Spring has officially blossomed across the South, and with rising temperatures comes the need to upgrade your beauty routine. So we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite skincare, cosmetic and hair care essentials to welcome the new season beautifully and confidently. Whether you’re in the market for a rejuvenating cleanser, vibrant nail polish, go-to lip color, top-notch wave spray or anything in between, you’ll find it on this list. Take a peek into our spring 2018 beauty bag. Here are the key ingredients you need for a flawless season!
SKINCARE
Spring and summer skincare is all about refreshing, replenishing, protecting and hydrating. Below you’ll find eight swoon-worthy products to ensure your skin and nails are ready to take on the season with a breakdown of each:
- Kate Somerville Cold Cream Cleanser + Makeup Remover: This cold cream cleanser and makeup remover is a unique whipped formula that removes dirt, oil and impurities while replenishing skin and combatting dryness. It is gentle, lightweight, non-greasy and moisturizes to reveal radiant skin. ($48)
- Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater: For the ultimate splash of refreshing hydration without the costly indulgence, we love this rosewater spray. It rehydrates skin and leaves a gentle, sweet rose fragrance for that much-needed pick-me-up after a day in the sun. ($7)
- Essie 2018 Spring Collection: ‘Tis the season for tropical vacations, summer weddings and bright colors. Make sure your nails are prepped and polished with the brand new Essie 2018 Spring Collection, which features six vibrant shades, including soft pink, coral, teal blue, mint green and a sophisticated soft beige. ($9 each)
- Tarte Mermaid Skin: This vegan, water-light hydrating serum delivers a concentrated jolt of moisturization to thirsty skin. It works well with all skin types and quenches dry skin with hyaluronic acid, vitamin B5 and marine plant extracts to plump skin and fill fine lines while getting rid of dullness and uneven texture. ($42)
- St. Tropez Self Tan Purity Bronzing Water Mousse: Do you want the tan without the harsh UV rays? This self-tanner is unlike any you’ve ever tried. It’s a totally unique, clear, lightweight, water-foam formula provides skin with a sun-kissed golden tan that lasts for days. You don’t even need to wash it off! ($42)
- Glow Recipe Watermelon Pink Juice Moisturizer: This deliciously fruity moisturizer screams SUMMER! It is lightweight, ideal for oily-to-combination skin and delivers a soothing boost of juicy radiance. Apply day and night to brighten and hydrate skin while calming irritation and prepping skin for the day ahead. You’ll love the fresh watermelon scent, but don’t worry — it’s not too overpowering! ($39)
- Peter Thomas Roth Life’s a Beach Kit: The set includes a cooling, calming cucumber gel mask that detoxifies and calms skin’s appearance after sun exposure. The SPF45 sunscreen is a completely transparent, matte powder that comes complete with a convenient brush applicator. It works well with all skin types and will help eliminate dryness and redness. ($30)
- Tatcha Eye Illuminating Treatment: Are you struggling with dark under-eye circles? This Tatcha product is a miracle worker! It is slightly tinted to awaken eyes while leaving a pearl-like luster, light dark-circle coverage and over time will smooth the look of wrinkles and fine lines. It is refreshing, anti-aging and ultra-hydrating. ($56)
Fresh, lightly scented, soothing and radiance-boosting products are key for spring and summer months. These items will refresh and replenish skin after days spent in the sun while enhancing your natural glow. The Kate Sommerville cold cream cleanser and makeup remover is $48, Mario Badescu rosewater spray is $7, Essie Spring 2018 collection is $9 each, Tarte mermaid skin oil is $42, St. Tropez tanning mousse is $42, Glow Recipe watermelon moisturizer is $39, Peter Thomas Roth Life’s a Beach kit is $30, and the Tatcha illuminating eye treatment is $56. Images: Sephora/Essie/Ulta
COSMETICS
Let’s be honest, with the arrival of spring and summer comes humidity and sweat, especially in the South. These products will combat excess oil while enhancing skin’s natural radiance to create an effortlessly flawless and lightweight finish. Here are our top cosmetic picks for this season:
- Benefit Gold Rush Blush: Give your cheeks a kiss of radiant shine with this brand new Benefit blush. It leaves a warm golden-nectar wash of color on the skin, and although the flecks of fine shimmer may look intimidating, you’ll obsess over the naturally glowing finish. ($29)
- IT Cosmetics Your Skin but Better CC+ Cream: Throughout this season, we always prefer a lightweight foundation formula that evens skin tone and covers blemishes without feeling heavy on the skin. Enter: IT Cosmetics CC+ cream. This is a best-selling, award-winning, color-correcting and anti-aging cream that provides flawless coverage and the added bonus of SPF50. It works well with all skin types and is an Allure Reader’s Choice winner. ($38)
- Bite Beauty Agave Lip Balm: If you’re like us, winter turns your lips into a chapped, cracked disaster. That’s why we swear by this Bite Beauty Agave Lip Balm. It provides lips with the ultimate hydration and recovery serum to quickly repair and restore chapped lips. It is made with a nourishing agave and Madagascan vanilla formula that feels fantastic and protects lips throughout the day. ($18)
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Highlight: Adding a touch of highlight to cheekbones, above the eyebrow, across the bridge of the nose and along the cupid’s bow is our favorite way of making skin look youthful, radiant and glamorous. This highlight combines the elegant taste of major beauty blogger Amrezy with the consistently impressive formula from Anastasia Beverly Hills for the perfect, easy-to-wear shine. ($28)
