You’ve missed your summer holiday this year but that doesn’t mean you have to for-go your holiday glow. With so many glow-giving products available at the moment it’s easy to recreate an ‘I’ve just been on holiday to the Maldives for two weeks’ bronze in the comfort of your own home. I’ve picked out three of the best sun-kissed and illuminating products that take seconds to apply, and will make everyone wonder how you’ve managed to create that ‘lit from within’ effect!
1. The Skin-Enhancing Base
Texture: Lightweight tan-hued cream-gel with micro gold flecks running through it – it feels refreshing on the skin.
Scent: Sweet floral aroma.
Use it:
• As a makeup primer before applying foundation.
• Alone as a glowing sun-kissed skin enhancer.
• Mixed with your foundation for a glowy base.
• On top of your makeup to highlight the high points of your face.
Benefits:
• Clarins anti-pollution complex to protect skin from daily aggressors (city fumes, cigarette smoke etc).
• Blurring effect.
• High Lumitech complex awakens and illuminates the complexion.
• Increases the longevity of your makeup.
• Hydrates skin for up to 24 hours.
Clarins describe this as a primer, but I think it’s so much more than that, and I’ll explain why. When it comes to summer makeup, I’m all about the glow. Up until now, I have had an expensive relationship with the By Terry CC Serum in ‘Sunny Flash’, but in my opinion, the Clarins SOS Primer is better. I appreciate that’s a bold statement to make, but it’s true.
I love to wear it in several ways, not just as a primer. For days when I’m not doing anything special and don’t want a full face of makeup, I use this to give my complexion a light, tanned effect with a subtle golden glow. For work, when my makeup needs a little helping hand to stay on my face for a full 8 hours, I use it as a primer under my foundation. It not only helps to set my makeup in place for the day, but it also gives my complexion a subtle glow. If I’m going for an all-out glow, I mix some into my foundation – it’s perfect for when you want to ramp up the glow-factor.
2. The Bronzing Glow Powder
Texture: Pressed bronzing powder compact with a subtle fine gold shimmer running through it.
Scent: Fragrance-free.
Use it:
• As a bronzer – apply to the cheekbones, forehead, jawline and nose.
• As an all-over complexion enhancer using a large fluffy brush on the entire face.
Benefits:
• Natural glowing tan effect.
• Finely-milled, talc-free powder.
• Undetectable finish on the skin.
Is it me or do the Givenchy Healthy Glow Powders get better and better every year? I was obsessed with my 2019 version, but this summer’s offering has got me falling in love all over again. It contains just the right amount of pigment so you can easily achieve a warm-toned golden glow without over-do the bronzing effect (nobody wants to look like they’ve been tangoed do they?). I apply it as a bronzer initially and then use it as a setting powder throughout the day to control any shine and love the subtle bronze sheen it gives. Plus, with it’s black lacquered casing and rose-gold detailing, it gives this glow-giving bronzer a chic and oh-so GIVENCHY edge to it that makes it a joy to pull out of my handbag every time.
3. The Illuminating Blush
Texture: Cream stick blush-highlighter hybrid that blends to a dry finish.
Scent: GUERLAIN’s famous Terracotta scent that includes notes of ylang-ylang, jasmine, orange blossom and vanilla.
Use it:
• As a blusher – apply to the apples of the cheeks.
• As a highlighter on the high points of your face.
• On the lips as a topper to your favourite lipstick or on the eyes as a cream shadow.
Benefits:
• Pearlescent particles catch the light and warm up your complexion.
• Doesn’t interfere with your other base products, instead, it glides over them.
• Universally flattering shade of pink.
• Resists humidity and warm temperatures.
• Contains micro-powders and soft-focus pigments to mimic sunlight on the face.
• Jojoba extract hydrates the skin.
The GUERLAIN Terracotta Highlighting Sticks launched last year, so I’m not sure how this shade ‘Universal Blush’ escaped my attention back then because two words – I’m obsessed!
Its pinky-peach hue is universally flattering to all skin tones and has a beautifully subtle gold shift that gives an instant ‘golden-hour’ flush to the cheeks – as if you’ve spent the day at the beach! I apply mine straight from the stick and blend out with either a buffing brush or my fingers, and sometimes I pop a little on my eyelids, too.
