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The Brands We Want In NZ NOW!

21 January, 2018 - 10:23pm by - Head Pixie | 32 Comments

By BR Kellie

It's such a first world problem, (but, as my husband is prone to saying, 'a first world problem is still a problem') but nothing niggles at me quite like the way the internet exposes us to amazing beauty brands that we can't easily get our hands on here in New Zealand. We've been lucky recently with the opening of Mecca that some previously untouchable brands are now in our hands - but there are more out there that we feel we need to be able to swatch and play and touch before we commit to buying. 

So what brands are on the crew's most want to get our actual physical hands on list? Check these out!

If I see Tati rave about another lipstick from Flower Beauty (the brand created by the fabulous Drew Barrymore) I'll cry. Flower lipsticks look drenched in colour, super creamy, and the shade range is gobsmackingly beautiful. Then there are the Flower Pots Powder Blushes, which look divinely blendable, and the packaging is super cute. That Flower needs to stretch its petals all the way around the globe!

Beauty Bakerie, bless them, do ship internationally - but - there's no distributor or stockist in New Zealand, so we can't sweep their stunning products over our hands to imagine how they'd look on our face. Also, the packaging is just so darn cute we'd love to see the range displayed on a stand. It would brighten up even the bluest of days.
Viseart is not cheap. Heck, you wouldn't even call it sort of affordable. It's 'spensive. But it's raved about in the beauty community. We love a good eyeshadow at BRHQ. Palette's give us life. But sometimes hearing how great a product is isn't enough for us to commit the cash. Sometimes you just need to run your finger through the formulation before buying. 
Shape Tape. Shape Tape. Shape Tape. If you watch YouTube beauty gurus then you'll know Tarte Shape Tape is beloved by the online beauty community. Revered for its ability to cover and not crease. Heck, Tarte on the whole is adored - but they're on the pricey side, and the shipping is $$$. Last year they had a free shipping day and I coughed up sixty odd dollars for a holiday set - and, well, I was left disappointed. The lipstick was nice. The blush, bronzer and highlighter were okay, and the eyeshadows had a couple of shades I liked, but on the whole the pigmentation and creaminess wasn't there, and had I been able to swatch it first I'd have passed. Further investigation saw many people who'd bought it saying it wasn't the usual formula and was substandard. Another reason why we wish more brands would come to New Zealand so that we don't waste our money buying something that isn't up to scratch (also - segue alert! - Why do brands do this with holiday sets? I've often read reviews saying the product isn't as good as their usual offerings. And further investigation sees that the product has been made in a different country. First, why do this to a customer? Second, why do this to your brand?) Either way, it's safe to say I won't be buying Tarte again unless I can swatch it first.
How gobsmackingly beautiful is the above eyeshadow palette? Don't you just want to smear that top middle shade on your eyes? Well, first we want to smear it on our hand to see if it's as pigmented as we hope. Whle Makeup Geek's range of eyeshadows, face powders, lip products and brushes look beautiful, we're not game enough to go there. But if they were in New Zealand? You bet we'd give them a go! 
J Cat Beauty is another product YouTuber Tati raves on about. She loved their Holo Eyetopper (on her top lids, not on the lower lid), their triple baked highlighters, and their holographic lip cream. She also enjoyed their HD Skincealer Foundation. Can we get it here in New Zealand? Not so much. There are a couple of online stores that sound like parallel importers, but that's about it. We still hold out hope though. I mean if Farmers can bring Wet n Wild our way, perhaps there's a chance for J Cat!

Yes, Sephora NZ sells Huda Beauty and Fenty Beauty online - but what really needs to happen is for Sephora to open physical stores in New Zealand so we can get in there and ogle and play to our heart's content! 

So fellow beauties... are any of our wish-list beauty brands on your radar. Are there other beauty brands you'd love to see hit our fair shores? Tell us about it and we'll keep our fingers crossed that someone, somewhere, with all the beauty-bringing power can put things in motion! 

