I really like to lighten up the amount of base products I use in the summer months. In winter your skin drinks up heavier creams and extra layers can feel nourishing but when it’s warm and sunny out, and perspiration levels are up, skin can feel overloaded and products can melt off rapidly. With a touch of sun (real, or faux) the face is already embellished so I prefer to use just a light-weight tinted base to even out the tone and a reliable SPF, rather than a high coverage foundation. Let your skin breath as much as possible, and your complexion will thank you for it.
One product I’ve been enjoying lately is the Skin Juice SPF Tinted CC cream. Boosted with SPF 15 (for full protection I like La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios XL 50+ in the cute, tiny packaging), it’s a really light, tinted cream that blends out to a very sheer base. It’s far lighter coverage than a lot of other CC creams and tinted moisturisers but what I love about this product is the colour of the tint. So many veer on the side of orange, or are simply too warm-toned for fairer skins – despite the claims they “adapt to your own skin colour” (calling BS on that one). The one thing to note is the application feel of this isn’t the most joyful; it has a slightly strange feel on the fingertips when rubbed onto the skin – I put it down to the SPF content – but this is forgotten a moment after application as it feels weightless on the skin.
This is also a physical sunscreen so those that react badly with chemical sunscreens – fear not. Skin Juice is an Australian brand that I first discovered after a facial treatment. Looking in the mirror post-facial my product-free face felt pretty damn amazing; no redness, spots pulled back into line, under-eyes a little brighter. I thought my therapist was a true mystical miracle worker. The bubble was soon burst when I was told my face wasn’t bare, but my therapist had applied a touch of Skin Juice to finish and provide some sun protection for the afternoon. Almost undetectable on the skin as “make-up” and endorsed by my master-facialist as skin-friendly – I was sold. The tube claims this is a 10-in-1 multitasking CC cream, now I’m not sure what those 10 tasks are but if you’re in the market for a light, tinted base with some sun protection thrown in for the summer months, this is a winner.