My Favorite Beauty Products: Summer 2024.

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My must-haves for summer —

01. Osea Marine Cleanser (10% off with MAGPIE10) — just totally obsessed with it, as is Mr. Magpie. A lone Magpie reader recommended it this past winter and I’m so glad I followed up on it! It’s light and refreshing with a pleasant salty citrus scent. You feel cleansed but not stripped dry. It’s also not as steep in price as some of the other cleansers I’ve used in the past, which appeals — I read somewhere that you should avoid splurging on cleansers since it spends so little time on your face (and instead invest in serums and moisturizers).

02. InnBeauty Extreme Cream — I’m new to this much-buzzed-about moisturizer, which has often been likened to Augustinus Bader, and I love it. I prefer this to A.B., as does Mr. Magpie (he’s started testing a lot of the cleansers / moisturizers I bring home). A great texture, quick absorbency, and instant plumping/hydrating result. Hooked. I’ve been focusing the past month or so on upping my skin hydration (both drinking more water and applying more moisturizers) after the aesthetician at my facial at Keswick Spa pointed out that my skin looked dehydrated, and that my wrinkles would be less noticeable if I used more moisturizer. I think she’s been right! Makeup also goes on much more easily.

03. BeYou Wrinkle Eraser Eye Cream. I completely finished my tube of this brand’s Caffeine Eye Cream a few weeks ago and went to re-up when I saw they’d released this new eye cream and decided to give it a try. Also excellent. I went back and got the caffeine version and alternate between them based on what I need. I’d been finding my eyes were really puffy in the morning this spring — I’m now realizing a combo of allergies and sleeplessness — and the caffeine formula REALLY WORKS WONDERS. For more general/everyday use (when I’m not puffy!) I really like the wrinkle eraser formula. I don’t think it erases anything, but skin does feel firmer and smoother after use. Plus, you can’t beat the prices!

04. Chantecaille Sheer Glow Bronze Face Tint. I’m nearly done with this pot (and it comes with a lot of product in it!) after daily use most of this summer. It’s THE best way to paint on a convincing tan. I love to apply with this brush. On super lowkey mornings (especially in Aspen), I’d put on SPF, swipe this on, and finish with mascara.

05. Byredo Blanche Hair Perfume. A total luxury splurge that I’m obsessed with. Maybe a strange fixation, but I hate the smell of “old hair,” as in when I’m going on day two or three without a shampoo? It’s not a bad smell, it’s just a…lived in smell? I also absolutely detest what Landon and I call “restaurant smell,” which we use specifically in situations where fry oil perfumes your entire body after a visit — it’s the worst on the hair. This handy little hair perfume changed the game for me. I spritz on most mornings and feel like a million bucks.

06. Charlotte Tilbury Makeup Setting Spray (still a Nordstrom sale deal — get two full sizes for less) — I was dubious of this product category until I tried Tilbury’s formula, which actually works and actually keeps makeup in place, even in peak midAtlantic humidity.

07. Osea Undaria Body Oil (10% off with MAGPIE10) — I use this in lieu of lotion. The smell is divine and it absorbs instantly, with no greasy finish. I’m on my second bottle. I love it so much I bought the travel size for Aspen, feeling I couldn’t go a week without it! Gives you great, touchable, glowy skin. Nordstrom is offering a great beauty bundle on this product right now as a part of its sale!

08. Vegamour’s Dry Shampoo (20% off with HELLO20). The absolute best — Emese Gormley turned me onto this product a few months ago and I’ve not looked back. An upgrade from Living Proof IMO.

09. Chantecaille Rosewater Spray (at time of writing, on slight sale at Bloomie’s) — love using this before applying moisturizer at night and to refresh or soften makeup after application. Several of Glamsquad’s makeup artists have come with their own rosewater sprays, insisting it’s the best at “softening” and “hydrating” after makeup application.