Comments

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9th February, 2018

Make Up For Ever. Lipstick Queen. The Ordinary. Glossier! *weeps gently into keyboard* And these are the ones I know I like. It isn't that these brands are unobtainable, it is that to make the fantastic cost of international postage (both in $$ and plastic packaging) worthwhile, you really can't just buy one lipstick. Or one eyeliner. Or a $5 bottle of serum. And sometimes, one thing is all you need. Yes, really.

3rd February, 2018

Yes to Flower Beauty!! I'd be keen for Catrice Cosmetics to be somewhere in NZ. I have a few products I bought overseas and I'm keen to try more.

1st February, 2018

I really want Colourpop here. They do free shipping for other $50 but I don't want to order that much at once. Otherwise, it is $9.99. Their LUX range, just dropped today, looks very good.

1st February, 2018

I soooooo wish we had a physical sephora store! It would be so handy, although i'm sure our bank accounts would hate us. Being able to physically see and swatch a product before you buy it would be ideal. I'm always unsure of buying online especially foundation because if you get the shade wrong you've just wasted money :/

27th January, 2018

I have tried make up geek duo chromes but they didnt really work well for me. Have seen mixed views of tarte products paying big shipping on products your not really familiar with is off putting

24th January, 2018

Yes to sephora havingaNZ store! yes to MG and definite YES to tarte!!!!!

otherwise i'll just have to fly to Aussie for a shopping spree hahahahahaha

24th January, 2018

I wish Sephora would open up in NZ! Buying online is so hard for shade matching and trying to match online is pretty hard sometimes. I would love Tarte to be more accessible, I want my hands on that Shape Tape SO bad.

23rd January, 2018

Ooh I'd love a Sephora store! I also want tarte. I haven't heard of some of these brands

23rd January, 2018

More too faced! I think the problem isn't really that we can't get certain brands in NZ, it's the insane shipping and import costs. Personally I'd like more korean skincare/beauty like tonymoly and etude house.

23rd January, 2018

I would be great to have these brands readily available in NZ but then I always think, how much they would cost here. Sometimes I find it cheaper to buy things online, ship to one of those ship it to address and get it to NZ than buying it in NZ, like Mac, benefit etc. I would really love it if Tom Ford perfumes were easily available in nz - my farmers does not stock my favourite one! And neither does any pharmacy I go too.

23rd January, 2018

Flower beauty and Kat Von D would be awesome to have here and ofcourse a Sephora shop would be the ultimate beauty dream come true.I am heading to Sydney next month so will have to check it out then.

23rd January, 2018

Hi Ladies

Just some insights from over 20 years working in the beauty industry that in my experience it would be very rare for any global brand to compromise quality by putting second rate products in a gift set. Gift sets are generally very low margin as the extra packaging needs to be factored in and often they are smaller sizes than you would be able to buy in isolation. But it would be unusual to change a formulation of a standard product specifically for a gift set. If anyone has experienced inferior quality of products in a gift set compared to an original they've bought i'd encourage you to take it back to where you purchased it from. It is more likely to be a isolated batch issue rather than a deliberate ploy. Hope this helps . x

23rd January, 2018

Oh my gosh yes to Sephora having an NZ store! Between that and Mecca you can get most of the big brands! Sephora Melbourne was a fave when i was there! I also wish more people carried Billion Dollar Brows, there are physical stockists but they tend to be salons and out of the way.

23rd January, 2018

Omg Sephora is my number one! I stumbled upon it entirely by accident a couple of years ago in Hawaii and was like... what's this store? Walked into Heaven!! The ultimate would be having a Sephora store here with the amazing prices they have in the U.S!! Until then, I'm hanging out til May when I'm on holiday there and going on a massive spending spree!

22nd January, 2018

Some gorgeous products. Love the palettes especially makeup geek's!

SooziesWorld
23rd January, 2018

Mecca now stocks BDB in NZ.

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