Our annual curation of the best in beauty is back for 2025. Who will take out the top spot? Keep your eyes peeled for every update coming soon to Viva.co.nz.
The Viva beauty team has long been obsessed with unearthing the best innovations the industry has to offer. From the groundbreaking skincare ingredients to plump and hydrate, to the hypnotic fragrances that leave a powerful scent trail in their wake, there’s a whole world of effective and luxurious products out there to try.
Now in its second year, the Viva Beauty Awards, presented by Glow Lab, are shining a spotlight on the best products, people and practices of our local and international beauty and wellness scene, as decided by our panel of expert judges and our valued Viva readers.
Bigger, better and more beautiful than ever, our second Viva Beauty Awards has seen five additional categories added to the line-up, including awards that aim to celebrate New Zealand brands and their commitment to sustainability. We’ve also introduced a scalp-specific category, split body care into Best Body Wash and Best Body Moisturiser, and added a Best For Your Handbag category because we all know how many products we tote around daily.
Like last year, we’re calling on industry experts to nominate the products they think deserve to be awarded in each of our 30 categories, spanning skin care, makeup, hair care, body care, fragrance and wellbeing.
Our trusted panel of judges will then narrow down the nominees to a list of finalists for each category before our readers are invited to vote for the products and people to take out the top spots. Scroll down for details.
How to enter
Have a product you want to nominate? Here’s what you need to know.
If you work in New Zealand’s beauty industry, we invite you to nominate the products you think are worthy of winning in each relevant category. All eligible submissions include existing products and newly launched products with a cut-off on-counter date of April 16, 2025. Products with planned launch dates from April 17 onwards will be excluded from this year’s awards but are welcome to enter next year.
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Advertise with NZME.To enter, fill out all required fields in the entry form below, including a 200-word explanation as to why you believe this product or person is a standout in their respective category. This information will be shared with the judges to be used during the panel discussion as part of the shortlisting process.
View the full list of our 2024 Viva Beauty Award winners here.
The categories
Person or Brand
Brand Founder Of The Year | The founder of a New Zealand beauty brand that has demonstrated leadership excellence in all areas to achieve success on a local and global scale.
New Zealand Beauty Brand Of The Year | The New Zealand brand that has disrupted the local beauty landscape over the past 12 months.
Innovation Award | The beauty brand that has pioneered change in its respective field, whether that’s through a sustainability initiative or by implementing new technologies.
Sustainability Award | The beauty brand striving to reduce its environmental impact thanks to its ongoing focus and commitment to circularity and/or sustainability.
Breakthrough Brand Of The Year | The emerging beauty brand that has experienced growth and success in the past 12 months.
Makeup Artist Of The Year | The makeup artist who continues to demonstrate creativity and excellence in their field.
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Advertise with NZME.Hairstylist Of The Year | The hairstylist who continues to demonstrate creativity and excellence in their field.
Beauty Therapist Of The Year | The beauty therapist who continues to demonstrate excellence in their field.
Makeup
Best Base Product | The makeup products that help you ace your base – foundation, concealer, pressed powder and more.
Best Pop Of Colour | Awarding the bright and the beautiful – bold eyeshadows or eyeshadow palettes, punchy lip products and more.
Best In Glow | The glow-getting products – highlighters, complexion perfectors, and more.
Best For Lips | The products to make you pucker up – lip balms, tints, stains, glosses, lipsticks and more.
Best For Lashes Or Brows | The products that love lashes or are best for brows – mascaras and eyeliner, or brow gels, tints and waxes.
Skincare
Best For Cleansing | The skincare that helps to deep clean your dermis – foams, oils, micellar waters, creams and more.
Best For Hydration | The skincare that leaves skin hydrated and soothed – from nourishing serums or eye creams to cosseting moisturisers.
Best For Overnight | The skincare that does its best work while you slumber.
Best For Mature Skin | The skincare that is tailored to suit the needs of mature skin types.
Best SPF | The broad-spectrum SPF that fends off harmful UV rays and keeps skin protected.
Hair care
Best For Your Scalp | The product designed with the unique needs of the scalp in mind.
Best Shampoo & Conditioner Duo | The haircare duo that cleanses and conditions hair to perfection.
Best Hair Styling Product Or Hair Treatment | The hair styling or treatment product that is a must-have in any haircare routine.
Best Hair Tool To Try | The hot styling tool that has experienced widespread success or pioneered new technology in its field, and gets great results every time.
Body care
Best Body Wash | The body wash that is sure to elevate any shower ritual.
Best Body Moisturiser | The body care product that nourishes from top to toe – think body creams, serums, oils and more.
Best For Hands & Nails | The products that care for hands and nails - think hand creams or cuticle oils.
Fragrance
Best Signature Scent | The personal fragrance that leaves everyone asking: “What perfume are you wearing?”
Best Home Fragrance Scent | The home fragrance that uplifts and inspires – candles, diffusers, oil burners, plug-ins and more.
Extras
Best Supermarket Buy | Awarding the accessible beauty brand that demonstrates excellence in its field but without the designer price tag.
Best For Your Handbag | The portable beauty product that is perfect for toting in your bag.
Best In Wellbeing | The ingestible beauty product, supplement or tincture that has experienced widespread success.
Meet the judges
Ashleigh Cometti | Viva beauty editor
Sarika Patel | Freelance makeup artist
Lucy Slight | Freelance beauty and lifestyle journalist
Danny Pato | Award-winning hairstylist and co-founder of D&M Hair Design
Stacey Fraser | Cosmetic chemist and Design Practice Teaching Fellow for the School of Product Design at University of Canterbury
Jane Joo | Beauty influencer and content creator
Our process
Selecting the best in beauty requires a team of industry experts to lead the discussion around which products have that wow factor. Together, our panel of experts – including leading professionals in beauty journalism, cosmetic chemistry and hair artistry – will narrow down all entries to the top five finalists for each category. Our finalists will be announced on May 14. The winner for each category will be determined by a public vote, to put our valued Viva readers at the heart of our awards.
Nominate your favourites below
CREDITS:
Photography | Guy Coombes
Video producers | Jakob Karrasch and Jack Brabham
Video production manager | Sasha Sadlier
Video editor | Caitlin Hurring
Fashion and creative director | Dan Ahwa
Beauty editor | Ashleigh Cometti
Hair and makeup | Leisa Welch
Models | Yali Cotton from Super MGMT; Shangdi Sun and Alaina Granger from Unique Models.
Each model’s skin was prepped for our shoot using a combination of Glow Lab products, including the Coconut & Shea Body Lotion.
