Glossy Picks: 16 new beauty buys to elevate your summer look

10 June 2024

From new summer makeup to refresh your makeup bag to the new sunscreens that fulfil all your skincare needs (you have no excuse not to wear one!), here are the latest beauty wonders that got the GTG team excited this week

Any products in this article have been selected editorially however if you buy something we mention, we may earn commission

We’ll never tell you to overhaul your entire skincare and makeup stash completely, but as the weather gets warmer you may need to tweak your product selection to get the best results. And that’s where this week’s Glossy Picks come in. These are all new launches that have landed on our desks that we believe will make great additions to your beauty shelves this summer. We’re talking about a new body lotion as hard-working as the best face creams we’ve tried, a new highlighting blusher that instantly creates the perfect summer glow, lip balms that will keep your pout crack-free in the sun and SPFs to suit every occasion. So, scroll down below and take a look and see what takes your fancy. Enjoy!

SJ Corfield-Smith, GTG Beauty Director

Zoeva Velvet Love Liquid Highlighting Blush in Pink Nectar, £24.50

"I’ve been gatekeeping this glowy cream blusher as I managed to get hold of an early sample weeks ago but now it's available to buy I can tell you about it. Think of it as your highlighter and blusher combined - perfect for creating a summery, luminous, dewy flush of colour to the cheeks. It comes in two shades (pink and peach), you dab it on using the handy sponge applicator and can blend it in with your fingers or a brush. It contains hydrating skincare ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid, and feels cooling and refreshing when it goes on. But the big takeaway is just what a gorgeous glow it gives the skin - a summer makeup bag essential in my opinion"

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Q+A Squalane Hydrating Daily Sunscreen SPF 50, £15

"An absolute bargain for a brilliant, super hydrating SPF. This truly is your moisturiser and SPF combined in one - so really all you need to be putting on your skin. I very much enjoy the handy pump applicator and the creamy consistency sinks into the skin without leaving any residue or white cast in sight and leaves skin feeling velvety smooth. Formulated with dry and sensitive skins in mind but my oily skin loved it too"

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Bdk Parfums 312 Saint Honoré EDP, £175 for 100mL

"Bdk is an independent Parisian perfumery that you may or may not be familiar with but the thing you need to know is they create scents like nobody else. This one is named after the address of the brand’s first bricks and mortar store and wowee is it gorgeousness in a bottle. Blending Madagascan rose, Brazilian pink peppercorn, there’s also musk notes and ambroxan which is used as a base note to give it a woody, ambery, sexiness to it. It’s heavy but also light at the same time making it appropriate for anyone to wear all year round."

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Kiko Cosmetics Bridgerton Gilded Glaze Shimmering Cream Eyeshadow in Gilded Apricot, £18.99

"Just in time for the second installment of Bridgerton Season 3 comes Kiko’s makeup collection in association with the hit Netflix show. There are a few products to choose from (eyeshadow palettes, eyeliners and blusher duos) but I love the ease and simplicity of these cream eyeshadows. There are three shimmering shades but I’m loving this bronze apricot tone which is a great shade for the summer season."

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Kerry Potter, GTG Contributing Editor

Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face SPF50+ Brightening Sun Serum, £38

"Aussies always know their way around a sunscreen and this one, by beauty retailer Mecca (think the Down Under Sephora) is a case in point. It feels more like a primer than an SPF – it’s light in texture, adds a glowy sheen to my mug and doesn’t pill when I put tinted moisturiser on top. It also comes with added skincare benefits, in the form of 3 per cent niacinamide, for a radiance boost. So far this summer I’m never more than six feet away from its chic monochrome bottle."

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Farmacy Lip Smoothie in Pear/Kiwi, £20

"This is one for my fellow ‘80s/’90s kids who were aficionados of Body Shop’s epoch-defining kiwi lip balm (I don’t think there was a girl in my school who wasn’t, tbh). Here’s a grown-up version from US beauty brand Farmacy, which has now added pear/kiwi and mango flavours to its Lip Smoothie range, joining apple and honey vanilla. This one contains peptides to plump and vitamin C to smooth out lines. It’s delicious, deeply hydrating and has already been stolen by my 15-year-old daughter. Which seems fitting really."

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Hershesons The Wand, £120

"Recently a hairdresser friend, despairing at my utter incompetence with hair tools, advised me to get a simple styling wand because they are “idiot-proof”. So I did - and they are. At least this one from Hershesons is. You literally plug it in, turn it on and wrap bits of hair around it. Even I can do it. The ceramic barrel has various heat settings from 80 to 210 Celsius, it can achieve anything from a slight bend to tight curls and it comes in a pleasingly peppy cobalt. Hair idiots, take note!"

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Start Growing by Daisy Payne, £12.09

"I was fascinated to hear recently that gardening can be beneficial for your gut microbiome – getting your hands dirty and breathing in soil particles can boost healthy bacteria. As an enthusiastic yet basic gardener, I’m finding sweet new book Start Growing, by TV presenter Daisy Payne, very inspiring this summer. It’s aimed at absolute beginners but there’s plenty for intermediates (I may be flattering myself there) too. It’s full of easy projects that don’t cost a fortune and work even if you’ve only got 10 minutes to potter. As someone with a tendency to see gardening as an overwhelming to-do list, I love Payne’s emphasis on its small joys."

