These Are the Best Drugstore Beauty Launches of 2021, So Far

They newest additions to the Olay Regenerist line, the Glow Collection, come in pretty pink and iridescent packageing. But these products are more than just nice to look at. The Olay Glow Regenerist Serum (£15), in particular, is a superconcentrated formula that contains niacinamide, peptides, and hyaluronic acid that, together, will do wonders on evening out skin tone and texture and reducing pigmentation. If you don't like fragranced skin-care products, than you'll likely want to sit this one out; but if you do, the scent — which smells fresh and clean, like a fancy hand soap — is quite lovely.

We are seriously impressed by the e.l.f. Flawless Brightening Concealer (£5), which costs just £5 but is as creamy and blendable as some formulas with price tags nearly triple that. It's not a full-coverage concealer (it's not promising to be), but rather meant for brightening under and around the eye area, which is why the lightweight liquid formula has a healthy dose of shimmer-free luminosity to it and a second-skin effect when it sets. Available in 12 shades, the clickable concealer pen features a brush tip that makes it easy and fast to apply under your eyes and along the sides of your nose.

With ingredients like collagen, peptides, and niacinamide in the formula, the E.l.f. Cosmetics Camo CC Cream (£14) sounds more like skin care than makeup, but we're not complaining. As if that wasn't enough, it delivers natural-looking full coverage and SPF 30 protection and is available in 20 shades.

L'Oréal Paris Bambi Eye Oversized False Lash Mascara (£11) only launched this month but it has quickly become our new favourite high-street mascara. As you comb through your lashes, it's almost like the triangle-shaped wand is stretching out each and every hair — that's how much length you end up getting with this formula. We also like how it fans out your lashes, giving you that doe-eyed, Twiggy effect.

Known for its high-performance, sustainable hair care, body wash, and hand wash, Faith in Nature is at the forefront of eco-friendly beauty. Adding to its existing successful hair-care line — which consists of shampoo and conditioner in both bottles and bars — are four hair masks: coconut and shea, dragon fruit, shea and argan, and rose and chamomile. Each of the Faith in Nature Hair Masks (£7) is suitable for all hair types and contains an ultramoisturising base of shea butter. As with all of the brand's products, the new hair masks are vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and sulphate-free. Plus, they're housed in 100 percent recycled and recyclable packaging.

Dove offers up another fast-acting hair softener courtesy with the launch of the Dove 1 Minute Super Conditioner (£5). The thick, creamy formula contains serum capsules that contain ingredients that work to repair, hydrate, and strengthen strands in just one minute, after which you rinse it out. The brand claims it can treat even the most severely damaged hair, whether that's due to over-styling, chemical relaxers, or bleach.

According to the brand, one bottle of the L'Oréal Paris Elvive Dream Lengths 8 Second Wonder Water (£10) sells every minute in the US, and in January 2021, the miraculous formula makes its way to the UK. Suitable for all hair types (even though it says for long, damaged hair on the bottle), the Wonder Water is a very thin liquid conditioner (no, really, it has the consistency of some high-quality H2O) that helps soften, hydrate, and detangle strands in just eight seconds using a patent-pending proprietary technology called "lamellar technology".

Lamellar water works similarly to micellar water — which uses micelles to trap dirt and remove it from the surface of the skin — but in the opposite way. Instead, lamellar technology delivers active ingredients called lamelles throughout your hair, however, the lamelles only target the areas along the hair cuticle that need to be repaired. They do this not through magic, but through chemistry: the positive charges of the lamelles attract to the negative charges of damaged areas of hair, delivering the hair-coddling active ingredients to repair the hair fibre exactly where it's needed.

When it comes to relaxed, effortless hair, London-based hairstylist George Northwood knows a thing or two. His clients include the likes of Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, and the Duchess of Sussex, all of whom have hair that always looks luxe, healthy, and perfectly imperfect. Seven years after opening up his own salon in Fitzrovia, Northwood is bringing his expertise to the masses courtesy of his own hair product range called Undone by George Northwood, which is available both at Boots and on Northwood's website.

The collection is comprised of three shampoo and conditioner duos (Undirty, Unparched, and Undamaged), a weekly detox shampoo (Unpolluted), and three styling products. We can't wait to try
the Undone by George Northwood Unpolluted Shampoo (£18) and the Undone by George Northwood Unpolluted Shampoo (£18), two star performers in the range.

