In its prime at 37 years young, Dr. LeWinn’s skincare is made with cutting-edge ingredients that deliver visible results. Editor Trudi Brewer shares a refreshed collection that aims to boost skin resilience, support its changing needs, and protect your complexion from New Zealand’s dynamic environment. Read on to learn more.
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Created back in 1989, some would say Dr. LeWinn’s was ahead of its time. The brainchild of reconstructive dermal surgeon Dr Laurence LeWinn, this eponymously named brand integrated clinical-grade ingredients into daily skincare, making it accessible beyond skin clinics. Its focus has always been to protect, support, and strengthen skin against environmental stressors, and its recent renovation reflects that enduring purpose.
Our skin is dynamic - constantly adapting to the world we live in. From thinning ozone layers and exposure to some of the highest UV levels on Earth. To sharp temperature changes, humidity, salty air, drying winds, and long-haul travel, skin is continually adapting.
For many of us, our complexions look older than our age. That’s why supporting skin resilience has never been more important or accessible. Dr. LeWinn’s was created to help skin adjust, recover, and thrive amid life’s daily demands. With a collection that elevates any routine and accommodates those ever-changing needs, from late nights to hormonal swings, even seasonal shifts, skin is affected every day.
It’s a skincare line with advanced yet functional ingredients that bridge the gap between performance-led skincare and everyday products. Each formulation addresses skin concerns, at any age, directly related to the unique challenges we face living in Australasia’s climate. Drawing on more than three decades of dermatological heritage, each product in the refreshed collection pairs scientifically backed, tested ingredients with luxurious textures that are both pleasing and can deliver visible results.
With each decade, Dr. LeWinn’s refreshed range addresses your skin's needs from your 30s onward. Each product contains ingredients that target complexion concerns at every stage of your skin’s journey.
These include:
Smooth + Firm: This range helps refine fine expression lines and tighten the skin's look and feel. And heroes the Firming Caviar Eye Serum with clever ‘Advanced Capsule Technology’ featuring a line-smoothing peptide, caviar extract, niacinamide and bacillus ferment.
Plump + Lift: This range was created to plump and hydrate, resulting in a more sculpted complexion. Formulated with advanced peptide-collagen blends and botanical extracts.
Brighten + Even: This range boosts skin clarity, while brightening and refining the skin’s texture with ingredients such as glycolic acid, vitamin C, resveratrol, and vitamin E.
Barrier Protect: This range acts as the skin’s gatekeeper, helping to retain moisture and shield it from environmental stressors with ingredients such as ceramides, peptides, lipids, antioxidants, and soothing botanicals.
Hydrate + Nourish: For anyone with dry skin, this range is formulated to help keep the skin hydrated throughout the day with ingredients such as squalane, marine collagen, and vitamins A and E.
The new-look collection reflects a skin-benefit-led approach, with each hero product from the ranges retaining its luxurious, unique textures.
Read on to discover some of our Dr. LeWinn’s favourites, and how they can fit into your skincare routine
Dr. Lewinn’s Barrier Protect Multi Peptide Serum, $75
First, let's talk skin barrier. This is the outermost layer of your skin, where lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids work together to seal in moisture and protect against daily stressors. When the skin barrier is compromised, it can lead to irritation, redness, dryness, and ultimately skin sensitivities. This new serum is formulated with ingredients to help your skin thrive in New Zealand’s challenging climate and aims to revive and protect your skin's fragile barrier.
Ingredients include a micro-capsule delivery system of soft gold capsules containing botanical oils such as camellia, sunflower, and meadowfoam, that melt into the skin. As well as helping protect the skin’s natural barrier function, with marjoram leaf extract. Finally, the multi-peptide complex, which combines antioxidant protection with targeted skin-smoothing benefits, safeguards your skin barrier.
How to use: Apply to the face and don’t forget the neck, both morning and night, after cleansing and before moisturising.
Dr. LeWinn’s cult-beauty buys
Dr. LeWinn’s Plump + Lift Collagen Surge Plumping Pearls, $89
The ‘Advanced Pearl Technology’, with cosmetic collagen encapsulated in a gel, features hard-hitting Tri-Peptide-5, a peptide (a short chain of amino acids, the building blocks of protein), designed to work in harmony with your skin to plump and firm. A superior-grade hyaluronic acid deeply hydrates. The first impression is that this gel melts into the skin, making it work well for all skin types, including oily, dehydrated, and dry. The gel-like formula layers wonderfully with other products (skincare and makeup), so you can add it to any routine.
How to use: With the spatula provided, scoop out the pearls, massage them between your fingers, then apply them to the face. It offers a gel-like texture that is instantly smoothing and so luxe-y to use, both day and night. If you’re looking for a skincare product that delivers, these Plumping Pearls are definitely worth a try.
If you haven’t tried an overnight sleep mask, here is where to start. The dual chamber contains skin-loving marine collagen and the famous Tri-Peptide-5 blend, which works with the skin's natural overnight circadian rhythms to revitalise a tired, dull complexion. Niacinamide not only helps protect the skin’s barrier, but it also helps improve the appearance of uneven skin texture.
While hyaluronic acid works to hydrate and plump the skin, and marine collagen works to improve the appearance of skin elasticity for a plumper and more sculpted look by morning.
How to use: One to two pumps, mix the ingredients from the dual chambers together in your fingertips, then apply a thin layer to your face and neck on freshly cleansed skin before bed.
This eye serum was created with skin firming in mind. Hard-hitting ingredients like niacinamide and bacillus ferment help reduce the appearance of fine lines and dark circles. The gold caviar extract provides intense nourishment to the thin skin under the eyes. It is also dermatologically and ophthalmologically tested.
How to use: A little goes a long way; always use on clean skin and gently massage this gel-like serum around the delicate eye area. Use morning and night, before moisturising.
A skin-brightening option that can improve the appearance of uneven skin tone. The ingredients include antioxidants such as vitamin C, which helps brighten and defend against free-radical damage, and resveratrol, which helps rejuvenate skin and protect against UV stress, as well as glycolic acid (an AHA). AHA is a gentle exfoliant, and the brand recommends patch testing on the skin before use. Glycolic acid can make the skin sensitive to sun exposure, so using a sunscreen and protective clothing daily is also recommended.*
How to use: This is your day and night cream, best applied after cleansing and serums.
*Transient stinging or irritation may occur when using this cream. If irritation persists, discontinue use. If you have sensitive skin, test this product on a small area of skin before applying it to a large area. Store below 300 °C.
This is a staple in my daily skincare routine because it’s the best micellar water I have ever used. Why? It does more than remove makeup. Yes, it’s an all-in-one cleanser, but the tiny pink balls suspended in the gel-like water are enriched with vitamins A and E, so they burst on contact with the skin, nourishing while removing every scrap of makeup. I also use this as my morning cleanse, because I am makeup-free when I wake up, it’s a great way to prep the skin for makeup with a plumping burst of moisture.
How to use: For all skin types. For the face, lips, and eyes, it's soap-free and can be used with cotton pads or on its own.
With cutting-edge ingredients that deliver visible results.