While we’re all enjoying the current heat wave, with Londoners flocking to al fresco restaurants, outdoor swimming pools and rooftop bars to soak up the rays, there is one downside: the effect it has on your skin. As temperatures start to soar it can wreak havoc on your make-up, causing it to cake, crease and melt in the heat. Luckily, The Glossary’s Contributing Beauty Director Alex Steinherr has the answer – here she shares her go-to tinted SPFs and lightweight concealers to keep you looking fresh and glowing when it’s hot and humid outside.
The best tinted SPFs
For me, foundations and other heavy make-up products go out the window in hot weather. Instead, I turn to a tinted SPF for a healthy, pared-down glow – it’s all I wear in summer. Tinted SPFs work on many levels; not only do they offer that crucial sun protection, but they can also even out skin tone and offer illumination, while simultaneously providing nourishment and hydration for the skin. Their lightweight texture means it hardly feels like you’re wearing an SPF at all – though it’s worth noting I always top up with a sunscreen spray, applying throughout the day, as SPFs do wear off.
In terms of how to choose the right tinted sunscreen, I look for a minimum SPF30 and ensure it’s broad-spectrum, so it protects from both UVA and UVB rays. Added skincare ingredients, such as antioxidants, will boost the skin protective quality of the sunscreen factor and humectants will help hydrate. If you have oily skin, stick to oil-free or mattifying formulas.
Skin Insurance SPF50+ £59
A silky, lightweight tinted SPF that protects against harmful UVA, UVB, thermal and infrared radiation (there is also an SPF30+ one too), as well as damaging free radicals and environmental aggressors, while antioxidants work to repair stressed skin. It comes in one shade, brightening the complexion and giving skin a warm, just-back-from-holiday glow.
Super Soin Solaire Tinted Sun Care SPF30, £85.20
Designed primarily for those with fair or sun-sensitive skin, Sisley’s non-greasy tinted SPF offers innovative UVA and UVB filters to ensure maximum sun protection. It is also packed with active ingredients – Vitamin E acetate and Edelweiss extract to protect the skin’s cells, Camellia oil to strengthen the skin barrier and Shea butter for suppleness and that all-important moisture.
Color Gelcream Light SPF50, £25
This is one of my favourites, as the hydrating fluid is non-oily and so easy to apply. Available in two shades (light and brown), it evens out skin tone and reduces redness to give a healthy, bronzed finish, whilst also protecting against UVA and UVB. Antioxidants, including the super-charged Fernblock, Vitamin E and green tea extract, work hard to help protect skin from sun damage and shield skin cell DNA.
MD Moisture Matte SPF40, £43
I like a glow and the three tinted SPFs above all give a natural, dewy finish. But if you want something more mattifying, I highly recommend salon-only brand Alumier, whose broad-spectrum facial sunscreen for normal to oily skin comes in three tints (Amber, Sand and Ivory). As well as offering protection against the sun’s damaging rays, antioxidant ingredients like caffeine, silybin and knotgrass extract protect against nasty free radicals.
Concealers to beat the heat
Finding a good, long-lasting concealer for summer can be difficult. Most are designed to be opaque in order to effectively hide any imperfections; in the heat they start to crease and melt, making the warm weather tricky for those who can’t be without coverage. However, there are a handful of concealers that offer a flawless finish even when the temperatures start to rise.
Once you do find the perfect concealer, ensure it stays put in the heat by sealing it with a very light dusting of By Terry Hydra Powder (£42) – whether you choose the loose or compact powder is up to you. Either way, it helps maintain hydration levels in the skin while mattifying and preventing the concealer from budging. Another tip: if you’re looking for under eye coverage, don’t apply too much eye cream before your concealer, otherwise it will slide off.
Synchro Skin Correcting GelStick Concealer, £29
For an illuminated, natural finish, this stick concealer is the absolute best. Made up of three different gels, it has a super light, watery texture ensuring it glides on easily, with no dragging. The non-caking formula, which comes in 16 different shades, covers skin beautifully, diminishing any fine lines and wrinkles, plus super-hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid ensure all-day moisture – perfect in the heat.
‘Un’ Cover-Up Concealer, £34
This is a classic. It has a light, sheer and workable texture that covers blemishes, pores and redness, as well as deeply nourishing and hydrating the skin with its key ingredients of coconut oil, beeswax and jojoba. It’s really easy to apply and absorbs easily to give a natural finish; it comes in myriad shades, so you can also use it as a replacement for foundation.
Real Skin Eye and Face Stick, £57
An all-purpose concealer that is buildable, lightweight and has a non-heavy, non-cakey texture. There are some concealers that are really light but don’t actually do anything. This one may not be heavy, but it does the job it’s meant to do – concealing blemishes, lines and wrinkles – and it actually stays in place. Raspberry stem cell extract and hibiscus extract provide anti-ageing benefits, helping to nourish and soothe as well as conceal.
