Milk has played a part in beauty rituals for centuries. Since Cleopatra famously bathed in the stuff, it has been touted for skin thanks to its natural fats, proteins, and gentle exfoliating acids.
Right now though, milk is having a beauty revival.
In winter in luxurious bath soaks such as L’Occitane’s Almond Milky Bath, it can help soften skin.
In scent, it’s also a key element right now in creamy, ‘lactonic’ gourmands that offer familiar, nostalgic and gentle notes.
The Nue Co latest is called ‘First Milk, designed to reflect a connection to our first scent memory – a comforting soft embrace. It has almond milk, tonka bean, french vanilla and iris with a hisper of pink pepper, then dries down with amber and woods.
US indie perfume brand DedCool’s cult-favorite perfume Milk is a ‘skin’ scent with bergamot, white musk and amber. Now it has released spin-off ‘Mochi Milk’ a sweeter gourmand with rice and marshmallow, meant to remind of the traditional Japanese rice cake treat.
However the biggest trend doesn’t involve milk as an ingredient at all.
Instead a plethora of new ‘milky toners’ and ‘skin milks’ are inspired by its runny, opaque texture.
Spread on like a serum, these products are designed to drench skin in hydration, delivering moisture without weight. They provide barrier support and often provide calming ingredients, making them excelling for oily and sensitive skin types.
Rhode’s Glazing Milk Ceramide Facial Essence has been sought-after globally, key in helping extend the trend beyond its K-beauty origins. The ceramide-rich, soothing facial essence gives skin lightweight moisture and a dewy glow. Founder Hailey Bieber cemented the trend for ‘glazed doughnut skin’ thanks to the help of this product.
The Ordinary Rice Lipids + Ectoin Microemulsion gives a similar result at a slightly lower price point, the milky moisturiser designed to deliver lasting hydration, repair the skin barrier, and reduce visible redness using rice-derived lipids, ectoin, and jojoba oil.
Here’s the milk-related products we’re loving right now:
Rhode Glazing Milk Ceramide Facial Essence
The Ordinary Rice Lipids + Ectoin Microemulsion
TIRTIR Milk Skin Toner
L’Occitane’s Almond Milky Bath
DedCool Mochi Milk Eau De Parfum
MECCA MAX MILK IT Soothing Moisture Mist
The Nue Co. First Milk Functional Fragrance
Commodity Milk Eau De Parfum
ILIA The Base Face Milk
