Problem Solvers

Ride the heatwave with these tricks to help keep your cool

Europe’s burning – it’s a gazillion degrees and Team CB are practically dissolving at their desks. Luckily, we’re equipped with an arsenal of spritzes and quick make up fixes to make sure we look cool in spite of the mercury.

A priming potion that protects means fewer, skin-suffocating layers as temperatures begin to soar. NARS’ {Radiance Primer SPF 35/PA+++} lends skin a light-reflective, antioxidant-rich veil to blur the visibility of imperfections, minimise pores and ward against free radical attack. The inclusion of a broad spectrum sunscreen means your skin is safe from UVA and UVB rays (without a chalky film). Perfect for scorching summer days.

A lightweight, skin-perfecting base is crucial. Apply gel or liquid foundation quite sparingly, blending with your fingertips for a beautiful, lit-from-within finish – sunlight can be pretty unforgiving, so forgo heavy powders or full coverage formulas. Charlotte Tilbury’s {Unisex Healthy Glow} is virtually weightless, and practically melts into skin for a ‘soft focus’, sunkissed effect.

Set everything with a refreshing (cooling) spritz. COOLA’s {Make Up Setting Spray SPF 30} enhances the longevity of your make up, and is great for refreshing your ‘face’ through the day while providing an SPF boost. Alternatively, Caudalie’s {Beauty Elixir} smells heavenly and feels like a summer breeze – even when its stifling. Pop the travel size in your handbag to create an oasis of calm when there’s underground chaos (*shudder*).

If things get er… sweaty, avoid adding layers of powder to soak up the ‘shine’ and instead, pop Shiseido’s ingenious {Oil-Control Blotting Papers} in your pocket. They’re perfect for keeping things juuuust on the right side of ‘mewy’ – just dab your T-zone to eliminate oil, sweat (or both). You’ll look cool as a cucumber when everyone around you is a hot mess #smug.

Make up-wise, become acquainted with a long-wear, multi-tasking stain. Benefit’s bestselling {Benetint} is the ultimate, pinched-your-cheeks hue that will flatter a spectrum of skin tones. Act fast when applying – you need to be quick to diffuse or you’ll end up with puppet-esque patches – but when used correctly, this lends an indelible flush that won’t fade when you’re swimming (or melting).

For heatwave-proof brows look no further than {DipBrow Pomade} – the best budge-proof product we’ve found to keep arches immaculate, always! Available in eleven shades, both warm and cool, use an angled brush to emulate ultra-fine hairs, or achieve Instabrows that can stand up to anything summer may throw at them… talk about brow raising!

And if you find you’ve overdone the sun (ouch!), soothe inflamed foreheads with Milk Makeup’s brilliant {Cooling Water} – as icy as its shade implies – then calm your stressed-out shoulders, knees or bottoms with a nourishing and heat-relieving spritz of Herbivore’s {After Sun Soothing Aloe Mist}: it’s like a drink of water for your shrunken, sun-scorched cells.

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Verity Douglas

Verity Douglas

Content Editor

Cult Beauty’s Content Editor and a Cult Beauty OG, Verity loves nothing more than the marriage of language and lip balm. A quintessential Libran, she’s a self-professed magpie for luxury ‘must-haves' and always pursuing the new and the niche — from the boujee-est skin care to cutting-edge tech. Balancing an urge to stop the clock with her desire to embrace the ageing process (and set a positive example for her daughter), Verity's a retinol obsessive and will gladly share her thoughts about the time-defying gadgets, masks and treatments worth the splurge...