Beauty editor Ash Cometti shares her top body care buys from this year’s Beauty Award winners.
The term “body care” has always been broad – a loosely defined moniker to describe products that care for every square inch of skin.
Whether that’s a multi-purpose skin salve to smooth on
Presented by Glow Lab, this year’s celebrations included additional categories to ensure body care brands were well-represented – like splitting the Best Body Product in two to ensure both body washes and body moisturisers could stake their claim at the coveted title of Viva Beauty Award winner.
It was a delight to see so many local beauty brands awarded, including newcomers Noody, Bonnie and Dulese, alongside established category pioneers like Ecostore, Pure Mama, Two Islands, Ashley & Co. and Glow Lab.
Read the full list of Viva Beauty Award 2025 winners here.
Below, beauty editor Ash Cometti dives into the 9 body care brands that won their category in this year’s awards or were recognised as a runner-up, along with her recommendations of the best products to shop for from each.
Pure Mama
It was a record year for Pure Mama, who took out top prize in both the New Zealand Beauty Brand Of The Year award and Best In Wellbeing category for its Magnesium Body Rub; as well as runner-up for founder Lara Henderson in Brand Founder Of The Year.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.From Papamoa to Palm Springs, Pure Mama’s rapid expansion has pioneered the pregnancy skincare category with the world. The brand’s range of pregnancy essentials having achieved international acclaim, with products backed by celebrity-led platforms such as Kourtney Kardashian’s Poosh and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop.
The brand’s physio-recommended Magnesium Body Rub, $69, isn’t solely reserved for pregnant people, either, and can be smoothed on by anyone experience muscle tension, aches or pains. The formula twins magnesium with SyriCalm to alleviate discomfort while promoting a deep, restful sleep.
Pure Mama’s best-selling Body Oil, $74, is another example of a body care product not solely reserved for pregnancy, rather the unique blend can be used by anyone for a dose of nourishment or hydration. Although it does work particularly well at supporting the needs of stretching skin as it grows to accommodate baby.
Dulesé
It’s been less than six months since Amelia Jory revolutionised the natural deodorant space with Dulesé, but in that time the brand has received global attention for its unique formulation and elegant design. So much so that Dulesé was recognised as the runner-up in the Innovation Of The Year award.
The Refillable Natural Deodorant, $30, is currently sold-out online, but the refills are still available. The high-performance formulation promises all-day freshness, helping control body odour while nourishing the delicate underarm skin. It’s free from the likes of aluminium salts and baking soda used in traditional deodorant, instead going down the natural route to offer protection, deodorisation, and perspiration absorption in one.
Ecostore
Another New Zealand beauty brand which dominated multiple categories is Ecostore, which was awarded the winner of the Sustainability Award along with runner-up spots in both the Best For Hands and Nails and Best Supermarket Buy for its Vanilla Bean & Coconut Handwash.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.The personal care, home fragrance and cleaning brand has spent the better part of three decades providing New Zealanders with clean yet effective products that tread lightly on the planet.
This includes its ever-popular Vanilla Bean & Coconut Handwash, $7, a soap-free blend of plant and minerals that cleanse, nourish and condition skin. The formula highlights native harakeke extract and jojoba to ensure the skin’s moisture balance remains intact, not to mention that delicate vanilla bean and coconut scent which makes hand washing a pleasure.
Elevate your shower ritual with the limited-edition Rose & Amber Body Wash, $8, a pH-balanced blend of harakeke, shea butter and betaine to nourish and hydrate skin in one fell swoop. Plus the sweet-scented combination of rose petals, vanilla, sandalwood and patchouli make showering a truly sensorial experience.
Noody
The brainchild of The Facialist Ashleigh Scott is Noody, a plant-based body care brand aimed to support the sensitive skin needs of the next generation. Noody was awarded as the Breakthrough Brand Of The Year winner for its selection of ultra-gentle, child-focused skincare, with all four products in the range developed with sensitive and eczema-prone skin in mind.
Together with her husband Scott Glacken, Ashleigh sought to formulate a no-nasties range of products that support a healthy skin barrier and work in harmony with even the most inflamed skin.
Noody’s Calm Balm, $35, shot to stardom for doing just that – alleviating redness or irritation on ultra-sensitive skin types – thanks to its blend of prebiotics, calendula & kawakawa. The brand’s most recent release, the Bedtime Bestie magnesium sleep spray, $35, is said to help soothe little ones off to sleep – including those as young as three months old.