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer: Continuing with the theme of radiant shine, we’re warming up the skin with this Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer throughout the season. Similar to the Benefit blush, it provides just the right amount of shine without being overpowering and results in a flawlessly bronzed appearance. ($50)
- Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Illuminating Beauty Balm: When stepping out on the town, especially after a day in the sun, we love to highlight and enhance the skin with this Stila Stay All Day Illuminating Beauty Balm. Apply this all over the body for a gorgeous and glamorous radiance. ($38)
- Too Faced Naturally Nude Lipstick: Have you been on the hunt for that perfect, easy go-to nude shade? We have fallen in love the brand new Too Faced Naturally Nude lipstick. Available in a multitude of nude shades for every skin color, you’re sure to find one that looks ultra-flattering on you. Plus, the hydrating formula won’t dry out lips. ($22)
- Natasha Denona Mini Sunset Eye Shadow Palette: For those summer evenings spent sipping fruity cocktails and dancing the night away, this sunset eyeshadow palette is the perfect cosmetic accessory. It is small enough to conveniently fit into any travel bag, yet versatile enough to offer up multiple looks. Plus the warm, bronze-y shades are just right for this season, and Natasha Denona shadows are known for their easy-to-blend, pigmented formula. ($25)
Warmer months call for easy to use cosmetic products that bring out the best in your skin without weighing you down. These glowing items will boost radiance resulting in a youthful, naturally flawless finish. The Benefit Gold Rush Blush is $29, IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC cream is $38, Bite Beauty Agave Lip Balm is $18, Anastasia Beverly Hills x Amrezy Highlight is $28, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer is $50, Too Faced Natural Nudes Lipstick is $22, Natasha Denona Mini Sunset Palette is $25, and Stila All-In-One Body Highlight and SPF is $38. Images: Sephora/Nordstrom
HAIR CARE
Travel, swimming and time spent in the sun can quickly damage hair, so we’ve pulled together a few of our go-to hair care products for priming, protecting, nourishing and adding vibrancy to your locks. Here are the eight hair care items we’ll be using this season:
- Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Primer: If you style your hair on a daily basis, especially with heat, this product will instantly protect and condition strands while making styling a breeze. It detangles and softens strands and has heat and UV protective ingredients that won’t weigh down hair. ($28)
- Bumble and Bumble Color Gloss: Who really has the time or money to be visiting the salon every few weeks for a color touch up? This new product by Bumble and Bumble instantly revives hair color, vibrancy and shine to ensure your color stands out between appointments. It can also be used on non-color-treated hair to boost and brighten. ($34)
- Oribe Gold Lust Intensive Repair Treatment: After chlorine and sea water strips your hair of its strength and shine, go to this Intensive Repair Treatment to rejuvenate, moisturize and repair broken hair. It is meant to be used pre-shampoo and will result in soft, silky texture and a ton of shine. ($68)
- OUAI Rose Hair and Body Oil: If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, on the go product that will replenish both hair and skin, this is your oil. It illuminates hair and skin while restoring moisture and diminishing the appearance of damage. Plus, the subtle rose scent is to-die-for. ($32)
- Elizabeth and James Nirvana Bourbon Dry Shampoo: For a lot of us, the arrival of this season signifies the need to stock up on dry shampoo. Forgo the drugstore options that don’t soak up all of your hair’s excess oil and consider splurging on this dry shampoo. Trust us, it will refresh, volumize, strengthen and add texture to your hair all while getting rid of any greasiness. ($28)
- Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray: If your hair seems to fall flat, this texturizing spray from Oribe will change the way you feel about your locks. It lifts roots to add volume and bounce while leaving hair feeling refreshed and smelling delicious. ($22 to $46)
- Alterna Haircare Resort Sun Reflection Shine Spray: This product is ideal for those needing to fight the frizz. It is formulated with caviar extract, which visibly improves the signs of aging hair by adding brilliance and vibrancy while taming flyaways. ($28)
- Bumble and Bumble Solid and Striped Surf Spray: For those easy, breezy beach and pool days, this product makes getting that coveted undone style as simple as possible. Just spritz through damp hair to build volume and add texture. It even shields from UVA and UVB rays. ($27)
Spring and summer can wreak havoc on your strands. These products will protect from heat styling, enhance color-treated hair, rid of excess oil and provide those sought-after effortless, beachy waves. The Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Primer is $28, Bumble and Bumble Color Gloss is $34, Oribe Intensive Treatment is $68, OUAI Rose Hair and Body Oil is $32, Elizabeth and James Bourbon Dry Shampoo is $28, Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray is $22 to $46, Alterna Haircare Sun Reflection Shine Spray is $28, and Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray is $27. Images: Sephora/Nordstrom
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