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In the 1980s, Sydney-born supermodel Elle Macpherson went global as the apotheosis of Aussie beauty. Known as “The Body”, she epitomised Antipodean beach chic with her tawny limbs, sun-bleached locks and un-made-up face.
But don’t be fooled by the just-back-from-the-beach aesthetic: Australians are not exactly low-maintenance. Australia currently has the highest per capita spending on the market leader, K-Beauty, outside South Korea. “They love a natural, undone look, but there is a lot of effort and money spent to look like that,” says facialist Melanie Grant, who started her business in Australia before opening clinics in Los Angeles and New York, with London to follow this year. Her treatments start from £550. “My Australian clients will invest more in clinical skin treatments and skincare than they would, say, in make-up or artificial enhancements.”
Elle Macpherson with her WelleCo Super Elixir, £63 for 300g (caddy sold separately, £40) © Darren McDonald
Homegrown brands – dubbed A-Beauty by the local beauty giant Mecca – are primed to address the region’s unique demands. The growing Australian-owned skincare market was valued at $2.85bn in 2024 and is expected to reach $4.22bn by 2033, according to market research firm Imarc Group. “A-Beauty is shaped by the Australian way of life, a climate that demands protection, a culture that embraces the outdoors and customers who want products that work hard without overcomplicating their routines,” says Mecca’s chief brands and buying officer Lea Cranfield, of the mix that includes its in-house Mecca Cosmetica line.
Lesse Refining Cleanser, £70 for 75ml 
Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face SPF50+ Superscreen
Price: £35 for 75g
Kora Organics Turmeric Glow Drops serum
Price: £72 for 30ml
A-Beauty also emphasises natural, organic ingredients and long-term wellness. Supermodel expats lead success stories: Macpherson has WelleCo, her line of ingestibles; Miranda Kerr has Kora Organics, which leans heavily into all-natural antioxidants; and in 2026, Lara Worthington is launching Ommage Beauty, promising to be “climate-neutral and cruelty-free”.
A-Beauty customers want products that work hard without overcomplicating their routines
Mecca chief brands and buying officer Lea Cranfield
Lesse, a minimalist line by Sydney-born, New York-based Neada Deters, features formulas highlighting Australian native botanicals, from Kakadu plum, a potent source of natural vitamin C, to Illawarra flame tree, rich in antioxidants and found in the brand’s Refining Cleanser ($75) and Bioactive Mask ($90). “New York provides direct access to global distribution, but Australia remains profoundly influential in shaping my approach to beauty, wellness and natural innovation,” Deters says.
Uni 24-Hour Body Serum, £43 for 375ml, spacenk.com
Kakadu plum, along with natural hydrators such as aloe vera and nourishing marine extracts, are also employed by Uni, a range of reef-safe bodycare products in refillable packaging launched in 2022 by entrepreneur Alexandra Keating. The line’s lightweight textures and multitasking formulas are shaped by an outdoorsy life that has global appeal: British model and actor Adwoa Aboah is both the face of a recent campaign and an investor.
Australians have long been counselled in the school of sun protection: the famous “Slip. Slap. Slop” government campaign advocating sun protection first gained traction in the 1980s when it was discovered Australia had the highest rates of melanoma in the world. Tans have not gone out of fashion in the “sunburnt country”, as Sydney-born poet Dorothea Mackellar once described it, but today locals are more likely embracing a sun-free formula for faking it: see all-natural brand Three Warriors, whose self-tanning mousse and serum has a cult following.
Arriving in the UK this week, exclusively at Harrods, is Rationale, a luxury skincare brand that has drawn comparisons to Augustinus Bader, likely due to the scientific credentials of its cosmetic-chemist founder Richard Parker. Parker’s involvement in formative studies on sun-damaged skin has defined his career, and led to his idea for a Melbourne-based luxury skincare brand. The company now has 15 stores in Australia and reaches customers globally through a network of dermatologists, luxury hotels and retail partners.
Rationale #3 The Tinted Serum SPF50+, £135 for 30ml 
Three Warriors self-tan mousse, £34.99 for 150ml
Parker describes Rationale as “a research company that makes skincare rather than a skincare company that does research”. “We know that 80 per cent of facial ageing is caused by the sun,” he says, adding with characteristic Australian optimism, “the great thing about skin is that you can reverse sun damage by using the right products over time”. Parker spent more than 30 years developing Rationale’s hero product, #3 The Tinted Serum SPF50+, an oil-based serum with an illuminating yet transparent finish, having long ago identified the benefits of zinc oxide, which is generally considered safer for the skin. “We’ve been doing this for a long time. It sounds immodest, but I think the industry is catching up to us,” he says. In 2023 and 2024, the serum won Oprah’s Sun O-wards for innovation in sun protection.
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Multifunctional SPF products continue to grow in demand in Australia, with skincare-grade formulas that blur category lines and deliver more bang for your buck. According to a Euromonitor survey, 23 per cent of Australian consumers in 2023 prioritised sun protection as a key feature in skincare products, up from 17 per cent in 2021. The market is anticipating more “high-performing formulas that also nod to a broader sense of wellbeing, supporting not only how the skin looks but how it feels,” says Mecca’s Cranfield.
Grant, too, is launching her own line of tinted sunscreens formulated with active ingredients. While laser treatments (addressing post-sun damage) constitute the most significant part of her Australian practice, prevention shows great promise. “I think maybe in 20 years we’ll see a difference from this newer generation because we’ve used sunscreen properly and we’ve been a little bit more cautious,” she says.
