Skincare powered by the world’s most resilient plants
Discover the self-healing powers of New Zealand's land, sea and alpine botanicals
"Brand to know: RAAIE"
"The hippest new skincare offering"
"Raaie's products have literally changed my skin"
Next-Generation Green Skincare
From the wild landscapes of Aotearoa, comes a new wave of science-backed botanical skincare. Harnessing rare oceanic and alpine botanicals and backed by the latest ingredients in cosmeceutical science, RAAIE is redefining luxury skincare.
Shop RAAIEPhotography by William Patino
The Botanicals
RAAIE harnesses the healing alchemy of the natural world. New Zealand’s land, sea and alpine botanicals have learnt to grow underneath some of the highest UV radiation on the planet. Full of resilience and packed with hydrating, brightening, smoothing properties, these plants are uniquely positioned to nourish and heal the skin.
Read moreThe Science
We are in awe of New Zealand’s botanicals, but for the best - and fastest - results, we also believe that clean, lab-derived ingredients need to play their role. So, we combine our plant-based ingredients with proven scientific actives that are backed by extensive clinical studies.
Read moreThe Founder
Inspired by the unique power of New Zealand botanicals, Katey teamed up with a team of native ingredient specialists and scientists to select New Zealand’s most active and effective ingredients.
Read more“Come for the curvy, organic packaging, stay for the proven skin-regenerating cosmeceuticals and powerful NZ botanicals.”
- Alana from The New
RAAIE FAQ's
Email us at hello@raaie.co.nz and we can help out. As a general rule, you can apply the serums on freshly cleansed skin and add your usual moisturiser over the top (serums have smaller molecules that penetrate your skin and make cellular changes, whereas moisturiser sits on top to hydrate and prevent water loss so they are doing different jobs).
Great! As a general rule, you should apply the thinnest products first. Thinner products are generally more water based. Try cleansing your skin, then using your toner, then your serum, then cleanser, and always SPF on top in the mornings.
Yes, the Morning Dew Vitamin C Serum is gentle so you can use it every day even if you are not a Vitamin C pro.
The Yellow Moonbeam Retinal Elixir is more potent (but the results are so worth it) but can be incorporated into your routine slowly so your skin gets used to it. We recommend using it every third day for a couple of weeks, and increasing to every second night for a couple of weeks, and then every night based on your skins tolerance level.
Our bottles are glass which can be recycled but the best option is to return them to us so we can refill them in the lab – we offer a 20% discount when people return 3 or more bottles. The reason we prefer to refill the bottles in the lab is because our formulas are active and ingredients are sensitive to light and oxygen. Therefore, we prefer customers to return the bottles to us so we can sterilise and refill the bottles.
Our caps are currently plastic but we are working on a better solution for our second phase launch. For now, the best option is for us to collect and refill.
We will collect used bottles for free and offer customers a 20% discount on customers next order to incentivise the recycling programme. Simply email hello@raaie.co.nz when you have 3 or more bottles ready for collection, leave them in your letterbox, and we will collect them.
We recommend storing your products in a consistently cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight.
Most mainstream skincare products you see on the shelves are cosmetic.
Meaning: they might feel nice on the outer layers of the skin because they are made up of non-active ingredients like glycerin that feels hydrating but are just sitting on the top layer of your skin and not doing much to change the skin at a deep, cellular level where real changes happen.
The term cosmeceuticals was formed from a combination of ‘cosmetics’ and
‘pharmaceuticals’. Cosmeceutical products stand out because the active ingredients change the skin on a cellular level and improve the functionality of cells i.e. giving consumers what they really want from skincare; results. The results you get from cosmeceuticals are generally faster, more noticeable and longer lasting. However, there is believed to be a trade-off between efficacy and safe ingredients: Many believe this pharmaceutical approach contains toxic and unsafe ingredients that will irritate skin or disrupt the body’s natural
ecosystem by way of things like hormone disruptors.
Enter: Clean Cosmeceuticals. We searched the globe for the most effective, peer-reviewed skincare ingredients, and then found the cleanest, most ethical sources of these. All our ingredients are classified by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) which is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to “shining a spotlight on outdated legislation, harmful agricultural practices and industry loopholes that pose a risk to our health and the health of our environment”.
No, we are all about consent so we only test on consenting humans. Our products are cruelty-free and vegan.
We do everything we can to source materials that are both safe for the planet and safe for the person. We also ensure our ingredients are sustainably
produced, have a low impact on the land, and are easily regenerated. For example, in marine algae harvesting, our suppliers follow Tikanga Māori - a strict, traditional harvesting practice of the indigenous people of New Zealand. By using this time proven approach, we harvest our ingredients without compromising our environmental and social responsibilities. This respectful approach means we can offer high potency natural bioactives whilst respecting the land and water that the ingredients came from.
The super simple answer to this is that they are probably the most researched ingredients in skincare.
- Vitamin A: DECADES worth of efficacy data showing real change in the skin – the single ingredient most dermatologists/ aestheticians would recommend for reversing aging and sun damage.
- Vitamin C: Again, DECADES worth of efficacy data showing it can protect from future photodamage/ aging, as well as brightening your complexion.
It’s pronounced “ray”. It comes from Ra, the Egyptian solar deity and Rā also means sun in Te reo Māori.
The name was inspired by the complicated relationship we have with the sun. The sun is a literal force of life-giving energy. It is essential to our existence. It’s good for our mood. It's good for our immune systems. It’s good for our gut. It regulates melatonin, which regulates sleep, which regulates skin repair.
On the other hand, it makes up look all wrinkly and damages our skin. In fact, 80% of aging is from the sun. In New Zealand, we have greater problem due to the harsh UV we have due to the hole in the ozone layer. Australian dermatologist, Dr Greg Goodman, show that wrinkles and sagging can appear 20 years earlier in women in the Southern hemisphere, compared to our Northern sisters due to our exceptionally strong UV levels. The sun damage accelerates signs of ageing like wrinkles, rough, dull skin, brown spots, red veins and sagging.
80% of visible ageing is caused by the sun. In the last 5-10 years, the understanding of the importance of wearing SPF every day has grown hugely, but SPF does not protect you 100%. It also can’t undo the damage that has already occurred and is sitting below the surface. Remember the truck driver who had more UV exposure on one side of his face?
SPF is undeniably the best protection but supplementing your skincare regime with antioxidants and cell regenerating ingredients to further protect, and reverse sun damage is the best way to protect your skin.
Our two treatment serums are designed to work together
with SPF to protect from future UV damage and ageing, as well as reversing existing of UV damage (wrinkles, lack of firmness, loss of radiance).
UV radiation causes skin to age in several ways. It causes stem cells to die off, leading to thinning and wrinkling of the skin. It also activates enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (or MMPs for short) which break down collagen.
“Clean beauty” is basically a marketing term unless it’s backed up with science and data. There is a lot of scaremongering out there, so we classify our ingredients via the independent body, EWG (Environment Working Group) to check low toxicity grading. Read more about the EWG and how they rate ingredients here.
Protect in the morning and repair at night.
Protect using Morning Dew Vitamin C and Sun Milk Drops SPF50. 80% of extrinsic ageing (the things we can see like wrinkles, uneven texture, dullness, sagging) comes from UV rays. We believe prevention is better than cure.
Repair using Moon Beam Retinal Elixir to reverse sun damage, reduce wrinkles, smooth out skin tone and boost radiance.
The Cocoon Ceramide Cream fits into both protect and repair because it strengthens your skin barrier, which is your skins natural defence system.