Zara fans, get ready for a piece of news that’s about to make your year. The mega-stylish retailer, known for supplying the fashion community with affordable trend pieces that pack our wardrobes year-round, is entering the beauty game. In fact, today marks the launch of Zara Beauty, the retailer’s first official beauty collection. That’s right—in addition to loading up your cart with the most enviable sartorial styles for summer from pleated miniskirts to halter tops, now you can also stock up on vibrant lip colours, eye shadows, makeup brushes, and even nail polish. The best part? It all falls right in line with the elevated quality and inclusive ethos we’ve come to love and expect from Zara.
From the get-go, the thing that stands out most about this new beauty offering is the shade range. It’s vast. In true Zara fashion, there’s something for everyone, whether you’re looking to create an easy, no-makeup look or a full glam-rock face complete with contrasting eyes and lips. According to Zara beauty director Eva Lopez-Lopez, that’s intentional. “Our goal was to create something truly inclusive in which many can participate; innovative products with a playful, personal, and individualistic character, all made with the high-performance ingredients and true colour innovation,” she said in a statement.
The collection—which already features an impressive assembly of makeup products for the eyes, lips, and face, in addition to nail lacquer—is made with both people and the planet in mind, featuring high performance ingredients, clean formulas, and refillable packaging. Not only that, but it’s all been developed with the creative direction of legendary British makeup artist Diane Kendal, who’s work you’ve likely spotted on the runways for major designers like Tom Ford and Proenza Schouler. So, yeah, this stuff is built to make an impact. To get us all in the mood for the playful vibes to come, Zara created to most beautiful campaign, calling in some of the biggest names in fashion photography to bring the looks to life in a way that communicates the fun and free nature of the collection. The flawless campaign consists of a series of looks ,created by Kendal, that diverse interpretations of beauty and individual character, captured by Steven Meisel, David Sims, Marilyn Minter, Oliver Hadlee Pearch, Zoë Ghertner, Craig McDean, Nadine Ijewere, Mario Sorrenti and, Fabien Baron. In terms of inspiration, it doesn’t get much better than this!
Zara Beauty is available now on all platforms in the UK and Europe, the US, Canada, Mexico, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and will become available in the Middle East starting in June 2021. Now that you’ve read all about this new launch, it’s time to see the products in action. Keep scrolling for honest reviews from our beauty team, including our favourite products and everything we think you need to know. Get our looks and shop more of the newness from Zara, ahead.
Erin’s look also includes Too Faced Born This Way Foundation (£29); Urban Decay Stay Naked Correcting Concealer (£23); Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Face Setting Powder (£27); Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder for Under Eyes (£23); Surratt Beauty Noir Lash Tint (£46)
I’m obsessed with this. I love the smaller size of this lipstick versus a normal lipstick bullet, and I found it was much easier to do a quick—very precise—application. The colour I tried is the perfect enhancement to the natural colour of my lips, and the formula itself is exceptionally hydrating while still packing a nice punch of pigment. (Some moisturising formulas look too sheer or are hard to build enough colour for my liking.)
Hands down, this was my favourite product out of the entire lot. You can definitely wear it on its own to give your lips a dose of moisture and a hint of luminosity, but when you layer it on top of a lipstick (which I did) it acts as a highlighter, giving your lips more dimension and the prettiest hint of light-reflecting shimmer. I can already tell this is going to be one of my most beloved products this summer for a quick and easy minimalist makeup look.
Normally I don’t gravitate toward all-in-one face palettes like this one just because I am super particular with my blush, highlighter, and bronzer, and have different favourites from different lines. That said, this one really gets it right in the complimentary shade department. The blush was super pretty and almost reminded me of Nars’s Orgasm (one of my all-time favourites like everyone else in this world), and while I’ve kind of been off powder highlighters recently, I found that this one really did deliver the perfect amount of glow without looking too glittery or iridescent. Also, the powder itself was really easy to blend and layer with zero cake-y buildup. I’m impressed!
A neutral eye look with just a little bit of glow and glimmer is pretty much my signature and even though I’ve been nonstop reliant on liquid shadows recently, I’m super impressed with Zara’s new formula. The shadows are surprisingly pigmented so you only have to go in with your brush a few times to achieve a nice build of colour, they are beautifully shimmery and flattering while not looking too disco-y, and they also are super silky, soft, and so easy to blend. Since I was going to be home all day and wanted something low-key, I just used a light shimmery pink hue as my base, then took a coppery colour to add more definition around my crease and outer corners, and then used a taupe-y matte tone almost like a liner and to create a subtle wing effect to elongate my eyes.
I love that this line comes with a collection of brushes. They’re so soft—almost like a pillow for your face—and they picked up and blended all of the products better than most of my crazy expensive brushes. The fact that these are so affordable makes me want to buy every single one. I used the big fluffy one to blend my bronzer and blush, the flat-sided middle-sized one to apply my highlighter along my cheekbones, browbones, and down the bridge of my nose, and I used a few of the eye brushes to help me blend and add dimension where I needed. Obsessed!
