In recent years, the beauty industry has grown exponentially, with new launches, lines, and collaborations coming at us in rapid succession. Every casual scroll through your Instagram feed presents you with new beauty products being revealed, and let’s not even get started with all those targeted ads you never asked to see. So if you’re someone who loves beauty, how do you keep track of all of the latest and greatest? And more specifically, how do you know which items you can buy in the UK (without paying exorbitant shipping fees, that is)? Well, that’s where we come in. Every month, we round up the most exciting launches coming to the UK, from classic brands to indie newcomers and all the creams, sprays, and conditioners in between.
August 2020 is not like every other month, however. We are into our fifth month of the coronavirus pandemic, with lockdown restrictions simultaneously loosening up and being reinstated depending on where you live the UK. And whilst most shops have opened and the government is eager to get people back out and about, social-distancing measures and new safety-and-sanitation regulations mean the in-store shopping experience will look and feel very different than before COVID-19. Couple that with the fact that many people are out of work or still furloughed and high-risk individuals still need to self-isolate, and rushing out and buying new beauty products — in-store or online — probably isn’t at the top of a majority of people’s priority lists right now.
But for some people, beauty (and, by extension, beauty products) may act as a distraction or a way to maintain some semblance of normalcy right now (a phenomenon known as the “lipstick effect”). And many brands — in addition to donating products to NHS workers and using their production lines to make hand sanitiser — are continuing to try to roll out new products for anyone who is interested or has the ability to buy. Keep reading to check out the newness — even if it’s just to do some virtual window shopping from your living room.
