Top 5 Summer Beauty Products

Keeping my skin healthy is a key priority right now. After my doctor told me I’m pretty much a “perpetual teenager” that will have regular little breakouts and dark pigmentation, I have been on a mission to keep my breakouts to the bare minimum. Whilst using a prescribed cream, I’m trying to make sure I only use make up that is necessary and avoiding caking my face, especially since I’m in Sri Lanka right now with the heat plus my oily complexion and sweating (I’m the queen of sweat). I’ve limited myself to the five products that I absolutely love and can’t go without wearing on a daily basis. 

1. Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte's Magic Cream: The best £70 spent. It’s an investment buy that you will return to, and I’m saying this whilst only on my first ever tub. According to the lovely lady at the CT counter at Selfridges, you should use a pea size amount of the cream on your face, neck and décolletage and because of this the tub should last you around 7-9 months. Honestly, the cream leaves your skin hydrated, fresh and glowing. Charlotte came to slay with this product and it’s my first purchase from the brand, and definitely not my last since I’ve had my eye on basically everything. The best part about this cream is that it works on all skin types. For me it rids the oiliness, smooths the dry and gives my skin an overall healthy look. 

2. Urban Decay Optical Illusion Complexion Primer: I picked this up purely because I didn’t have a primer and felt like I needed one for a proper base to my make up. I definitely picked up the right one. I use two small pumps, dot it across my face, paying attention to the areas that need a bit more pore coverage and voila, a perfect base. It blends nicely with the CT Magic Cream without feeling like I have too much on my face. 

3. NARS Creamy Concealer (in Caramel): Ah, my one true love. This baby just is there whenever I need it. With my dark pigmentation, the NARS Creamy Concealer is my greatest companion. I can just dot it on the areas of concern, under my eyes and anywhere really to get a even complexion. On those no-make-up-make-up days, I usually only wear the concealer because I just need that slight coverage. It lasts me ages and I so far haven’t found a better concealer that matches my skin and has good coverage. This is the staple product in my make up bag. 

4. Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder: I should’ve got this a long time ago. With my oily complexion, setting powder is something that I should just have with me at all times (Note to self: get a compact setting powder). I’ve heard great things about the Laura Mercier powder and even had an amazing experience with it after having my make up done with it. So I bought it and I will never look back. I don’t bake with it, but I take a slight amount and softly push it into my skin. My target areas are under my eyes, sides of my nose, anywhere I have breakouts, the middle of my forehead and my chin. Basically anywhere that I feel my oiliest or find that my make up rubs off from the fastest. Tip: Use only what is necessary. Tap excess off to preserve the product, which will make it last longer. 

5. Sleek Cleopatra’s Kiss Glow Palette: I’ve banged on about this product for so long now and there is a reason. For a drugstore buy, this palette is crazy good for glow. The Cleopatra’s Kiss one is best for my skin with a more golden, yellow and orange undertone to the four colours within. I mainly use the true gold powder and dust it over everywhere that requires highlight. You don’t need much to enhance your natural glow, really it’s that pigmented and I would recommend this to anyone. It’s £10 and lasts a long time, unless you bathe in highlight. 

Just a little summary of the 5 products that I’m using on the regular without fail. I may add a swipe of mascara here, maybe eyeliner and contour if I’m feeling it and always finishing off with a nude lip - NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in London is the one. But that’s all that I’m wearing on my face lately and it’s refreshing because I’m not really clogging my pores with too much make up but instead embracing my bare skin. And the reason why my skin is so good these days is because of what little I’m wearing but also because I’m keeping hydrated. Drink water whenever you can. Always carry a bottle with you, make sure there’s water in your glass at the restaurant table, make the effort to drink water over other things as much as possible. Hydration is key to your best skin. Obviously some of us don’t feel comfortable leaving our skin bare, we need that little extra to feel our best and these are the products that are doing it for me right now. What about you? Let me know what products you recommend in the comments below!

Bracelet - Charles & Keith / Earrings - Van Cleefs & Arpels

Lots of love, 

Emily xx