Summer Beauty Products: Part 2 of About 3,245.

by | May 29, 2015

summer beauty products

I will readily admit that I’ve gone a bit gah-gah for the idea of summer; I can’t wait to sit in my garden (if I ever get back to my house to sit in my garden!) and feel the warm sun on me as I quietly work my way through the pile of novels I have waiting. (Obviously this will happen when new baby is sleeping, I’m not planning on abandoning all responsibility! I’m picturing a slumbering Baby AMR, snoozing away in the shade in his/her perambulator, lulled to sleep by the slow droning of the bees and the distant hum of a lawnmower.)

I digress: look at the sexy summer beauty products I’ve pulled together! Those bronzey, golden tones… Let’s see what’s taking my fancy. There’s a “first part” to this post with blue and pink products (got a thing about packaging colours at the moment) and so if you want to read that first, click here.

elizabeth arden serum

Kicking off with a brilliant, brilliant face serum that I started testing pre-pregnancy and can’t wait to get back to. (It’s somewhere in my huge shipping container!) The Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules each contain a dose of serum that’s packed full of ingredients that help to retexturise the skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines and improve the skin’s barrier function. It has a non-irritating form of Vitamin A that didn’t make my skin red or flaky and smoothing results were almost instant. Not cheap, at around a pound a capsule, but you can save a little by buying the refill version rather than the pot shown above. I’ll be back with a proper review later on in the summer, but in the meantime you can find the capsules online here, the refill version costs £46.

I’m really looking forward to testing out Institut Esthederm’s new l’Huile Solaire. My skin gets on incredibly well with Institut Esthederm suncare; it has seen me through times when many other protectants have failed. I even did a direct test, once, in Greece in the height of summer – IE Adaptasun on one shoulder and arm, a well-known high street version on the other – and the Adaptasun side was a sunkissed pale bronze at the end of the day whereas the other arm had reddened slightly. Only slightly – I’m not silly enough to risk my skin for a homemade, rudimentary SPF test and I had been reapplying as per guidelines – but it was interesting to note. You can find the new l’Huile Solaire online here – I’ll let you know how I get on with it when I’ve given it a good try.

Moving over: Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster. I did a full post here, but it’s safe to say that this is one of my ultimate summer essentials. Add a few drops to body lotion and you have your own, customised gradual tanner. Just genius. Find it online here – it’s a couple of quid cheaper than getting it in-store.

hot summer essentials

Estée Lauder’s Bronze Goddess perfume: an absolute classic. I know that “holiday in a bottle” is now something of a cliché, but in this case it’s absolutely true. Lauder should really have the trademark on that phrase, because never has a scent been so aptly described. Coconutty, tropical, heady, the smell of suntan lotion and warm sand. You can find it online here – it’s £47 for a whopping 100ml.

A beautiful nude nail polish from Michael Kors – “Blush” is a bit paler than your average nude, but looks great against sunkissed skin. It needs a couple of coats to get a good, “patent Louboutin courts” kind of finish, and I had to go in with one of those neatening-up pens because I coloured over the lines, but the final result is very chic. £15.50 online here.

Peeking out behind the polish: Vichy Ideal Soleil Mattifying Face Fluid SPF50. I like Vichy suncare – this one is a “dry touch” cream that has no greasy, white residue and sits well beneath makeup. Good, comprehensive skincare and a big tube will only set you back £14. (Escentual.com price.) Find it online here.

That sexy little compact is from the forthcoming Charlotte Tilbury x Norman Parkinson collection and it’s the Dreamy Glow Highlighter. You can see me talk through and demonstrate the collection in my video for The Telegraph here, but here’s a quick look inside the compact:

summer beauty products

It’s a creamy powder with quite good pay-off, a nice warm tone that doesn’t look too “snail trail” on the cheekbones. Coming soon at CharlotteTilbury.com… Ooh, and I almost missed off Laura Mercier’s brilliantly fiery and hot Paint Wash Liquid Lip Colour in Sunblaze. A vibrant, burnished red with a hint of terracotta orange and a slight metallic sheen, the Paint Wash formula is incredibly light to wear but has a long-lasting, intense finish. Find it online here – it’s £22.

That’s me all summered-out now, beauty-wise – I’m off to look at large sunhats and sandals and to lust over the colour-block dress on Hush!

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe for free to get new posts and exclusive content, straight to your inbox. 

You have Successfully Subscribed!