Courtney’s look also includes Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free (£35); Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze Styling Wax (£24); Pat McGrath Labs Dark Star Volumizing Mascara (£26); Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Lip Liner (£17)
Confession: I still get intimidated by eye shadows. Unless they’re super light or can be applied with my fingers, I just feel a little out of my depths. But when I opened the palette and saw the shimmery hues, especially this electric green one, I was awe-struck. It’s SO gorgeous. Vivid colors often don’t have the greatest payoff on darker skin like mine, so I decided to put this pretty shade to the test by applying it on my bare eyelids, without a primer. At first swipe, I was taken by the jolt of colour deposited. These shadows are also so soft and easy to blend. Overall, I’d recommend!
I found this brush so useful for packing eyeshadow into the corner of my eyes before blending them out a bit to gel with the rest of the shimmery hues on my lids. I’m not sure if that’s the proper use, but it felt natural and worked like a charm.
I was worried the cheek accentuators in this palette would be too light and muted for my skin, but they actually look gorgeous on. I applied each one at a time, but next time I’d venture to swirl the fluffiest brush over all three shades at once for a one-and-done cheek moment. Something tells me that would be magnificent.
I watch way too many makeup tutorials online and my favourite part is always when the artist finishes the face with a dramatic pull of the highlighter brush to reveal HighBeam cheekbones. This is the perfect brush for that. It’s dense enough that it can pack some serious pigment onto the skin, but the bristles are flexible enough to move with the contours of the face.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a magenta lipstick I like as much as this one. It’s just beautiful! I lined my lips with my favourite lip liner, which really made this lip colour a perfect match for me. I didn’t now I needed it!
Kat’s look also includes Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 30 Foundation (£46); Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Concealer (£32); Ilia Limitless Lash Lengthening Mascara (£27)
The name of this lipstick “evil red” made me raise my eyebrow, so I had to try it. It’s super pigmented, and my application shows the true versatility. Lately I’ve been applying my lip colours with a very light hand, so it’s more of an enhancement of my natural shade. Who knew that just a hint of “evil red” would look pretty and pink? I also think the tube shape is perfect: functional with subtle design-y elements. It’s also especially important to me that my lip products are clean, since I inevitably end up “eating” some of it, so I was so happy to learn that the line is nontoxic.
I’m a blush every dang day kind of woman, so that’s what I reached for in this palette. I concur with Erin Jahns’s statement that it reminds her of Nars’ beloved Orgasm hue. In fact, though, it has less shimmer, so perhaps it’s the Orgasm’s slightly more sophisticated cousin.
Both brushes I used were fluffy and lovely. I know super soft brushes aren’t always easy to come by at this price point, so these were a surefire win for me.
It’s a big day for me when I put on eyeshadow, so I was pleased to find so many wearable colours in my palette. I mixed a matte tan color with another neutral that has a little sparkle for an effect that was still friendly for daytime Zoom land. Even though I’ve been wearing cream eyeshadows lately, now I officially have some powder ones back in my rotation.
Mica’s look also includes Shiseido Synchro Skin Self Refreshing Foundation (£40); Glossier Stretch Concealer (£15), Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (£23); Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter (£34); Maybelline The Falsies Lash Lift Mascara (£10)
Despite rarely wearing eye shadow, I love an eye shadow palette so my heart skipped a beat when I opened up this 6-shade delight. By this stage I’ve tried all of them and have to give a special shout out to Mod—the muted peachy-tan shade in the bottom right corner—but it’s Psychadelia, this vibrant yellow-gold, that I’m truly obsessed with right now. Yes, this Zara palette might have converted me to wearing colourful eye shadow on a daily basis. The shadows themselves are super pigmented but don’t let that scare you—they’re creamy, easy to blend and look good wether you use your fingers or brushes to apply.
When it comes to lipsticks I’m generally a matte girl but there was something about this sleek, skinny lipstick that instantly appealed. First up, it’s really lovely to apply—the narrow bullet means that you can really trace the edges of your lips for a precise finish and the formula itself feels as nourishing and comfortable as some of the most high-end lipsticks I’ve tried. This dusky pink shade is a brilliant everyday shade for me and adds just the right amount of sheen to lips without it slipping and sliding everywhere. I’ll be seeking this out in other shades pronto.
At first glance, this shimmery balm looked like a relic from my ’90s play makeup bag. However, I was wrong to judge. It’s great for a pretty, everyday balm but it layers well over lipsticks if you want to add a little shine too—I’m wearing it layered over the Stiletto lipstick in the photo above. However, this product is versatile enough to wear all over your face. I’ve patted it beneath brow bones and onto the inner corners of my eyes, slicked it over my lids for a glossy eye look and even applied it to cheekbones for a soft highlight. It’s truly brilliant.
Generally speaking, I don’t really wear bronzer but I wanted to put this one to the test. Firstly, it is seriously pigmented so a little really does go a long way. I was way too heavy handed with my first attempt but I’ve found that a quick dip of a fluffy brush and a generous buffing motion over cheeks diffuses the colour beautifully and really creates a healthy skin look. I’ve skipped blusher entirely in the picture above and I’m into it.
I’m so glad that this little eyeshadow brush now has a permanent home in my makeup bag. Despite it’s unassuming size it’s a brilliant fluffy-yet-dense brush that picks up just the right amount of product and packs it onto your eyelids for an intensely pigmented look. Plus, when clean, it works just as well as blending out harsh edges for a softer eyeshadow look.
Next up: 7 women break down their gorgeous natural-makeup looks.
