I’m vaguely aware that we’re basically half way through summer at the moment and we should all be being fashiony and thinking about autumn/winter BUT I SAY NAY. We still have at least a month or two left of warm-ish weather and lots of us have holidays abroad to look forward to (except for me and Claire…we are peasants.).
I find beauty products a bit of a struggle when it comes to hot weather. The things that make my face look bright and stunningly beautiful (cough) in winter look WUBBISH when it’s warm. My hair doesn’t behave itself. My spicier perfumes smell sick and wrong. I find it all quite stressful and tend to run around the house shouting ‘HELP ME, I’M MELTING’. Angry hot Monday mornings are terrible when things don’t go to plan facially (although I wouldn’t recommend throwing your hairbrush out of the window in a fit of pique. It solves nothing).
With this waffle in mind, I’m quite particular about what beauty products I use in the summer. Some of them might be a bit controversial (there’s not a tinted moisturiser in sight. WHAT!) and you might not agree with them all, but this is what works for me! They’re all under a tenner as well, so don’t say I don’t treat you to a bargain ;).
Lee Stafford Beach Babe Salt Spray £7.49
This stuff is a godsend when the weather is warm. I absolutely HATE blow-drying my hair when my room is stuffy, so I tend to leave it to curl naturally more often in the summer. However, as I said, my hair is worse than Antoine Dodson’s when it comes to frizz. I find serums can be a bit weighty and annoying when my hair is curly, so I use salt spray to add a bit of texture and keep it under control. Lee Stafford’s Beach Babe salt spray smells LOVELY too, which always puts me in a good mood.
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation £6.99
This is my go to foundation in the summer. I prefer oil-based foundations that provide a lot of coverage, so this one is perfect. I’ve found that it really is long lasting – even if my face gets a bit of a sweat on. Once set with a bit of powder, it doesn’t go anywhere (like the secret boyfriend I keep in my cupboard).
Nivea Black and White Deodorant £3.29
This might be a bit strange to put on a ‘favourite beauty products’ post, BUT a good deodorant is an absolute necessity for the summer months. This may be my love for monochrome coming out, but this deodorant smells lovely and fresh and does the job perfectly – AND doesn’t make marks on black and white clothing. Top marks as usual Nivea.
Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Passion £7.99
There’s something about summer that makes me want to wear pink lipstick all the time. I’m usually more of a lipstick than lip stain kind of girl, but stains are brilliant for when you accidentally spend all day in the pub on a Saturday and are too merry to remember to reapply. The Revlon lip stain pens are my favourite at the moment – they’re long lasting and don’t dry my lips out too much (the balm on the end is fabulous too).
St Moriz Tanning Lotion in Dark £4.99
Any other pale Gails in the house? I’m one of those unfortunate gals who doesn’t tan in the slightest – I just get progressively more freckly until I wonder what on earth the point is anymore. I love being tanned (life is better brown, fact), and no one likes a whole lotta white leg when you bust out the skater skirt. St Moriz is my MUST HAVE tanner. It’s cheap, it gives brilliant colour and it’s easy to apply.
Summer perfumes are my favourite. I tend to prefer fresh, floral scents when it comes to perfume, so I always get a new one when I see the first signs of spring. One of the first perfumes I ever owned was Hugo Boss’ Femme and it is still a firm favourite in my perfume collection – it’s SUPER long lasting and smells lush. It’s not too pricey either, which is great for those of us who are baffled at spending £60+ on a bottle of perfume.
Nivea Irresistibly Smooth Moisturising Lotion £3.56
Ah, Nivea. You make it onto my list again. If you read my Nivea In-Shower Moisturiser review, you may have seen that I mentioned this little bad boy. Honestly, it’s the best body moisturiser I have ever used and I love it! It’s really lightweight, which makes it perfect for warmer weather when you don’t want to be sticky and gross.
Pastel Nail Varnishes from Barry M £2.99
Claire and I are definitely unashamed Barry M ambassadors – it’s the nail varnish brand I tend to go to most often because it usually has the colours I want. At the moment, they have some gorgeous pastel shades in that are perfect for summer. I’m personally loving the coral, mint green and baby blue shades. They’re great to mix and match too if you’re feeling wild and adventurous. My pet hate is girls that wear sandals with horrible chipped nail varnish (I am that girl most of the time, IT’S SO HARD TO GET OUT OF THE CIRCLE OF SELF-HATRED), so pretty nail polishes are a must have for summer, oui oui?
Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub £8.00
The only downside from tanning is that you can get patchy/dry skin as it fades. Summer means we all get a bit more naked than usual (still trying to work up the courage to wear my Topshop short shorts without tights. I don’t see it happening anytime soon), so a lot of us gals want to make sure our skin looks and feels nice. This Soap and Glory body scrub is raved about by lots of beauty bloggers so I’m not hugely surprised that I love it too! It’s really zesty and the price tag is brilliant. Rude not to really, isn’t it?!
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara £5.99
Whether you’re fannying about in a pool on holiday (WE HATE YOU) or just contemplating throwing yourself in the canal like I am right now, waterproof mascara is another important beauty product on my summer list. I like to know that my face is going to stay firmly in place when it’s hot, so that means having makeup that is so long lasting it may as well be tattooed on my face. My favourite waterproof mascara is this Max Factor beauty, although the ‘2000 Calorie’ name makes me feel like I need to go to the gym every time I do my makeup. I find waterproof mascaras are really bad for clumping, but this one keeps my lashes looking long, full and clump-free. Clump. I’ve written that too much and now I am chuckling to myself at how funny the word ‘clump’ sounds.
