Beauty news: meet Apotheka - and new BECCA

One of the first seriously beauty-dedicated retailers to open in New Zealand was Glamorpuss, where I spent many a pretty penny exploring their beautiful wares alongside many other freaks like me. When they moved from Nuffield Street in Newmarket to the far-more-buzzing Osborne Street precinct they upped their game with some fabulous new brands, and also decided to change their name - to APOTHEKA (apothekaboutique.co.nz). Owner Marianne Welch says that the name was “inspired by the idea of a modern apothecary that is home to an edited collection of our favourite skin care and cosmetics brands,” and that they only stock products that the team have personally trialled and use themselves.

Since Glamorpuss opened its door they have always looked for products that are innovative and unique, and have been leaning more and more towards products that are natural and organic. Their current lineup of brands includes A Beautiful Life, BECCA, Blinc, Duwop, Greenland, Duwop Beauty, Japonesque, Mario Badescu, Pai Skincare, Rosebud, Tweezerman, The Brow Gal, and Swisstools, and they still only stock products that never test on animals.

They do beautiful makeovers at Apotheka, including those using the BECCA brand, who create some of my favourite products. A new one I have been using is the Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed, which is a sequel to the brand’s cult favourite liquid Shimmering Skin Perfector but in the form of a creamy powder luminizer in a compact.

Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed says that it “absorbs and reflects light for a superb natural glow”, and it most definitely has the radiant factor down pat. The texture is a dream: soft, smooth, incredibly finely milled and oh so silky against the skin. It also has excellent colour payoff, and to get the most natural, barely-there glow, I highly recommend using a light hand with a fluffy or fan brush. I recently took the Opal shade with me to Sydney for a long weekend and was seriously impressed - it wore well for around eight and a half hours before starting to fade.

All I can say is… if only I could wake up with this on every day!