Also launching at Boots in February is Aveeno's new hair-care range, which includes six different shampoos and conditioners all formulated around the brand's singiature soothing ingredient: colloidal oats. And while some formulas are better for drier hair and others curly or fine, what the shampoos and conditioners all have is common is that they're gentle and focussed on treating and taking care of your scalp as well as your hair. They're also all safe for sensitive skin types. "The new formulas are sulphate free and pH balanced, respecting the scalp and hair's natural pH levels by gently cleansing hair without stripping it of its natural oils and helping to maintain a healthy moisture balance for the scalp," trichologist Stephanie Sey, who partnered with the brand for the launch, said about the range.

We're looking forward to trying the Aveeno Gentle Moisture+ Rose Water & Chamomile Blend Shampoo (£9) and Aveeno Gentle Moisture+ Rose Water & Chamomile Blend Conditioner (£9), but if you have thick and curly hair, the Frizz Calming+ Almond Oil Shampoo and Conditioner is worth checking out.

You've probably heard of purple shampoo for blondes but now John Frieda is making a blue-toned colour-correcting shampoo called John Frieda Blue Crush Shampoo (£7) for brunettes. It's meant to get rid of out stubborn orange tones in brown hair that's been colour processed in the past.

Head & Shoulders has always been the go-to brand if you've dealt with dandruff or a sensitive scalp. This month, it's gone and launched an entire range dedicated towards keeping your scalp happy and healthy, whether it's oily, itchy, or in need of a deep clean. All three formulas — including the Head & Shoulders Deep Cleanse Itch Relief Anti Dandruff Shampoo (£6), shown here — contain the brand's hero ingredient, piroctone olamine, which helps reduce the flaking associated with dandruff for up to 72 hours, as well as a new proprietary "deep pore cleansing technology" that, according to the brand, helps decongest the scalp.

Herbal Essences new "Essences of Life" range promises great-looking hair, and some good news for the environment. The entire collection (which includes three different formulas: Repair & Renew, Hydrate & Smooth, and Nourish & Sooth) is vegan and cruelty-free and uses responsibly-harvested aloe extracts. Additionally, as part of the launch, Herbal Essences has partnered with Kew Garden's Millennium Seed Bank, to help save 20 endangered plant species in the UK in an effort to promote plant biodiversity.

Each treatment formula includes a hair mask, an oil mist, and a hydrating concentrate. We have our eyes set on the Herbal Essences Essences of Life Argan Oil Repair & Renew Intensive Mask (£5) to help bring some life back to our very dead, dry ends.

When it comes to relaxed, effortless hair, London-based hairstylist George Northwood knows a thing or two. His clients include the likes of Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, and the Duchess of Sussex, all of whom have hair that always looks luxe, healthy, and perfectly imperfect. Seven years after opening up his own salon in Fitzrovia, Northwood is bringing his expertise to the masses courtesy of his own hair product range called Undone by George Northwood, which is available both at Boots and on Northwood's website.

The collection is comprised of three shampoo and conditioner duos (Undirty, Unparched, and Undamaged), a weekly detox shampoo (Unpolluted), and three styling products. We can't wait to try
the Undone by George Northwood Unpolluted Shampoo (£18) and the Undone by George Northwood Unpolluted Shampoo (£18), two star performers in the range.

Receiving the NYX Professional Makeup Marshmallow Primer (£15) is like receiving 10 products in one. It soothes, hydrates, and tones the skin, leaving your makeup looking flawless.

On 11 Feb., Ciaté is dropping a whole new formula: the Plant Pots Nail Polish (£10). It's made from 80 percent naturally-derived ingredients, is cruelty-free and vegan, and contains ingredients such as bakuchiol, biotin, and bamboo extract. It's also the most sustainable range yet according to the brand. The glass bottles are made with recycled glass, they have a fully recyclable cap, and are made from sustainably-sourced ingredients.

Every bit of the Colgate RecyClean Toothbrush (£4) was created with sustainability in mind. The packageing is plastic free, meaning it can be easily recycled. The bristles are BPA free and made from renewable plant-based materials, whilst the handle is made from 100 percent recycled plastic. The new eco-friendly brush is one small part of Colgate's 2025 Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy, which aims to cut the amount of toothbrush plastic waste in half by 2025, and to eliminate one third of new plastics used in the manufacturing process to eventually be able to rely on 100 percent recyclable, reusable, or compostable packageing.