Winter beauty: gemstones galore

Discover a new breed of skincare products that champion the beauty of minerals and gems for your body, mind, soul and skin.

Egyptian goddess Cleopatra was known for her lavish beauty regime, using precious gems such as lapis lazuli ground up into a powder as eyeshadow, and bathing in a bed of rose quartz for its intense healing and anti-aging benefits. It’s impossible to track the full origins of how early pioneers learned about these therapeutic effects, but it’s certain that Chinese royalty favored jade, and that ancient Greeks and Egyptians honed the perks of using quartz and set the bar for future discoveries. Throughout time, crystals and gemstones have been viewed across a variety of different cultures as healing tools. Even when lands are separated by vast seas, it’s interesting to note that certain stones are applied similarly in each area, such as turquoise to promote health and jasper to boost strength.

In modern times, there has been a gradual shift away from the concept of protection against specific ailments and threats, as a fresh crop of aestheticians and independent skincare brands test the waters on gems’ effectiveness as a topical agent. With the backing of science and an eclipsing of the mystical properties, we might be on to something big – a modern-day beauty elixir that combats free-radicals and aging amidst climate change.

Technology is most often seen to have the upper hand when it comes to selling instant gratification, but vanity tools such as the jade roller (popularised in 2016) have proven that it can be a level playing field for less-techy, back-to-basics types of products that reap visible results. If it wasn’t for the surge of rollers, which were sold in mass quantities online to holistic-leaning spas, perhaps brands would have put the thought of developing skincare that marries tradition and innovation on hold.

With the holiday season around the corner, we’ve curated a list of forward-thinking brands that are redefining luxury and are every bit worth trying out. Think about it: you can experience something close to royalty at home, using what technically could be a billion-year-old shard of rare earth mineral into a beautiful concoction of luscious serum.

Goop

Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s influential lifestyle website-turned-brand Goop has taken note of the brilliant detoxifying qualities that malachite has to offer, and came up with a purifying cleanser and refining tonic that highlights the copper content that’s richly available in this precious stone. Extracted using a special process to make it as bioavailable as possible and at a suitable pH level for skin, the copper acts as an antioxidant to keep skin shielded from environmental aggressors. It gives you a deep cleanse without irritating the skin – something that all of us are a bit wary of when testing new products.

Therapie Roques-O’Neil

Feeling incredibly stressed or noticing your anxiety levels peaking? This would be a good moment to turn off your phone and wind down in a bath. Therapie Roques-O’Neil’s award-winning blend of salts, crystal powder and essential oils is designed to support overextension. Amethyst is used in this case to balance the autonomic nervous system and purges stress at a cellular level. For better results, sleep in a device-free room and let the body heal itself from within.

Tata Harper

This might be the only time all year when you could take a day off to fix groggy skin that’s a result of those accumulated all-nighters. Tata Harper’s non-drying Clarifying Mask targets blemishes with AHA superfruits and exfoliates with quartz micro-crystals. Have an important date, but don’t have a full hour to look extra-fierce? Use it as an exfoliating face scrub and then apply a thick layer of the Hydrating Floral Mask (for a good 20 minutes) with 1,000 sizes of hyaluronic acid to deliver intense hydration. Oh, and did we mention that the range uses 100 per cent natural ingredients?

Sisley

Sisley is another beauty house that praises malachite, showcasing its benefits in its plant-based Eye Contour Mask. It works within 10 minutes to hydrate and reduce signs of fatigue around the eye contour – a great solution for early mornings or something to have handy on long-haul flights.

Herbivore Botanicals

Herbivore Botanicals has been an early adopter, using micronized Brazilian tourmaline in its Brighten Instant Glow Mask to illuminate skin, which is something that everyone wants regardless of age. It’s a highly concentrated night mask packed with rice powder and pineapple enzymes, so all you need is a thin film of distribution to enjoy a baby-like plump the next day.

Angela Caglia

You can most certainly get a facial roller for what a family pack of toothbrushes would cost, but a dupe from Amazon will never work nor feel the same. If you know you’re getting that end-of-year bonus, it wouldn’t hurt to invest in the best. Angela Caglia’s state-of-the-art Vibrating Rose Quartz Sculpting Roller delivers more than 6,000 sonic vibrations per minute – making it a powerful apparatus that gives you a natural facelift by attacking stress-related fine lines and boosting collagen.

Grown Alchemist

Complete the head-to-toe pampering with the Purifying Body Exfoliant by Grown Alchemist, which smooths your skin to silky perfection. Aragonite and conchiolin proteins derived from pearl gently remove dead skin cells, noticeably decongesting the skin and improving cell turnover, while aromas of ylang-ylang, sandalwood and bergamot shall leave you smelling like a slice of heaven.