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Skincare routine need an upgrade? You don't need 12 steps. You need the best skincare brands and products. Here's where to start.
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Finding the best men’s skincare brands in Australia can be harder than it should be. There are thousands of products on the market, but not every brand is worth your time, money, or shelf space. To make things easier, we’ve rounded up the best men’s skincare brands (or brands that also offer men’s skincare) available in Australia, with our top picks for cleansers, moisturisers, serums, eye creams, exfoliants, and anti-ageing treatments.
Our focus here is simple: products that fit into a daily skincare routine, brands with strong reputations, and formulas that suit common concerns like dryness, oiliness, sensitivity, breakouts, and early signs of ageing.
Best Men’s Skincare Brands & Products Overview
| Brand | Best for | Standout product |
| Aesop | Premium everyday skincare | Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste |
| Hunter Lab | Easy daily routine | Daily Face Fuel |
| CeraVe | Dry skin | Moisturising Lotion |
| Cetaphil | Sensitive skin | Moisturising Lotion |
| Bondi Skin Co. | Oily skin | Oily Skin Kit |
| Paula’s Choice | Anti-ageing | 1% Retinol Treatment |
RELATED: Looking for more skincare news, reviews, and more? Check them out here.
The 14 Best Men’s Skincare Brands in Australia Right Now
1. Aesop
- Best for: Dry skin, shavers, men who want their routine to feel like a step up
- Buy: Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste (~$71)
Aesop’s reputation isn’t just packaging and ambient store lighting, though both are admittedly excellent. The formulas are reliable, the range is broad, and the ingredients are natural. The Purifying Facial Exfoliant Paste is where most men should start — fine quartz and lactic acid do the physical and chemical work of clearing out dead skin without leaving your face feeling sandpapered. Use it twice a week after you shower and your skin will look noticeably better within a fortnight. It’s pricier than most exfoliants, but a little goes a long way.
Check out Aesop Buy Aesop here
2. Hunter Lab
- Best for: Normal to dry skin, and men who want a local brand
- Buy: Daily Face Fuel (~$56)
Hunter Lab is an easy brand to love. It’s Australian, the products are simple to use, and the Daily Face Fuel is one of the better daily moisturisers on the market at this price point. It’s rich enough to hydrate properly but absorbs fast — you’re not sitting around waiting for it to sink in before you can put a shirt on. Avocado, macadamia, and passionfruit seed oils do the work, and the scent (citrus, a hint of vanilla) is one of the better-smelling things you’ll put on your face.
Check out Hunter Lab Buy Hunter Lab here
3. CeraVe
- Best for: Dry, sensitive, or reactive skin (and anyone starting from scratch)
- Buy: Moisturising Lotion (~$26)
CeraVe is what dermatologists recommend before you’ve finished your sentence. It’s fragrance-free, non-comedogenic, built around ceramides and hyaluronic acid, and it costs less than a round of drinks. The Moisturising Lotion is lightweight enough for daily use on both face and body, absorbs without leaving a greasy film, and won’t trigger skin that throws a tantrum at new products. If you’ve been spending good money on fancy moisturisers and your skin is still dry or irritated, try this.
Check out CeraVe Buy CeraVe here
4. Cetaphil
- Best for: Sensitive or easily irritated skin
- Buy: Moisturising Lotion (~$33)
Cetaphil is another budget-friendly option that doesn’t overpromise but definitely overdelivers. The packaging is clinical, the branding is borderline boring, and the products work reliably for men whose skin reacts badly to almost everything else. If you’ve got eczema, rosacea, or skin that just does whatever it wants, this is one of the safest starting points available. The Moisturising Lotion is gentle enough to use morning and night, and if it’s good enough for your dermatologist to recommend it, that’s a stronger endorsement than any campaign could offer.
5. Grown Alchemist
- Best for: Dry or dull skin, men who want premium Australian skincare
- Buy: Regenerating Night Cream (~$110)
Grown Alchemist has been around long enough to prove it wasn’t a trend. The formulas are genuinely well-made, the textures are rich without being heavy, and the brand knows what it’s doing with ingredients. The Regenerating Night Cream is the standout for men whose skin looks flat, tired, or dry – apply it before bed and your skin will look noticeably better in the morning. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it.
6. Kiehl’s
- Best for: Tired or ageing skin, men wanting a step up from pharmacy brands
- Buy: Midnight Recovery Concentrate (~$110)
Kiehl’s sits in a useful middle ground – premium enough to feel like an upgrade from pharmacy brands, but approachable enough not to be intimidating. The Midnight Recovery Concentrate is the product that built the brand’s reputation in Australia. A few drops before bed, and by morning your skin will look noticeably fresher. It’s a face oil built around lavender, evening primrose, and squalane, and it works particularly well if your skin is looking dull or roughed up. It’s also non-comedogenic, so it won’t clog your pores.
