When summer shows up, you soak up every ray of lazy sunshine you can before the crisp sharpness of autumn sets in (with its own kind of beauty, although I’ll never be a winter fan, probably because my Mediterranean roots are strong).
I’ve been meaning to do a little write-up on these for a while now, having used all six. So here’s why I think they’d be worth buying, if some are new to you. (As always, none of our posts are sponsored/paid for by the way (in case you’re new to The Beauty Shortlist) so I’m recommending these hand-on-heart.
1. Did you know Essie Weingarten (now 69) launched Essie in 1981 in Las Vegas, with just 12 shades? She distributed them to beauty salons across the US and the rest is history. Essie was sold to L’Oreal in 2010.
Essie’s Nail Polishes have proven to be long-lasters (for me) and if top them with a slick of Essie Platinum Longwear Coat – it’s all about a good top coat! – you’re good to go for a good 6 (maybe 9) days with minimal chipping. I’m a red wine shade fan and wore Essie’s Wicked last winter (a gorgeous “almost black” with cabernet red undertones), but Strut Your Stuff (the summer blue Below) is August in a bottle.
August in a bottle “Strut Your Stuff”
2. Next up, REN’s Rosa Centifolia Express Makeup Remover is a new find for me. I tend to swipe off eye makeup with a good micellar water then do a deep cleanse followed by one last sweep of micellar water around the eyes to remove any remaining mascara/eyeliner particles, but this REN makeup remover is something of a shortcut! It’s not a cleanser, per se, but it removes eye and face makeup effortlessly (caveat: not 100% thoroughly, to be honest) and I still find I need a swipe of micellar water over each eye afterwards. But it’s so quick and such a pleasure to use, I will definitely be going back to this product often. And its light, creamy consistency will feel comforting if your skin is normal to dry.
Comes in a generous 150ml pump and lasts well, mine’s still going strong a month later £17.
3. NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Or. The golden oil that comes out every summer season in all the mags, this is NOT in my mind a treatment oil it’s a “top coat” for nights out. Multifunctional (hair, skin and apparently face although I wouldn’t use it on my face), it’s a dry oil with subtle shimmer and more suitable, realistically, for paler/golden skin. The only thing I don’t like is the bottle – it can be hard to get the fluid out of it. Also not the most practical – glass – for travelling.
4. Bottom left – Sephora’s Collection Eyeliner. My favourite shade right now isn’t the blue (blue eyeliner looks hideous on me) it’s the brown, below. With just a trace of metallic to it, I love this in summer! Super easy to apply, it’s very liquidy but it does dry quite fast. The formula is pretty (not totally) sweat-proof. It adds definition without being “heavy black” and I think this is something worth bearing in mind if you’ve hit the 50+ mark – it’s softer definition, but it’s still definition without being stark jet black which can be an unfortunate “ager” for older women.
ALL of Sephora’s Collection Eyeliners are 70% OFF on SALE from Sephora’s French website (I got mine in France a few months ago), reduced from €12.99 to €3.80 – virtually 3-for-1!
Cool shades if you’re into mauves and greens and metallic effects.
HERE they all are.
5. Inlight’s 100% organic Deep Moisture Balm. I use this as a night balm, dry skin SOS and it’s helped a couple of little eczema patches that flare up from time to time (avoiding dairy, taking omega 3 oil, borage oil and topical hemp oil can help). It’s rich, emollient and to be honest quite oily but if you are a lover of natural balms and love something concentrated and rich, this balm has your name on it! I love using it at night. I wake up looking less “lined”.
This one’s an investment at £49 but have a read of the 22 reviews HERE
6. Ahh…one of our lip category Beauty Shortlist Awards discoveries!! (Appropriate moment to insert the 2019 Beauty Shortlist Awards page link here – the early bird entry rate expires next month – and you can read about our NEW Wellbeing Awards which we mentioned briefly for the first time on Instagram yesterday and we’ve had a lot of lovely messages about the news. Really, thank you so much, I’m so excited about these and we can’t wait to get started with the judging for these – we’ve got two separate judging panels this year – one for beauty and one for health).
There isn’t a Pantone-sized selection of Tropic Skincare’s Lip Glazes (yet) but I loved the ones I got to test. When you consider that you eat your lip product and reapply frequently during the day, it makes sense to go (more) natural (these have Vitamin E, strawberry extract and mango butter in them). Thumbs up for these, fingers crossed for more shades soon?
My favourite neutral for summer is Pink Champagne (far right) and you’ll find them HERE
So voila! Summer in six products (and if you’re in France grab those €3.80 Sephora Collection Eyeliners, there’s a decent amount of product in them, they’re liquidy and easy to apply yet dry quite fast – I’m loving mine and plan on getting more colours for autumn).
To submit products for our 2019 BEAUTY SHORTLIST & (NEW) WELLBEING AWARDS, click HERE
DATES & DEADLINES
Early Bird entries end on 30 August.
All entry forms must be in by 2 November. The samples deadline is a week later on 9th.
Awards Day for Year 8 is Friday 1 March 2019.