There are numerous ways in which I struggle with the whole task of narrowing things down but with a frighteningly long time of thinking and deliberation, I have found myself able to narrow my absolute favourite beauty products of the summer to a mere 5. Whether you’re willing to admit it or not, the summer is quickly coming to a close and therefore a roundup post strikes me as appropriate. Honestly though, don’t expect a post with products you haven’t seen featured here before — these are my staples after all. Before I bore you all to tears, I’ll try to move on to the products.

Skin79 Snail Nutrition BB Cream

Slowly but surely, I fell in love with my first BB Cream this summer and although I’m not one to buy into the hype of these all-in-one skincare-makeup hybrids, I actually have to agree that this one kind of does it all. With it’s soothing and hydrating abilities — it contains a good amount of moisturizers and ingredients such as niacinimide –, this makeup product actually has visibly improved my skin. Although I do use a multitiude of other products along with this one, I actually do find it somewhat brightening on the skin and this makes sense with its ingredient list and the high sunscreen content never irritates my skin but is extremely protective. This isn’t a product that you can quickly slap onto the skin without giving it a thought and expect it to look stunning, however. With it’s thick texture and high sunscreen content, it really has to be worked into the skin but once it is, it looks almost undetectable on the skin while providing medium but buildable coverage with a glowy finish. I’ve found myself wearing this on days when I hardly wear any makeup because of its ease of use and skincare benefits but it’s also one that I go for when I’m doing a full face. In other words, it’s a versatile product. Review here.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Smooth-Effect Makeup

Since picking up the latest foundation release from Chanel at the very beginning of June as a birthday present to myself, I’ve been adoring this foundation and often discussing my love for it around these part;this love has not since faded and it was my most worn traditional foundation through these summer months. I haven’t done a formal review but I still feel the same way (if not slightly stronger towards it) as I did in my much earlier acquisitions post here. In a nutshell, this velvety foundation manages to give that luminosity to the skin that few foundations can match while being less ‘shiny’ or ‘dewy’ and more of a satin-like finish that is suitable for oilier skins while providing good medium coverage and looking and feeling like bare skin. I only wish there wasn’t so much added fragrance and alcohol in the product. Oh, and I’m the palest shade (10) but it’s not that pale, if you’re wondering.

L’Oreal Glam Bronze Mono in 04 Universal Sun

Like the Chanel foundation above, I fell in love with this product instantly and haven’t wavered in that love since but fortunately it’s more than a little bit more of an affordable product. I don’t even want to count how many times that I’ve raved about my love for this product because I have more than a slight inkling that such a count would be rather high in a slightly embarrassing way. Anyway, this is a slightly deeper soft-matte bronzer that has those natural warm red undertones to mimick natural colour but it’s most impressive feature is its creamy, finely milled and smooth-textured formula. Review here.

MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set in Quiet Brunette

Considering the depth of my love for this tinted brow gel, I’m somewhat shocked that I haven’t actually dedicated a full post to this product. Regardless, this is a brow product that has impressed me with it’s amazing longevity (that lasts through swimming etc.), effect and ease of use; it’s much easier and time-effective to apply than a pencil or brow powder, has a slightly more natural look that also seems to mimick the texture of brow hairs and is the perfect slightly grey-toned light brown shade for my medium brown hair.

Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in Milan Moment

The last in this quint of products strikes me as remarkable for it is neither atrociously expensive or has been talked to death by me in recent months but it’s a favourite, nevertheless. The formula of this liquid lip-stain is really unique as it’s lightweight and non-sticky with a hydrating balmy texture — this also allows for it to glide comfortably over lips with even the driest of patches — and it manages to leave a stain behind, as well. The sheer tangerine shade has been a great everyday shade to slightly brighten up my lips without adding anything too drastic and it can only be faulted for the slightly uneven/patchy way that it applies at first. More on this here.

Have you tried any of these staples of mine? Also, what were your staples?

Maggie, x.