10. Dr. Diamond’s Metacine Plasma. Completely hooked on this. I noticed an immediate difference in the texture of my skin, and find it shrinks pores and evens out skintone. I use this after cleansing and before vitamin C and moisturizer in the morning, and after cleansing and before moisturizer in the evening. It’s pricey but now I’m pot-committed…have used daily for two months now!

11. Sonsie Multi-Hydrating Mask — Mr. Magpie doesn’t love the texture of this product (you have to work it into your skin / it’s thick) but I swear it truly works. I usually apply at night, especially on wrinkle areas, and wake up with soft and happy skin. From Pam Anderson’s new skincare line, which turned my head because it’s all about taking care of the skin you have vs. “rolling back the clock” / “getting rid of wrinkles” / etc.

12. YSE Your Favorite Ex Exfoliating Pads (15% off with JEN-15) — Hooked / in love / can’t stop using. I find I have to actively tell myself not to use this nightly because a) I don’t think I need that much exfoliation and b) I don’t want to run through my supply too quickly. But the squeaky clean, fresh, rejuvenated feeling is hard to beat.

13. Ilia Multi-Stick in Poppy Red. Another lowkey summer makeup favorite — swipe onto cheeks and lips and be on with it! I really, really like the formula. It’s longer lasting and more deeply pigmented than Merit, but glides/blends a bit more easily than Goop Color Blurs (and I love all three of these products!)

14. Iris & Romeo Weekend Skin. My only complaint is that I went through a tube in about a month flat! It really does create a dewy, balmy glow, just like you’ve slept in and are bathed in flattering sunlight. This product is interesting because it includes “stabilized, time-release vitamin-C” — normally vitamin C is fairly fickle (you need to apply to completely dry skin, it cannot be exposed to sunlight, etc). I find it works beautifully. I just wish the tube lasted longer! This is one of those great “throw it on and run out the door” products — it makes your natural skin just look a little happier / more glowy. I alternate between this and RMS Beauty’s SuperNatural Serum Sunscreen — they are similar but I use them differently (see next point).

15. RMS Beauty’s SuperNatural Serum Sunscreen — Like Weekend Skin, a great option if you don’t want to wear a lot of makeup / want to roll out of bed and slather on SPF that does a little extra. Both leave skin dewy and glowy. I find RMS is as an ideal primer, though, so if I want know I will later layer on concealer, blush, foundation, etc, I usually go with RMS Beauty. BTW, RMS Beauty is celebrating its 15 year anniversary with a different deal each day of this week!

16. Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm. Use nightly to remove every last speck of makeup. I love the experience: you slather it on and remove with a warm washcloth. Very relaxing. Your skin looks like a glazed donut afterward.

A few items I’m currently testing or are en route to me now: Hanni’s The Fatty (“like lip balm for your body” — 20% off with JEN20) // AmiCole’s Date Cream Multi-Stick (see how it compares to the Ilia — had to get that BRIGHT Pink Sel color!) and Lip Oil (Smitten) // 111Skin Radiance Booster (how much glow does a girl need, you might ask? the limit does not exist!) // Koba Bottom Up Foot Cream (sandal summer = dry feet) // Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Pads (I’m nearly out of my YSE pads — gasp! — and have this on deck next! Will report back!)

P.S. Loved your thoughts / intel on how to handle skincare while traveling! Folded in a lot of your perspectives when I went to Aspen for eight days. For example, I bought the travel sizes of my ride or die favorites (many of you advocated this approach vs decanting because the brand’s know the perfect applicator for the product and offer them in convenient shrunken sizes). For shorter trips (1-2 nights), I LOVED one of your recs to use a contacts case to stow small amounts of serum! Brilliant!

P.P.S. Onward, still —.

P.P.P.S. Was so thrilled to see Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead (my full and effusive review here) on the new NYT best books of the 21st century list! I’ve read a chunk of them but there were definitely some new discoveries (and some oversights — how is it possible Bel Canto made it onto the list, out of all of Patchett’s ouevre? Commonwealth instead IMO!). What were your thoughts?