Summer Beauty Must Haves!

Hiya everyone, hope you’re having a good week. Summer is upon us and I don’t know about you, but when it’s hot, my makeup changes and I want lightweight, glowy products and even some cream products to make me look radiant and like I don’t have dull skin!

The one thing that you should know about any summer beauty haul is that Eltamd skincare sunscreen has to be included. There’s nothing better than being out in the sunshine, soaking up the rays and feeling all of that Vitamin D flowing – but you need to protect your skin. You should ensure that you are using sunscreen in your daily routine and protecting your skin from the harsh rays of the sun. A perfect tan can come from a salon or a bottle, and you get to keep enjoying those gorgeous summers!

So, following on from my Spring Makeup Must Haves, today I’m sharing my Summer Beauty Must Haves with you! Mostly makeup, but with one skincare must have. I adore all of these products, the bases are radiant, the blushes glowy. If you don’t have the most radiant complexion, like me, then I have all the products you need to fake it!

DISCLAIMER: John Lewis, YesStyle and Look Fantastic links are affiliate, all others are not. All products purchased by me.

ALPHA-H DAILY ESSENTIAL MOISTURISER SPF50+ – £29 from Look Fantastic

I have used this moisturiser for years and I love it. I don’t love the packaging, but Alpha-H have recently changed it, so I’m excited to buy it again once this tube runs out.

The actual tube itself is fine, it’s the cap that covers the top. Without fail, it will crack and then eventually break into bits. It’s just awful, so then I end up throwing out the cap and just leaving it exposed. It looks like they’ve changed it to a normal twist cap, so here’s hoping we have no more packaging failures.

Anyway, this isn’t about packaging, this SPF is really amazing. Of course, year round, it’s important to apply SPF, but never more so than in the Summer. Since I’m so pale, I need a good SPF50 and this is that product. It applies really well, it doesn’t have a white cast, it doesn’t make my makeup pill up. I’ve never once burnt with it on and even when I’m not wearing makeup, I find myself wearing this every day. It really is a Daily Essential Moisturiser!

This SPF protects you against both UVA and UVB rays and has aloe vera and vitamin E in. This is a chemical sunscreen. These sunscreens contain sun filters which absorb UV rays to prevent them from damaging your skin.

If you would rather a Physical sunscreen, (these sit on the skin blocking and scattering the suns rays) then go for the Skin Aqua Moisture Milk SPF50+. I have very reactive skin that doesn’t seem to care whether it’s a physical or chemical sunscreen, it will just break out if there’s something that doesn’t agree with me. These two sunscreens are the only ones that don’t give me loads of texture.

CHARLOTTE TILBURY LIGHT WONDER FOUNDATION – £32 from John Lewis

Next up on my Summer Beauty Must Haves list is this beautifully lightweight, glowy foundation. This foundation also made it onto my Spring Makeup Must Haves, but it’s also perfect for Summer. The coverage is light, you can build it to almost medium, but it’s meant to just even out your skin and make you look like a radiant Goddess!

This foundation is so light, you can’t feel it at all on the skin. It’s so easy to apply, you can use a sponge, brush or your fingers. It’s super veratile and glides over the skin. It illuminates, smoothes and hydrates the skin. It’s the most amazing Summer foundation because it’s so light on the skin. When I’m hot, I can’t stand feeling layers of makeup on my face, but I have uneven skin, so I do want to even things out. This is the perfect product for all of that. I just love it!

PHYSICIANS FORMULA NATURAL DEFENSE SHEER LINE OF DEFENSE FOUNDATION SPF30 – £8.60 from eBay

If you don’t want to spend £30+ on a foundation, then this one from Physicians Formula is great. It’s not readily available in the UK, but there’s a seller I always use for products only available in the US and I’ve never had an issue. Delivery is pretty quick and everything arrives as described.

Like the Charlotte Tilbury, this foundation is super lightweight and sheer. It’s another one that just evens out the skin and gives you a healthy glow. It’s not quite as radiant as the Charlotte Tilbury, but it still brings life to lacklustre skin.

This foundation does have SPF30, but I would always advise applying a separate sun screen as it’s doubtful you’d use enough foundation to get the full SPF30 protection.

This has slightly more coverage than the Charlotte Tilbury when you have one layer of it on, but it blends in just as easily and looks flawless. This lasts a bit longer on my combo skin than the CT, but they’re both perfect for those hot Summer day!

GIORGIO ARMANI LUMINOUS SILK CONCEALER – £35 from John Lewis

This is probably the most luminous concealer I own, so it definitely lives up to the name! This concealer is really lightweight and has amazing coverage. For me, it’s the first concealer that works both under my eyes and on acne.

It gives a beautiful, radiant, almost blurred finish and is so gorgeous on the skin. I have a full review of this concealer along with a wear test here.

Sometimes I wear this concealer on its own without foundation. It’s perfect for applying through the t-zone and on the chin. I blend it out towards the cheeks just to even out my skin. It’s great for no makeup, makeup days and lasts all day without creasing.

HOURGLASS AMBIENT LIGHTING BLUSH – £38 from John Lewis

You guys know by now how much I adore these blushes. This formula from Hourglass has to be my favourite ever. I just love it. They have shimmer, but never any chunks of glitter and they’re super flattering on all skin, texture or not.

My two favourite shades for Summer are Diffused Heat and Incandescent Electra. Diffused Heat is a vibrant coral and Incandescent Electra is a slightly more muted pinker version of Diffused Heat. They’re both stunning and bring life to the cheeks. They last all day long and never fade or get patchy. The formula is very lightweight and buildable too. These blushes are foolproof and it’s almost impossible to mess up application.

