How I’m Transitioning My Beauty Routine For Summer, As a Beauty Editor

Pssst! Bookmark This Page In Case Sephora Has Another Summer Deal Week

The first day of summer has summered, and one thing I’ve learned as a beauty editor of 20 years, is that switching up your beauty routine is like turning over your seasonal wardrobe. You wouldn’t wear a sweater in the sweltering heat, so why would you smother your face?

Another thing I know as a beauty editor? Sephora hosted its first-ever summer sale last year, within a week of the start of Amazon Prime Days. And now that we know that Amazon’s sale will begin on July 8th, it’s a fairly safe bet that Sephora may just drop a “Summer Deal Week” any ol’ day now.

So with all of that in mind, here’s how I like to switch up my makeup for summer, with a veritable Sephora shopping list of what to bookmark if you’d like to lighten up your face load for the balmy days ahead.

Start simple

Let’s keep the skin routine dead simple. The perfect foaming cleanser that won’t dry out skin is Caudalie Vinoclean Gentle Foam Cleanser, period. I’d use a hydrating toner like my standby Laneige Cream Skin Refillable Toner & Moisturizer, skip an actual moisturizer and go straight to sunscreen (and the greatest “anti-aging cream on earth,” SPF 50.

Sunscreen

As a sensitive skinned person, I lean toward mineral sunscreens that are less likely to irritate. The challenge these days is not only finding a sheer formula, but also, finding an all-mineral sunscreen that doesn’t contain any sneaky chemical filters that might trigger my rosacea. While Sephora sells a plethora of the latter, I recently discovered that they also sell a dermatologist fave, all-mineral sunscreen, Isdin Eryfotona Actinica Ultralight Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50+, said to repair DNA damage as it protects. DYING to try this. If you have dark skin, you might prefer a chemical sunscreen such as Isdin Fusion Water Magic SPF 40, which rates 4.9 at Sephora.

Foundation lite

Every summer I pull out Chanel’s Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint, but alas, you will not find it at Sephora. It’s a very unique water technology that is light as air without any greasiness, and it gives the freshest look and feel to face the heat. In my t-zone where I need extra coverage, I love to buff in its sister, pseudo concealer, Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion “Touch”. Together, they are a seamless match.

Available at Sephora, I do enjoy Ilia’s Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 Skincare Foundation. I love that it has spf 40 in it in case I missed any spots with my sunscreen application, but the real selling feature is that the dewy finish stops before turning your face into a grease ball like so many other skin tints. It’s not watery either, so you get just the right amount of tint-meets-foundation coverage, with a fresh feel.

Easy peasy makeup

The less piles of makeup the better when it comes to colour cosmetics, which is why I enjoy a multi-stick that I can take on vacation and use to do a 2-minute face at home. I recommend a soft matte formula for this purpose, so you can reserve your shimmer card for highlighting. Newly launched, Make Up For Ever Artist Color Crayons are jumbo versions of its iconic skinny pencils (including everyone’s favourite browns, Anywhere Caffeine and Wherever Walnut) and safe for use on eyes, lips and cheeks. You can blend them in with your brushes or fingers, perfect for summer laziness.

Bronze, pop, glow

I talked about the Holy Trinity of a glowing complexion in an earlier Substack. For the warmer months, I swap out powder blush, bronzer and highlighter for creamier versions that don’t fight with my face sweat.

Some favourites for bronzing include Tower 28’s Sculptino Soft Matte Cream Contour + Bronzer, Saie’s Glowy Super Gel in Sun Glow, which I will never stop yapping about and Makeup By Mario’s Softsculpt Multi-Use Bronzing & Shaping Serum with Hyaluronic Acid, these last two having the tiniest amount of glimmer that won’t take you into wrinkle-reflective territory.

For blush, there are a trillion dewy formulas, but I don’t always find that they last all day. In fact, my pet peeve is when they are too sheer and just slide right off of your face (Ahem, Meh-cough rittt-cough..) Saie Dew Blush Liquid Cream Blush is hella pigmented. In fact, you need the tiniest drop, otherwise you might just end up spreading it into a pancake on each cheek.

I am dyyying to try Dior Rosy Glow Blush Sticks, designed to customize with your skin’s pH. Not sure about that “selling feature,” but there’s a high probability that the shade curation will be as on point as Dior’s Rosy Glow Powder Blushes, which I already adore (Try the shade Cherry for a beautiful pop of colour that works on all skin tones.)

For highlighter, I have to throw it back to Chanel’s Baume Essentiel Multi-Use Glow Stick, which comes with me on every vacation, European or otherwise. Use this on the tops of cheekbones, the cupid’s bow of lips, and just beneath the brow bone. It’s a gift to bride’s everywhere and frankly, to those of us married to everyday vanity. For a Sephora pick, try Saie Glowy Super Gel in Starglow (comes in a travel size, too!)

Transfer-proof lashes

I cannot stand the way that waterproof mascara sticks to my lashes and won’t come off with regular cleanser, because I can’t afford to lose any more lashes! Thanks be for tubing mascaras like Caliray Come Hell or High Water Volumizing Tubing Mascara that doesn’t transfer, and easily slides off without the need for oily makeup removers. I love brown for summer, but I’ve been known to rock blue as well.

Lip gloss

I don’t mess with lipstick in the summer too much, which is why I adore Makeup By Mario ‘s Hydrating SuperShine Lip Gloss that comes in so many fun shades from neutral to a surprisingly wearable hot pink. You can wear them solo, or overtop of lip liner (I’m particularly enjoying Charlotte Tilbury’s dual-sided Super Nudes Lip Cheat Contour Duo Lip Liner right now) depending on how casual or posh I’m feeling.

The dry-meets-oily hair conundrum

Who else here has dry ends and oily roots during the summer? For a hybrid solution, I’ll be leaning into hair glosses, especially on my ends, and dry shampoo in my roots. I’ve been hearing really good things about Kérastase’s new Gloss Absolu Glaze Drops. And while I haven’t tried it myself, my dyed blonde hair does appreciate a good gloss that dries down without any oily feeling, so I’d definitely be picking up one of these pricier options if there were to be a Sephora summer sale in the near future.

And for my oily roots, I find all dry shampoos to be overly fragrant, likely to cover up some chemical smell. So if it’s got to smell like something, might as well level up the experience with the chic aroma of Ouai’s Super Dry Shampoo in Melrose Place, available in a cottage-bag mini size. I like that there’s no white residue on my black tops either.

What lies below

And finally, for all of the many bumps and blotches suddenly on display when bikini season hits, I love the practical solutions that First Aid Beauty has on standby. Their brilliant KP Bump Eraser, perfect for the chicken skin on my upper arms, Ingrown Hair Pads, for my daughter who woefully has to contend with bikini area shaving, and the Anti-Chafe Stick for summer runs are reportedly 25% off from June 26th - July 8th, according to the PR.

This year I’m saving myself a whole lotta hassle and forgoing self-tanner for wash-away bronzing formulas instead. Jeuje up your legs with the PATRICK TA Major Glow Nourishing Bronzing Body Oil and you’re good to go.

That’s it! What would you be stocking up on if there *were* to be a Sephora summer sale soon?! Drop me a note below.