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Florence Scordoulis, GTG Contributing Editor

The Ordinary Squalene and Amino Acids Lip Balm, £8.50

"Cult budget skincare brand, The Ordinary, has just dropped a new category: lip care. Their first lip balm is formulated with hydrating biomimetic ingredients (which mimic the moisturising factors our skin naturally produces), such as amino acids and squalene. Believe me, there’s no drying out here: your lips will stay soft and supple long after you’ve bitten it all off. A thick, lip-shaped nozzle ensures generous coverage in one satisfying swipe. The pearly balm instantly blends into a watery, subtle gloss. You can use it on your elbows and cuticles, too. And, I love the squeezy, circular ‘emotional support’ tube, too - which has been designed to provide stress-relief when you’re on the go. Addiction incoming."

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Ella & Jo Invisible SPF Mist - SPF 30, £30

"Although I religiously apply SPF every morning, I always forget to top it up during the day - but apparently we should be doing this every two hours! Thankfully, this new, ultra-fine SPF mist has the answer. It feels light on the skin, without being too sticky. And, as promised, it’s literally invisible: a slight sheen is the only giveaway - so I’d recommend applying in the mirror to maximise coverage. The best part is that you can layer it over makeup without it ruining your foundation with a disastrous creamy, white sunscreen combo. Oh and it smells nothing like your usual suncream - more like a fruity, floral summer cocktail."

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Kosas Hotline Hyaluronic Acid Contouring Lip Liner, £19

"I’ve always been a bit scared of lip liners - but this new launch from female-founded beauty brand has converted me. The soft crayon is packed with hidden hydrators like hyaluronic acid, and konjac root for protection. A retractable fine tip is easy to wield with precision. Plus, there’s a secret brush at the other end, which you can use to blend into a buttery tint. My favourite shade is ‘infinite warm’: a sophisticated nude that makes your lips look instantly fuller, but without looking like you’re wearing anything. There are plenty of bolder colour pop options to layer with a statement lipstick or gloss, too."

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Archive by Adam Reed, The Headliner Modern Definition Gel, £13

"Good news for curly girls: celebrity stylist Adam Reed has a new multi-tasking gel for us - and it literally smells like a rhubarb gin, with notes of honeysuckle and red currents (inspired by his grandmother’s greenhouse). You can either apply it onto wet hair and scrunch for curl definition; or comb in to create a slicked-back ponytail. The gel itself isn’t too hard or crunchy, because it contains scalp-soothing aloe vera, which also gives it a watery weightlessness that glides easily through the hair. Plus, there’s added baobab protein to boost elasticity and chia seed oil for shine."

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Ingeborg van Lotringen, GTG Contributing Beauty Editor

Alastin Transform Body Complex, £175

"Body creams are becoming ever more identical to face creams in terms of their level of active ingredients, so it’s no wonder some cost a fortune. This really lovely-to-use, light-textured lotion might as well be a face cream (I don’t see why you can’t put it all over) given its percentage of firming, smoothing and plumping peptides and botanicals to tackle crepey, saggy skin anywhere you spot it. Unlike with retinol body creams, there is very little chance of irritated rashes but at least in my case, it has smoothed the skin texture on my limbs as fast as the retinol creams I’ve tried did. It doesn’t look like much, but that’s because you pay for the contents, not the bottle."

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Elf Cosmetics Soft Glam Satin Foundation, £8

"You do wonder why you would pay more if you can get a foundation of this quality for eight quid. Yes, it comes in a plastic tube (frankly, a lot easier to cart around than a clunky glass bottle) but it has a melt-in-the-skin texture (while stretching over lines instead of settling in it) that hydrates and protects, it builds easily so can be sheer or dense, and comes in no less than 26 shades. Bargain."

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Dr Pawpaw Percy Pink Tinted Lip Oil, £10 for 2

"A liquidy balm with the faintest piglet tint, this has Dr PawPaw’s nourishing, smoothing papaya extract plus antioxidant raspberry seed oil and a flavour that’s undeniably that of the famous M&S gummy porcine. Given that Percy Pigs are the only non-chocolate or cake sweet I rate, I’m quite enjoying smothering this on my lips. And I’m clearly not the only one; it sold out almost instantly online but will be restocked and is available in-store."

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Cetaphil Healthy Radiance Brightening Serum, £30

"Sometimes brands surprise you. I know Cetaphil for its functional workaday cleansers, but not necessarily for products that can make a real change to how your skin looks – yet this weightless serum is one, and it comes at a very good price. It has high concentrations of bio-available vitamins C, B3 (niacinamide) and E, which combined make for an effective skin-brightening combo. On top of that, there’s a new-gen peptide that interrupts the formation of brown spots. Add a load of quenching humectants such as xylitol and glycerine and no perfume, and you have a serum your skin will love."

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