So this summer, I’ve been a mess. Aside from working, making plans with friends and taking copious naps, I haven’t managed to get anything done. For a while, I was dreading even having to wear makeup on account of the humidity and heat that we’re experiencing. However, I’m now back into it. I’m just hoping I can pull myself together enough to make posts happen again. I’m still going to pull together a favourites post at the end of the summer, summing up my favourite products for the months I’ve missed posting on, but I’m going to go through some seasonal essentials today:

(Can you tell I’ve had this post waiting in drafts for over a month? :))

Essie Nail Lacquer in In The Cab-an: Particularly on my toes, I adore a bright blue polish in the summer and this one is perfect, leaning slightly more on the bluer side of turquoise with an easy cream formula. It’s opaque in two thin coats and is easy to work with, lasting a while – on my toes at least.

Skin79 Snail Nutrition SPF 50 BB Cream: In hot and humid weather, everyone – even those like myself who have skin that edges itself towards the truly dry and perpetually dehydrated end of the spectrum – dislikes the feeling of heavy product (or hardly any product at all) on the skin. We all can appreciate a multitasking product that does all three of its functions well – providing necessary sun protection, moisturizing and functioning as an everyday product – and this is it for me. Unless I’m being an idiot, I never burn when I’m wearing this. Impressively, it provides medium natural coverage that works whether or not I’ve gone for a full-face or not and stays put.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation: In this truly humid weather of the summer that just passed, I was not in the mood for any sort of makeup experimentation. This left me looking for a foundation that looked like skin, had a bit of glow and left my skin looking far better than before on a fairly regular basis and this one was my pick. With its satin finish, medium-buildable coverage and longevity, it might just be worth its hefty cost.

Physician’s Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer: Despite being a lover of applying a bunch of cheek products on the daily, my lack of enthusiasm for makeup application left me looking for a one and done cheek product on a regular basis – and that product in question was this effortless and slightly glowy golden-hued bronzer. It’s smooth formula gave that effortless glow with the swipe of the brush and it added much needed life to my face in an instant.

Physician’s Formula Eye Booster Eyeliner & Serum: I suppose this was the summer that I really fell for some Physician’s Formula products. In the very beginning of Summer – or perhaps the tail end of Spring – I broke down and bought the eyeliner that everyone raves about and fell in love. It’s fine tip creates the smoothest lines and makes creating a flick a breeze in seconds. I love that its rich colour and smooth application doesn’t fade after opening for a few months. In my whole not wanting to put a load of makeup on fairly regularly, I’ve been relying on this liner to give me that instantly polished look.

OPI Nail Lacquer in No Doubt About It ($10-12): My infrequent posts in the last six months or so, aside, I have mentioned that I’ve become way more polish obsessed as of late. This summer, I fell for a neon pink – despite not being the kind of girl who is into pink in any shape or form. In my defense, it is a pink-coral kind of hybrid and it’s flattering on my warm undertones. It dries matte so it dries unbelievably fast which is nice, but my only complaint is that it does not cover completely on its own and layered over white, the polish only applies evenly with a perfect coat of white underneath. However, in three coats alone, it does cover 90% of the nail line and looks even.

Zoya Pixie Dust in Vega ($12): This teal tinged pale blue textured polish might not have the same quintessential ‘summer’ quality to it but its ease of use and cool kind of feel left me reaching for it more often than not. The mixture of matte and holographic glitters leave a cool effect on the nail but truly, what I adored the most was that it dried quickly – only requiring two easy coats – and was chip-resistant even without any top coat.

What did you love this summer?

Maggie, x.