If Hourglass isn’t in your budget, then try the Milani Baked Blushes. They’re my favourite Drugstore blushes and they are stunning. There are a couple of shades that do have chunky glitter in, so be careful with those.

MAC GLOW PLAY BLUSH – £24 from MAC

If ever there was a blush to sum up the whole of Summer, it would be MAC’s Glow Play blushes. They simply HAD to make it onto my Summer Beauty Must Haves list! In particular, I love the shades Cheeky Devil and Cheer Up. I have been wearing Cheer Up non stop recently. It’s stunning!

These are cream blushes, but not as you know it. They’re a sort of bouncy, powdery, creamy formula. Very hard to describe, but you’ll know what I mean when you touch them. They’re very spongey and unlike anything else in my collection! Haha the first time I touched it I was like “WTH?!?”

In the Summer I like to use more creamy products as I feel like they give me that healthy radiance, like I’ve just come in from sunbathing. That will never happen because I would become a pile of ash, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to look healthy and radiant!

You can apply these blushes with your fingers, a sponge or a brush. I like to use a brush and sort of stipple the blush on. They’re actually very easy to work with and very easy to blend. They have amazing staying power and look gorgeous and glowy all day.

I need to pick up more shades of these blushes because they are fast becoming Holy Grail blushes for me!

COLOURPOP SUPER SHOCK HIGHLIGHTER – £6.30/$8 from Colourpop

The super shock highlighters from Colourpop are sublime! I have a few shades, but everyone loves a light champagne highlighter and Flexitarian is just that. These are similar in feel to the Glow Play blushes, but a bit more silky to the touch.

I find these apply best with a finger, but I have seen people using a brush. They can be really intense, but equally, you can sheer them out. These are super shimmey, but not chunky and somehow manage to not highlight texture. Colourpop really have something special with their super shock formula, the eyeshadows are amazing too and super affordable.

I’m not mentioning any eye products in this post simply because when it’s hot I don’t bother with eyeshadow. I just do a bit of eyeliner and mascara.

NARS AUDACIOUS LIPSTICK IN BRIGITTE – £26 from John Lewis

The texture of these lipsticks… wow they’re just so luxurious feeling. Opaque, creamy, smooth, a satin finish and they wear really well. They also don’t settle into any fine lines you might have on your lips.

This particular shade is perfect for Summer. It’s a pink with a hint of peach and it goes so well with the blushes I’ve mentioned above. I feel like the Audacious lipstick formula is under rated. It’s one of the best I’ve tried, but I don’t hear many people mention them.

Considering how opaque these are in one swipe, they are actually pretty lightweight on the lips. I love easy to wear colours and this is one of them. You can just throw it on and you know it’s going to look good. This particular colour looks really good on my complexion, it’s just brightens my whole look and is the perfect finishing touch to my makeup.

KIKO VELVET PASSION MATTE LIPSTICK IN SHADE 303 – £6.99 from Kiko

Now hear me out… a matte lipstick in Summer?! I don’t even normally like matte lipsticks, but this formula lives up to its Velvet name. It’s a really creamy matte formula that glides on. It sinks into lines a tiny, tiny bit. However, I just tap over the lipstick with my finger to press it in and I’m good to go. To be honest, I do this with every lipstick no matter the formula. I prefer to not have sharp lines around my lips and to blend it slightly.

Although this colour is called “Rose” I either got the wrong sticker on the lipstick or their idea if rose is coral. In reality, this is the brightest coral lipstick I own. It’s a true coral which has a good hit of orange and a dash of pink. It has enough pink that I can pull it off, and it matches the Diffused Heat blush so well.

I like to share a variety of products, so I’ve shared three different formulas in similar colours for this Summer Beauty Must Haves post as I know not everyone love a shiny lipstick. This lipstick really packs a punch and would look stunning with a tan!

MAC CREMESHEEN LIPSTICK IN NIPPON – £17.50 from John Lewis

I adore this lipstick so much and it was bound to end up on my Summer Beauty Must Haves list! When you swatch this, it looks a little brighter than my usual lipstick, but it’s so wearable. I was a bit scared when I saw it in the tube, but it magically becomes this gorgeous muted coral on the lips.

This lipstick has flecks of gold in too which look really pretty on the lips. The Cremesheen formula has been a favourite for years and my love for the formula is not waning. This colour is one of my most worn from Spring all the way to Autumn. It’s such a stunning colour. Again, this doesn’t sink into any fine lines and it glides over the lips. Nippon is always in my handbag so I can reapply throughout the day, it is Summer in a lipstick!

NARS LIP GLOSS IN SUPER ORGASM – £18 from John Lewis

Finally for my Summer Beauty Must Haves, I’m sharing a classic from Nars. This is the Super Orgasm lip gloss, the name makes me cringe, but half of the Nars collection does that to be honest. Names aside, this lipgloss formula is fantastic.

It’s not sticky, is really easy to apply and pretty opaque. You can sheer these out if you want, or use them to top your lipstick. There’s just something about the shade Super Orgasm that I cant get enough of. It’s like Orgasm on steroids, a coral punch wih gold shimmer.

There’s nothing I hate more than sticky lipgloss. I don’t want to eat my hair thanks. Luckily this formula manages to be shiny, hydrating and non sticky. I usually wear it alone as a sheer wash of colour/shimmer and it always looks so good. It doesn’t feather or spread from the lips and it doesn’t sink into the lines on my lips. I just love it and think it’s well worth the price tag!

Soooo, there we have it, my Summer Beauty Must Haves! These products are going to be right by my side until Autumn when all the mauves come out! What products do you love for Summer?