Nude Kiwi

Every Nude Kiwi product is made in Nelson, New Zealand, by a small team led by founder Emily Fairhall. The range is packaged in glass bottles and jars with kraft boxes and paper sleeves, all of which can be recycled through New Zealand kerbside collection.

The formulas are built on plant oils, botanical extracts and a short list of proven actives, with scent coming from essential oils only. There are no parabens, no sulfates and no synthetic fragrance. Several products are fragrance free altogether: the Blueberry Bright Eye Gel, the Resurfacing Serum and the Recovery Concentrate Oil. Preservatives are gentle food-grade types such as benzyl alcohol and dehydroacetic acid, which every water-based cosmetic needs to stay safe.

Most people start with the Ultimate Repair Serum, which covers hydration, brightness and the look of fine lines in one step, and add the Brightening Day Cream for the morning and Overnight Repair at night. If you would rather try before committing, the Travel Pack holds minis of the Cleansing Milk, Collagen Clay Mask, Brightening Day Cream and Overnight Repair in a travel pouch. Our pharmacy team is happy to match products to your skin in store or by message.

Bakuchiol is a plant extract from the babchi seed that is used as a gentler alternative to retinol. It smooths the look of fine lines and evens the look of tone without the dryness and sun sensitivity retinol can cause, which is why many people choose it for sensitive skin or during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Nude Kiwi uses 1% bakuchiol in the Ultimate Repair Serum and includes it in the Blueberry Bright Eye Gel. Neither contains retinol.

Applied to skin, marine collagen works as a humectant and a film former: it holds water at the surface and leaves skin feeling smoother and firmer. It does not pass into the deeper layers or replace the collagen your skin makes itself, so think of it as a hydration ingredient rather than a structural one. Nude Kiwi uses it in the Brightening Day Cream, Overnight Repair and Collagen Clay Mask alongside oils and extracts that do the nourishing.

Resurfacing Serum contains glycolic acid, an exfoliating alpha hydroxy acid, so it is a night product. Start with one or two pumps on clean, dry skin two or three evenings a week, follow with moisturiser, and build up as your skin gets used to it. Do not layer it with other exfoliating acids or retinol on the same night, keep it away from the eyes, and wear sunscreen every day while you are using it, because exfoliated skin burns more easily.

The range is formulated to be gentle: the cleanser is pH balanced and non-foaming, the serums are free from retinol, and three products are fragrance free. Most of the face and body range is scented with essential oils, so if your skin is reactive, patch test on the inner arm first. Nude Kiwi describes its products as pregnancy friendly because they contain no retinol or synthetic fragrance; if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, show the ingredient list to your midwife or doctor before adding anything new, particularly the glycolic acid Resurfacing Serum.

The Ultimate Repair Serum, Resurfacing Serum, Recovery Concentrate Oil, Blueberry Bright Eye Gel, Cleansing Milk, Hand Serum, Body Oil and Bath Soak contain no animal-derived ingredients. The Brightening Day Cream, Overnight Repair and Collagen Clay Mask contain marine collagen, which comes from fish, so they are not vegan. The Moisture Lock Lip Balm contains lanolin from sheep wool.

A shower steamer is a pressed tablet of bicarbonate of soda and citric acid carrying fragrance and essential oils. You place it on the shower floor, away from the direct stream, and as water splashes it the tablet fizzes and releases scent into the steam. Unlike a bath bomb it is not meant to touch your skin or dissolve in bath water, and one tablet lasts one shower. Nude Kiwi makes three scents, Chai Latte, Rainforest and Wood Sage & Sea Salt, each in a box of three.