Beauty Insider: Dior Appoints Rihanna As New Face Of J’Adore; Hikoco Opens In Takapuna; Monday Haircare Gives Out Free Coffee

Dior Beauty has named Rihanna as the new face of its iconic J’Adore fragrance; Step inside the new Hikoco store in Takapuna’s Hurstmere Rd; Monday Haircare hands out free coffee to punters at Sydney’s Rollers Bakehouse; Fenty Beauty branches out into haircare with Fenty Hair.

Welcome to Viva’s Beauty Insider, our new weekly column where beauty editor Ashleigh Cometti unpacks every movement within the industry.

Check back every Thursday for the latest instalment, or keep your finger on the pulse by heading to our @Nzhviva Instagram for updates as they happen.

Read on for every important beauty announcement worth knowing this week.

Rihanna reps Dior J’adore

It’s been a big week for Rihanna.

Five days after the launch of Fenty Hair (more on that below), Dior revealed Rihanna as the new face of its signature J’adore fragrance, as shared by the fashion house in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

“Christian Dior is truly delighted to welcome icon Rihanna, whose wide-ranging talents, remarkable beauty and universal appeal now embody the world of J’adore,” the caption read.

In a statement shared with WWD, Rihanna explained the full circle moment: “Being the new face of J’adore is both an honour and a mission. This scent, that I have known and loved for so long, means so much to women. I am especially looking forward to joining this adventure and contributing to it through my world, my story, my roots, as well as my creativity and my own femininity.”

The announcement cements Rihanna’s longstanding relationship with the fashion house, after sitting front row at several Dior fashion shows (the most recent of which during Paris Fashion Week this year) alongside being named as Dior’s first Black ambassador in 2015.

Rihanna’s forthcoming J’adore campaign will be revealed on September 1, in collaboration with esteemed fashion photographer Stephen Klein.

Hikoco opens in Takapuna

Perennially popular K-Beauty store Hikoco has opened its third Auckland location, with a sprawling millennial pink store situated in the beating heart of Takapuna’s shopping district.

An official opening event late last month saw K-Beauty lovers flock to the North Shore, where they could snap a pic in a branded photobooth, receive a velvet pink goodie bags, and complete a shopping checklist as they browsed the shelves lined floor to ceiling with top-rated K-Beauty skincare, hair care, makeup and more.

From Dr. Jart+’s barrier-restoring Ceramidin skincare range, to COSRX’s cult favourite snail mucin serum or Etude’s viral mascaras, Hikoco is constantly on the hunt for the next big thing in K-Beauty, and imports products from Korea to Aotearoa on a weekly basis.

A post shared to the brand’s Instagram regarding the new store saw many fans quick to request a fourth store south of the CBD, with suggestions including Manukau and another as far down the country as Christchurch.

Hikoco, 61 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna.

Monday Haircare’s morning coffee run

In a bid to banish Monday morning blues, Monday Haircare took over Sydney’s popular Rollers Bakehouse earlier this week by handing out free coffees.

Under the hashtag #NoBadMondays, the Monday Haircare team handed out fresh brews from 7.30am until sold out, all while flying the Monday Haircare flag in blush pink tracksuits and matching caps.

Alongside complimentary coffee, bespoke issues of the Monday Telegraph were dotted around the Palm Springs-inspired cafe, reminding punters that every day can be a good hair day.

Owned by James Sideris, Rollers Bakehouse has made a name for itself with its modernist pink facade and traditional French patisserie methods, with loyalists flocking from all over Sydney.

We only ask that Monday Haircare rinse and repeat this concept once more, this time at a cafe close to Viva’s Auckland HQ.

Fenty Beauty’s inclusive new haircare range

We’re experiencing a celebrity haircare renaissance it seems, with Beyonce’s Cecred and Rita Ora’s Typebea.

Now, Rihanna’s ever-expanding beauty empire is following suit with the launch of Fenty Hair.

The range of haircare and styling products officially launched on June 13, and comes after much speculation that Rihanna was set to enter the category for years now.

Four years, in fact, a post on her Instagram revealed, with products tested on more than 400 people before being revealed to the world.

It’s the next natural step for Fenty Beauty, with Rihanna already having launched successful makeup, skincare and fragrance lines under the one umbrella.

“You know how much switching my hair up matters to me,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “I’ve had almost every texture, colour, length — from weaves to braids to natural — so I am launching a flexible line of products for not only every hair want, but every single product is designed to strengthen and repair all types of hair, which is what we truly need!”

All nine products in the range are geared towards all hair types and textures, from 1A poker straight hair to 4C coily hair. There’s a universally hydrating shampoo and two conditioners (one thicker to condition curly hair), a bond-building treatment to fight frizz, a curl-defining cream (touted to be one of Rihanna’s favourites), a heat protectant, two hair gels (one light, one strong) and an edge brush to detail and style baby hairs.

To build hype around the launch, Rihanna debuted a blonde pixie cut at the launch party on June 10, all styled using Fenty Hair products by her go-to stylist, Yusef.

Although Fenty Beauty is available from Sephora stores, Fenty Hair hasn’t landed on our shores just yet. If you absolutely can’t wait, shipping to Aotearoa is available from Fentybeauty.com.

Ashleigh Cometti is an Auckland-based beauty journalist with more than 12 years’ experience in the industry. After joining the Viva team in 2018 and being appointed beauty editor in 2020, Ash has fine-tuned her skills at sniffing out new fragrance launches, discovering the next generation of talented makeup artists and writing about all things that feed her obsession as a skincare fanatic.

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