Pure Fiji
Pure Fiji reigned supreme in the body care category by winning both Best Body Wash for its Shower Gel, $33, and Best Body Moisturiser for its Hydrating Body Lotion, $52.
Both products borrow inspiration from the Pacific paradise they’re named after, highlighting a blend of ingredients including coconut milk alongside cold-pressed virgin coconut, dilo and macadamia nut oils to leave skin feeling moisturised.
Another award-winning product from the brand is its Nourishing Lip Balm, $18, which took out the Best For Lips award. As with all Pure Fiji products, the sweet-scented fruit infusions is where the collection shines, with scents running the gamut from ultra-sweet gourmands to delicate florals.
Aesop
It’s one of the newer products available from Aesop, but it still managed to earn its place as runner-up in the Best Body Wash category. The new Aesop Eleos Nourishing Body Cleanser, $37, boasts a herbaceous scent profile, with notes of patchouli, cedar atlas and clove bud. The hydrating cream formulation recruits a blend of hardworking botanicals to purify while they cleanse, rendering it an excellent chose for those with dry or dehydrated skin.
The Viva team were treated to a preview of the Lucent Facial Cleanser, $95, this week – the new exfoliating masque which couples PHAs and BHAs to help slough away impurities or dry patches. Designed for use twice-weekly, the masque can be left on for up to 15 minutes to do its thing, before being washed away to leave skin with a more even skin tone and texture.
Bonnie
The newest safe, sunless tanning brand on the scene is Bonnie, born out of Ōtautahi Christchurch by content creator Mary Outram. The brand’s signature yellow is the golden thread throughout its PR and marketing, befitting the gold-standard product that lies within the tube. Case in point: the Bonnie Golden Gradual Tanning Lotion, $42, was recognised runner-up in the Best Body Moisturiser category. The cream-based formula imparts a golden glow to skin while enriching it with nutrients like hyaluronic acid, plus vitamins B5, C and E.
Keen to extend the lifespan of your tan? Consider the Bonnie Glow Moisturising Lotion & Tan Prolonger, $42, locks in hydration with its cocktail of hyaluronic acid, vitamins C and E, shea butter and cucumber extract. Soft, supple limbs coming right up.
Ashley & Co.
For a dose of intensive hydration, Ashley & Co.’s Soothe Tube in Gone Green, $25, was voted heads and shoulders above the rest in the Best For Hands & Nails category. The award-winning formulation is enriched with essentials and shea butter to help replenish dry or parched hands and cuticles on-the-go. Plus the Gone Green scent includes layers of black tea, elemi, cedarwood, Indian woods, lemon citrus and patchouli to make the ritual of apply hand cream even more heavenly.
Ashley & Co. was recognised in the Best Pop Of Colour category, too, for its Tint Me Lip Punch with Pink Beet, $15, which helps to hydrate lips while imparting a soft, subtle pink tint all in one swipe.
Glow Lab
For the second consecutive year, Glow Lab was awarded Best Supermarket Buy for its Coconut & Sandalwood Body Wash, $12, a cosseting blend of ingredients that work to hydrate limbs without leaving them feeling stripped or dry. Further proof that luxurious body care shouldn’t have to cost the earth, Glow Lab continues to democratise beauty in the supermarket aisles with its selection of efficacious body care, skin care, hair care and baby care.
Equally impressive is its new Ceramides range, which encompasses an oil cleanser, face serum, moisturising lotion and night cream. Viva loves the richly textured Ceramides Night Face Cream Ultra Repair, $18, which soothes dry or inflamed skin with a blend of three ceramides alongside patented ingredient SymReboot L19 to fortify the skin barrier and fend off environmental aggressors, leaving skin soft, supple and hydrated once more.
More beauty
From at-home treatments to beauty editor-approved recommendations.
8 Of The Best Nourishing Hair Masks & Treatments To Hydrate & Restore Hair In Winter. Beauty editor Ash Cometti surveys the most hydrating hair care to restore strands in winter.
7 Hair Care Wonders That Reigned In This Year’s Viva Beauty Awards 2025. Beauty editor Ash Cometti shares her top picks from 7 award-winning hair care brands.
What To Buy From The 12 Makeup Brands Topping The Charts In This Year’s Viva Beauty Awards 2025. Beauty editor Ash Cometti shares her top picks from 12 award-winning makeup brands.
The Best Products To Buy From 8 Viva Beauty Award-Winning Skincare Brands, According To Our Beauty Editor. Beauty editor Ash Cometti shares her top picks from eight award-winning skincare brands.
