Syrene is one of New Zealand's most popular skincare brands and it's finally available in the UK
If you're looking for ways to make your beauty stash more sustainable – i.e. greener products and ocean friendly solutions – New Zealand's providing the blueprint.
Its natural and sustainable beauty market has flourished in response to the climate crisis, as established and emerging brands work to innovate further on delicious solutions that fit neatly into our lifestyles. Joining the likes of organic skincare brand Antipodes and plastic-free, solid beauty bar brand, Ethique, Syrene is making waves as the new skincare brand to know (at least here in the UK where it's just landed after launching into NZ in 2016).
Their ethos is simple: to harness the power of the pacific and supercharge it with science in order to create soothing formulas that melt into skin.
For example, "our green algae and seaweed are sporn ingredients grown in a lab, rather than taken from the sea" explains, Syrene's brand representative, Emma Hulse. A small sample of algae is collected from the ocean and it's genetic makeup is painstakingly recreated under lab conditions to give our skin all the benefits of the ingredient (potent skin-protecting antioxidants that boost elasticity and neutralise free radicals), but without the widespread and damaging harvesting of scarce resources.
Likewise, the brand's marine collagen (which promotes glow and fortifies the skin structure) is made from waste from a local fishery that would otherwise have been discarded.
These are combined with oil-balancing sea salt and locally sourced land ingredients like the Mamaku black fern to tone and firm, Kawakawa leaf extract an antibacterial property used in traditional Maori medicine, Manuka honey, botanical oils and deeply conditioning Pohutukawa flower extract.
The switches we can make.
As for the packaging, alongside making a beautiful addition to your bathroom shelf, the aqua blue packaging is made from recycled ocean plastic fished from the sea and repurposed to give it a second life span.
Here are a couple of products to try first...
Syrene Aquagel Oil to Foam Cleanser, £46
Containing seaweed extract and glycerin this silky oil transforms into a gentle foam to cleanse skin without stripping the barrier.
Our edit of the best Beauty Editor-approved cleansers for all skin types.
Syrene Aqua Hydrating Masque, £70
Packed with seaweed extract, marine collagen, black fern, glycerin and manuka honey, this instantly quenches sapped skin as well as creating a deep reservoir of hydration for longer-term moisture, to leave skin dewy and plump.
These are the best face masks money can buy.
