Occasional hot days and week-long heat waves are on the horizon and with those kinds of days, I feel different products are necessary. From staple facial high SPF sunscreens to refreshing mists to hydrate throughout the day and of course handbag extras that will tackle midday face shine.
So today I thought I would run down the best summer beauty essentials I feel everyone needs in their life! These are truly the best of the best and what I have used for the past three or four summers!
This post contains gifted items & affiliate links.
SUMMER MORNINGS
Pixi Vitamin Wakeup Mist (£16.00)Waking up on hot summer mornings with dry dehydrated feeling skin is common whatever your skin type. So to instantly refresh my own skin and feel more awake I use Pixi Vitamin Wakeup Mist simply because it's the best pick-me-up for the skin and the senses, giving instant dewiness. Along with helping with fatigued skin, the scent is totally dreamy and truth be told, it is part of why I love it so much! Think juicy orange ice-lollies; perfectly sweet, sugary and fruity smelling! I keep this by my bed but if you really struggle to feel fully awake in the warmer months then I'd highly recommend keeping it in the fridge. I've tried many a facial mist and countless thermal water spray and this truly is the best I've come across.
Pixi DetoxifEYE Depuffing Eye Patches (£22 - 30 pairs)
Another Pixi product perfect to use first thing in the morning after washing your face are the Pixi Depuffing Eye Patches. Instantly de-puffing and reviving tired eyes these are a godsend to apply while having coffee or even while doing your eye makeup. The naturally cool feeling gel patches apply with ease and adhere to the skin well without any pulling, so you can get on with morning tasks as they get to work. Formulated with hyaluronic acid these patches are perfect for hydrating and pulling moisture to the delicate and often dry under eye area, pumping it while also refreshing the entire eye. These little patches noticeably bring down eye bags and puffiness and are simply great! Also amazing if you suffer for hayfever using them both morning and night to relieve eye-related symptoms and generally soothe the entire area.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Moisturiser (£6.49 - on offer)
Water creams and gel-based moisturisers are very much on-trend right now and for good reason - they are packed full of hydrating hyaluronic acid that makes the skin happy without clogging it, making these kinds of moisturisers ideal for nearly all skin types. They are also cooling and perfect for keeping the skin looking plump in the warmer months or when on summer holidays. While one of my favourite gel based face creams is from Clarins my next favourite is actually this drugstore water gel that I've picked up time and time again!
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel is a wonderful light gel texture, soaking into the skin immediately and basically dry morning skin seems to love it! If you are looking for a new face cream for summer that won't break the bank then this is 100% worth picking up. For drier skin types there's also a similar water-cream formula in the same Hydro Boot range worth checking out.
ENDLESS SUMMER DAYS
The Body Shop Skin Defence Multi-Protection Essense SPF 50 (£17.00)When looking after your skin in summer SPF is a must! Why? Because who wants premature ageing, irreversible sunspots and dried out damaged skin? So yes, facial sunscreen is truly a summer beauty essential (although I'd recommend simply getting into the habit of using it all year round) and something you want to get along with rather than tolerate using on your skin.
This is why I will always recommend The Body Shop's Multi-Protection Essence; a high-factor sun protection that is one of the lightest formulations I've come across, soaking into the skin quickly and leaving no white cast. Yes, it's pricey but a little goes a long way and it truly feels more like a serum rather than a sunscreen making it great for most skin types even really oily ones.
For sensitive skin types, I highly recommend looking at La Roche Posay facial sunscreens (you can find them in Boots or online), again with amazingly light formulations that not only soak into the skin with ease but act as a good base for makeup.
Garnier Lip Sun Protection Stick SPF 20 (£2.50)
Sunburn can be hard to identify on the lips as they are naturally pink and can be prone to dryness at the best of times. However, if you simply can't keep peeling or cracked lips at bay or they feel more plump than normal then they are most likely sunburnt - the skin on the lips in the thinnest area on the entire body after all!
To prevent this it's simply a case of opting for a lip balm with SPF in it over an ordinary lip balm in the summer months. Many lip balms now come with SPF however you want to go for someone over SPF 10 that also feels hydrating. A personal favourite of mine is Garnier's Lip Sun Protection Stick; a raspberry flavoured lip balm that doesn't feel waxy and really nourishes the lips when worn alone or under lipstick. An inexpensive buy that's truly a summer beauty essential!
Soap & Glory Blot Right Now Blotting Sheets (£4.00)
While there are some excellent primers and settings sprays on the market on hot summer days keeping skin shine-free and makeup in place can be a battle. For oily skin it's inevitable! So it's good to have a remedy in the form of blotting sheets in your handbag which soak up excess oil and sweat without disrupting base makeup.
Blotting sheets or blottings papers, whatever you want to call them, seem to not be as popular these days however they work even better than they did and if you opt for the new Soap & Glory ones they come in a sleek plastic case with a sizable mirror for on the go touch-ups keeping skin totally shine-free. Also if excess oil on hot days mixed with your makeup causes you to breakout then these blotting sheets should really come in handy!
OUT OF THE SUN FACIAL TREATS
Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask (£21 - 30ml travel size)Endless lotions are potions are there to add a dose of hydration to the skin especially in the summer months. So when it comes to face masks I like to focus on other aspects of my skin I'd like to improve. For me, this is the overall brightness of my complexion along with firmness... because at 31 I'm not getting any younger!
My all-time favourite face mask that caters to both of these things is the Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy Boosting Face Mask which not only looks, feels and smells like fresh orange marmalade but truly transforms the skin in a single use.
This rich gel like face mask is formulated with a strong vitamin fruit complex, a potent blend of vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin B5; lemon and orange fruit extracts; and revitalising minerals, to reveal an incredibly vibrant, healthy-looking complexion that feels soft yet firm to the touch. It truly is a wonderful face mask that I've repurchased a few times now and can't get enough of, especially in summer as it just smells incredible and really is uplifting to use.
If you are looking for something a little cheaper gel sheet masks are great. I'm not talking about the standard tissue ones coated in essence but thicker sheet masks made from a flexible hydrogel material. Not only are these better quality but they are more cooling and more hydrating to the skin - perfect for a skin pick-me-up on hot days. My own favourites include - Sarah Chapman 3D Moisture Infusion Mask and Pixi Glow Glycolic Boost Sheet Mask.
Let me know your own summer beauty essentials (the ones you bring out every year!) in the comments below.
Fee xo.
