopure to aid skin in exfoliation and cell turnover, especially when breakouts occur. Consisting of a toner, serum and mattifying lotion, the line also contains 100 per cent rose water to help soothe skin. Use the serum only when needed (i.e. when blemishes are popping up), she recommends, as an all over treatment, or you can use it to spot treat as well. Blemishes be gone, naturally.

Caudalie Vinopure Clear Skin Purifying Toner, $34, Caudalie Vinopure Blemish Control Infusion Serum, $39 and Caudalie Vinopure Skin Perfecting Mattifying Fluid, $48, ca.caudalie.com

Zit zapper

If you're experiencing major breakouts, or know someone who is, Dermalogica has just launched a new formulation that could help (and it's backed by Riverdale star Lili Reinhart). Called the Breakout Clearing Booster, this serum contains salicylic acid to spot treat or prevent blemishes all over, by killing bacteria and helping to exfoliate the top layer of the skin to clear out any debris that may cause pimples. It also contains a phytoplankton extract that helps to prevent over-drying (a major concern for most people when they use acids meant for acne), by working with the skin's natural microbiome (basically your skin's micro-organisms). Booster can be applied as an all-over prevention tool once you see a break starting or as a spot treatment if you're one of many who tend to get blemishes in specific areas of the face.  

Dermalogica Breakout Clearing Booster, $28, dermalogica.ca and sephora.ca

In the clear

Blending herbs and homeopathy into a beauty line, and gaining a celeb following along the way (oh hi, Kylie Minogue, Jourdan Dunn, Lily Collins and Rita Ora!), The Organic Pharmacy is known for their scientific approach to natural skincare. Enter the Maunka Face Cream, a lightweight moisturizer concocted specifically for someone who has oily or acne-prone skin. The cream consists of a few key ingredients: Manuka honey (obviously!), which is antiseptic, lavender to help soothe the skin and cedarwood to help balance, all the with goal of helping to reign in oil production while reducing dry areas.

The Organic Manuka Face Cream, $114, theorganicpharmacy.com and Murale

The breakdown

Hands up if you rely a little too heavily on dry shampoo and wash your hair only once or twice a week!? (Slowly raises both hands.) To combat the issue of excess build-up from oil, dirt and dry shampoo, which Patene posits can result in up to four per cent more weight in the hair (for better or worse), the mass market brand has just launched a new charcoal series of its own. With a blend of activated charcoal, to really help get in there and break up the build up, as well as their pro-vitamin B5 signature, in the shampoo, it's the perfect complement to the conditioner which contains white charcoal and antioxidants to help replenish strands. Both formulas are free of parabens, dyes and silicone.

Pantene Pro-V Charcoal Purifying Root Wash and Pantene Pro-V Charcoal Renewing Cream Rinse, $5.99 (300 mL), available at mass market retailers across Canada.