7. Malin+Goetz
- Best for: Oily or normal skin, men who want a clean and unfussy routine
- Buy: Grapefruit Face Cleanser (~$69)
Malin+Goetz is for men who want their skincare to be efficient and get out of the way. The brand keeps ingredient lists clean. The Grapefruit Face Cleanser is the best entry point; it removes oil and grime properly, doesn’t strip your skin dry, and leaves your face feeling fresh without that tight, squeaky feeling that bad cleansers give you. Works for oily and normal skin types particularly well.
8. Bondi Skin Co.
- Best for: Oily or acne-prone skin
- Buy: Oily Skin Kit (~$139)
Most skincare brands want to talk to everyone. Bondi Skin Co. doesn’t. The brand is built specifically around oily and congested skin, and the Oily Skin Kit is the clearest expression of that – it gives you a targeted cleanser, toner, and moisturiser that work together to keep excess oil under control without drying your face out completely. If your skin gets shiny by midday or breaks out regularly, this is a more logical starting point than anything you’ll find at a pharmacy.
Check out Bondi Skin Co. Buy Bondi Skin Co. here
9. Paula’s Choice
- Best for: Men ready to treat specific skin concerns (lines, texture, breakouts)
- Buy: 1% Retinol Treatment (~$96)
Paula’s Choice is an American brand founded by a consumer advocate who got fired from a cosmetics counter job for telling customers the truth about what products actually did. She built the brand around that same instinct: formulas backed by peer-reviewed research, no fragrance, and no filler ingredients. The 1% Retinol Treatment is the product to reach for if you’re starting to notice lines, uneven texture, or skin that looks older than you’d like. Retinol is one of the most clinically validated ingredients in skincare and this is a well-formulated version of it. Start two nights a week and build from there (and use SPF the next morning).
Check out Paula’s Choice Buy Paula’s Choice here
10. Patricks
- Best for: Men who take grooming seriously across the board
- Buy: AM1 Anti-Ageing Moisturiser (~$145)
Patricks made its name in haircare (the styling products have a cult following) and the skincare has the same premium finish. The AM1 is a daily moisturiser that hydrates well and contains peptides and antioxidants to tackle early signs of ageing. It absorbs fast, doesn’t pill under SPF, and sits comfortably at the top of a grooming routine that already takes quality seriously.
11. Dr. Barbara Sturm
- Best for: Men who want the best and are prepared to pay for it
- Buy: Hyaluronic Serum (~$548)
Dr. Barbara Sturm is a German orthopaedic doctor who developed her skincare line from the same anti-inflammatory science she used on professional athletes. The Hyaluronic Serum uses both short and long-chain hyaluronic acid molecules — the short ones penetrate deeper, the long ones sit on the surface and lock in moisture. The result is visible within a few days of use. At $548 it’s a significant spend, but it’s one of the most effective serums available in Australia, and the results are hard to argue with.
12. Drunk Elephant
- Best for: Men with dark circles, puffiness, or tired-looking eyes
- Buy: C-Tango Eye Cream (~$112)
Drunk Elephant is an American brand that went viral for its ingredient-focused formulas and has held up since. The C-Tango Eye Cream combines five forms of vitamin C with eight peptides – the vitamin C brightens and the peptides firm the skin around the eye over time. It’s one of the few eye creams that makes a visible difference to dark circles and puffiness with consistent use. Not a beginner product, but if that’s the part of your face ageing you most, it’s worth the spend.
13. Youth To The People
- Best for: Oily or normal skin, men who want a cleanser that doesn’t strip
- Buy: Superfood Cleanser (~$52)
An American brand built around high-dose antioxidants (kale, spinach, green tea) in a gel cleanser that works. The reason people keep buying it is simple: it removes oil and residue without leaving skin feeling tight or dry afterwards. A lot of cleansers at this price either under-clean or over-strip, but this one doesn’t.
Check out Youth To The People Buy Youth To The People here
14. Triumph & Disaster
- Best for: Men who want an effective exfoliant without the luxury price tag
- Buy: Rock & Roll Volcanic Ash & Green Clay Face Scrub (~$50)
A New Zealand brand with a strong following in Australia, Triumph & Disaster makes simple grooming products that actually do what they say. The Rock & Roll Scrub uses volcanic ash and green clay to draw out congestion and clear tired skin (both ingredients are well-established for this). It smells good, it works, and at $50 it’s a solid alternative if Aesop’s exfoliant is outside your budget.
Check out Triumph & Disaster Buy Triumph & Disaster here
Men’s Skincare Brands FAQs
Keep it simple. Wash your face with a gentle cleanser, use a moisturiser morning and night, and wear SPF during the day. Once that is second nature, you can think about serums or retinol.
Bondi Skin Co. is the most obvious place to start from this list, but Paula’s Choice and Malin+Goetz also make sense if your skin gets shiny, congested, or temperamental.
CeraVe and Cetaphil are the go-to for sensitive skin. They are gentle, widely available, and far less likely to make things worse
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