The Best Lightweight Makeup For Hot Summer Months

Foundation often feels too cloying when the temperature and humidity levels rise, so swap it out for a low-maintenance skin tint instead. This cult formula from Westman Atelier gives skin a sheer wash of color but still evens tone, adds radiance, and cuts any redness from your complexion. Plus, if you do want a little more coverage, it’s easily buildable and blendable – just layer it on with your fingers or use a densely bristled brush for a more diffused, seamless finish.

This is such a clever product to carry in your makeup bag because it acts like a beauty filter in real life, offering a virtually transparent hit of color that works for all skin tones and won’t smudge, budge or melt in heat. Also good: Sisley Paris’s innovative gel formula is packed with ultra-fine mica powders to create subtle luminosity without adding heaviness or leaving a powdery finish. Apply it to a bare complexion to blur fine lines, mask visible pores and ‘filter’ out any redness, or use as an extra hit of sheer coverage over foundation.

Lipstick can bleed into the fine lines around your mouth when the weather heats up, which is why we love this clever two-in-one cream from Charlotte Tilbury. It contains vitamin E to counteract the drying effects of UV, and it couldn’t be easier to apply: just pat the balm onto the center of your lips and above the apples of your cheeks for a long-wearing, low-maintenance hint of color. We love to press a tiny amount onto the center of the eyelids, too.

While Supergoop!’s radiance-enhancing high-factor SPFs are technically skincare, not makeup, we have come to love them for evening out redness and bringing about a subtle glow. Case in point: Glowscreen’s effect is very soft and pretty and, unless you have noticeable breakouts, it provides enough coverage to wear on its own. Meanwhile, Glow Stick is a dry oil solid sunscreen that doubles as a highlighter for the high points of the face, while also adding a hit of UV protection.

A natural sun-kissed look is the cornerstone of any summer makeup arsenal, and industry pro Pat McGrath swears that a touch of powder bronzer is an easy way to give skin good glow without worrying about applying it perfectly. Swept over temples, across your hairline and under cheekbones, this glitter-free formula from Pat McGrath Labs leaves a wash of warm, velvety, natural-looking color behind, and adds a soft radiance without obvious shimmer.

While waterproof formulas stay put through summer’s heat and humidity, they often require a heavy-handed approach for removal. Here’s where this water-resistant formula is a great alternative that really goes the distance to deliver smudge-proof, flake-proof color that lasts. Chantecaille’s full bristle brush picks up every single lash and builds volume in just one coat without weighing lashes down, while the rose oil and seaweed extract simultaneously conditions and boosts growth.

Although this lip treatment from Macrene Actives isn’t technically makeup, its organic plant oil, hyaluronic acid, and peptide- and antioxidant-infused formula delivers a smooth, plump and clean canvas that’s ideal for dabbing color on top to help it last longer. Plus, added peppermint oil gives a cooling effect that’s great for sun-soaked, sensitive lips. It’s equally pretty worn on bare lips as it leaves a subtle sheen, too; apply at least twice a day to get a fuller pout, fewer fine lines and more hydration over time.