It is actually summer. Don’t make me say it again, and please keep snide comments to yourself. You can Google it – June logically implies summer and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. It is in fact warmer. Lighter fabrics and warmer tones call to us. Skin textures are sheenier, make-up colours are light washes, and everything is a bit relaxed, which is, frankly, a relief to us all.
Nars Summer Lights Palette (€55 at Brown Thomas) is perfect, if you ask me. Warm neutrals that will work for a wide variety of skin tones, but without the lurid orange undertone that less illustrious "bronze" hues can deposit on the skin. Incidentally, this is also perfect for travel, since it contains every colour product for face (apart from lips) that you could want for day or night in one obscenely appealing palette.
Milk make-up – available at Cult Beauty – is new to Ireland, and I didn't manage to get some time alone in a room with the products until recently. Known for its stick formulations (they even have a serum stick!), I feared it might be gimmicky. Reader, it isn't. The pigments, textures and formulas are incomparable. To get you started, try a basic like Milk Makeup Kush Lip Glaze (€18 at cultbeauty.co.uk) which is made with cannabis oil, and has a rich, cocooning texture and a summery gloss finish. I use it during the day but also at night as a lip mask.
La Roche Posay Toleriane Ultra 8 Facial Mist (€20.90 at Boots) may just convert mist sceptics (of whom there are many). I love a good mist for planes, to set make-up, and to dampen the skin before serums so that they go further. This one is ideal for sensitised and cranky summer skin, as it is rich in glycerine and allantoin, which is an effective anti-inflammatory. It is also alcohol-free, so it will not do anything but soothe, refresh and hydrate.
In keeping with the dewy skin look, Laura Mercier Glacé Touch Eye, Cheek & Lip Gloss (€31 at Brown Thomas) might sound like a terrifying concept. Gloss? On the face? Worry not – rather than making you look like you have diphtheria, it deposits a glowing non-sticky veil of colour over the cheeks which isn't precisely wet looking, but rather illuminated.
Shade Nomade – a sensible bitten-lip pink that reminds me of the full mouths of provocative women in Renaissance-era portraits – is perfect for lips or cheeks. I didn’t expect to love this product so much, but you can’t argue with the compliments it garners; unless you are Irish, in which case you probably will anyway.
If too much sheerness just isn't your bag, Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Concealer (€25 at Harvey Nichols in Dundrum) is not new, but I find its grip ideal for humid summer environments (like a rush hour bus, which constitutes its own horrifying microclimate). The shade range is vast and entirely inclusive and the coverage is excellent; on a hot day, nothing works like it.
