It may be summer where the livin’ is easy, but gorgeous weather comes with challenges. We’re almost halfway through our favourite season (NO, NO, NO!) and we are set on looking our freshest for the rest of these bare-it-almost-all months. We’ve already picked our sunscreen and we’re pros at creating a super fake glow we can be proud of. Now, it’s time to make the rest of the beauty regime simple. Just keepin’ it real, you know.
THE BRAZEN SUMMER BEAUTY ESSENTIALS LIST
FOR YOUR BOO BOOS
When you’re hurting, you need love, and so does your body. 
Thera Wise SHO, $15, Shoppers Drug Mart
Becoming one with nature—partying on docks, sand and patios—is hard work for your skin. Before you get summer on, plan against getting bitten, scraped, burned, scratched, and overall abused. Thera Wise’s natural Bio-Active Skin Healing Ointment is your best alternative to petro-chemical ointments. Repair your skin naturally. Works for wounds, cuts, rashes, itches, burns and sunburns. Cool stuff.
FOR YOUR HAIR WOES
Make sure your locks are locked down and doing what you tell them to. Ain’t nobody got time to spend hours fighting with hair. 
PARLOR Moisturizing Sea Salt Spray, $27, Birchbox.ca If your mane is more Munsters than Baywatch then you need something to help keep it controlled. If a hat or ponytail won’t do the trick, it’s time to take charge and embrace the Messy Look. Part beach wave spray, part leave-in conditioner, this product gives your mane that coveted surfer-girl texture without the drying effects of salt water.
KMS California Hair Stay, from $18.60, at Salons and Beauty Supply stores
With this magic potion, you can tame your frizz before it freaks you out. This light spray provides an anti-humidity seal for your locks that really works. Whether you’re looking for straight and sleek or pretty, bouncy curls, this spray will prevent the frizzies before they take root. Use before styling or give yourself a light mist if you see danger ahead. 
FOR HAPPY SMOOCHING
Make sure your lips are up to active duty. Summer is for lovers, you know.
Maybelline Baby Lips, from $4 wherever Maybelline is sold
We want lip balm and colour too, and that’s why 
we have more than a handful of Maybelline’s Baby Lips Balm in our handbag. You’ll fall for the new crystal line which has clinical care with a Kiss of Shimmer. The micro crystal particles in the lip renew formula give you a hint of tint and up to 8 hours of moisture. The price is right too, so just get ’em all.
Also available in original, Eletro, and Dr. Rescue.
Arbonne Liquid Shine Lip Balm, $14, Arbonne
You don’t want to be eating chemicals, even if they’re sorta good for you. Protect your lips naturally with this non-whitening mineral sunscreen for your kisser. Coconut oil, olive fruit oil, and shea butter help condition and smooth while titanium dioxide and zinc oxide keep UVA/UVB rays at bay.
Fresh Sugar Lip Shine in Tulip/Berry/Nude, $22, Sephora and Sephora.ca
We’re part of the Fresh Sugar cult and these new ultra-flattering lip shine shades are keeping us loyal. Just like the original Sugar Shine products, Berry, Tulip, and Nude give you supple, definition, and moisture—for six hours. Wear alone for a sheer hint of colour or over any Sugar shade for more oomph.
FOR CLEAN, HAPPY SKIN
You can use all the beauty products you like, but if you’re skin’s not clear and fresh, you’ve got nothing to work with. Read on and learn. 
Burt’s Bees Pink Grapefruit Towelettes, $9.99, where Burt’s Bees is sold
Use moist, refreshing citrus towelettes to remove the effects of the environment—dirt, oil and makeup—from normal-to-oily skin (a skin type oft forgotten in the drying summer months). You’ll get naturally clean with no residue. These FSC-certified cloths infused with gentle-plant based cleansers keep your face fresh, whether you’re at home, the cottage or out glamping. They’re gentle enough for every day use, even on acne-prone skin.
Rodial Super Acids Extreme Exfoliating Glycolic Cleanser, $36, Murale
Exfoliating is most vital in hot weather. Deep clean to balance oil production, purify and reduce pores, and improve texture with this intense combination of fruit acids, enzymes and purified glycolic acid. This cleanser is the ideal product to clear your skin of uneven patches and it will smooth, soften, moisture and refine.
Frank Body Scrub, $15.95, Frank Body Yah, we can see your face but we can see a lot of the rest of you too. Don’t forget to exfoliate your whole body (especially before self-tanning). This Australian coffee-based skincare range offers directions that are as fun to read as a chick lit novel. Even better? It works too! Targeting cellulite, stretch marks psoriasis eczema, and other skin conditions, it uses the power of our favourite wake-me-up along with other natural oils and botanicals to leave skin soft and supple. Plus, how can we resist a skin care line that calls us ‘babe’?
FOR THAT OH-SO-FRESH FEELING
When you’re all hot and bothered, it feels heavenly to give your face a spritz with a cooling mist that adds more than H20 to your skin. 
Pai Skincare BioAffinity Tonic, $56, Pai Skincare
Whether it’s part of your daily routine or you use it to refresh yourself anytime, anyplace, you’ll get addicted fast. Pai’s tonic boasts a vitamin, mineral, and amino-acid rich formula that’s alcohol-free and almost unscented. It hydrates and protects dry or sensitive skin too. We use it three ways:
- 1. Beneath moisturizer to add nutrients
- 2. On top of makeup to set and prevent melting
- 3. On the go to stay dewy and fabulously fresh.
Miyu Beauty Hydrate MI Beauty Essence, $34
This hydrating spritz is the perfect hot weather accessory. It’s called a beauty essence, because it fuses the freshness of a facial mist with the nutrients of a serum. Use before moisturizer or for an instant hit of hydration at any time of day. It helps if you never drink enough water, are addicted to caffeine, live in a dry climate or travel lots. If your skin is hot and bothered, take it everywhere.
SHARE: Did we miss anything? What products can you NOT live without in summer?
