Unpopular opinion – I DO NOT like summer! I am not good with heat – I feel like my brain is melting. Summer in Los Angeles with a crappy air conditioner that can’t get the room cooler than 84 degrees is such a bummer. I need a summer home in Iceland or somewhere north of the equator!
My family and friends call me the polar bear because I can’t deal with hot temperatures. But this polar bear still wants to look cute in the summer, so I’ve rounded up some of my favorite cruelty free summer beauty must-haves for ya!
When it’s hot, and I’m dehydrated, my hair gets super dry and easily tangled. I have fine hair and don’t want to weigh it down, but I also have curls that need a little more moisture. I have found the Ivy & Elder Wave Spray and Leave-In Hair Mask to be the perfect combo.
The Wave Spray is a quick and easy way to get those beachy waves without a lot of fuss. And the Leave-In Hair Mask feels like a body cream in texture, which scared me at first. I put about a nickel-sized amount on damp hair from mid-shaft to ends, and surprisingly the cream is EXACTLY what my hair needs! It curls up beautifully and is not weighed down in the slightest.
Since we’re talking about hair products, I also have to mention R+Co Thickening Spray and Dry Shampoo Mist. I DO NOT want to break out the hair dryer and diffuser when it’s hot. And with the quarantine, I’m not doing much hair styling anyway.
The Thickening Spray is easy to use and smells good (kinda earthy). I spritz it on the crown of my head when my hair is wet for some extra volume up-top. Sometimes I use it all-over if I want really big, Texas-sized hair!
The R+Co Dry Shampoo Mist is my favorite dry shampoo at the moment because it’s got a gentle floral/citrus/vanilla scent that is not overpowering. There’s no heavy aerosol spray to make me choke or give me headaches. And it doesn’t leave a white mess. My hair actually feels clean when I use it – not perfumed.
I’m definitely hooked on this Leaping Bunny certified cruelty free hair brand and I want to try more of their products. Their Watermelon Wave Spray looks amazing!
Since it’s summer, a lot of you are on team oily skin. Welcome! I live here year-round! Farmacy Deep Sweep is a deep pore cleaning toner with salicylic acid, moringa seed extract and papaya enzyme to exfoliate and clean out those pores!
I also really like their Daily Greens Oil Free Gel Moisturizer. As an acne-prone gal, I have never been a big oil-fan, and if I do use oils, there are only a few I trust. So in general, I like a lightweight, oil-free moisturizer like this one. It has moisturizing and exfoliating ingredients to keep pores clear.
Farmacy is clean, cruelty free and these products are vegan.
The COOLA Scalp and Hair Mist is one of those “why didn’t I think of that” type of products. You spritz it on your scalp (your hair, your part or wherever you’ve got skin showing) to keep it protected from sunburn. It’s easy to use and not greasy.
It’s vegan, reef-safe, broad-spectrum, 70% organic, water-resistant, and made with natural oils to protect your hair and your scalp from UV rays. It’s a chemical sunscreen (not a physical sunscreen), so just something to be aware of.
Since we’re on the topic of non-greasy sunscreens, Verabella’s MoistureScreen SPF 45+ is at the top of the list! It is waterproof, broad-spectrum, non-greasy, and smells like cucumbers. Most importantly it leaves ZERO white cast so it’s great for all skin tones.
It is an underground cult favorite of celebrities and supermodels. I know this because I help the company with their social media (give them a follow!), and I hear about the A-listers who swear by this stuff!
It comes in tinted and un-tinted varieties. The tinted version goes on easy and doesn’t look like makeup. My husband uses both, and it’s so thin, you’d never notice, even if he applied it in a hurry.
Milani Fruit Fetish lip balms come in several delicious flavors. They aren’t sticky, but they do feel like a balm (if that makes any sense). They are cruelty free and vegan. They have a sheer tint of color (some darker than others) but not very noticeable once you put them on (for me anyway).
My favorites are Dragonfruit Peach and Strawberry Lemonade. You can find them at Ulta (but they are sold out as I’m writing this).
My face is oily year-round, but ESPECIALLY in the summer. Too Faced’s Primed and Poreless powder keeps my skin looking matte and blurs my pores (which is good because I have very textured skin).
It’s very finely milled and translucent and doesn’t make me look “over-powdered.” Definitely a fan of this one!
I guess no summer must-have list during the times of COVID-19 would be complete without hand sanitizer. Wild Pure by Ellis Day is the BEST SMELLING hand sanitizer I’ve come across (and I’ve tried many)! It is scented with bergamot, which I think is one of the best scents on the planet.
It’s cruelty free, vegan, non-sticky and made with 70% ethyl alcohol to keep the germs away.
I’m also trying out their Phage Serum, which kills the bad bacteria on your face while keeping the good ones happy. I’m hoping it can help clear up my cystic acne, because let me tell you – it sucks to be 40 years old and still dealing with acne!
Great post! Really curious to try a few from these and especially the Verabella’s MoistureScreen SPF 45+. I’m always looking for good suscreens. 🙂
I’m sure you have already “tried everything” for your adult acne – but in my case it was caused by food, specifically dairy but also nuts. Unlike an intolerance, I didn’t feel sick, but my skin broke out badly and constantly and immediately upon finishing any medical intervention. I don’t know your diet or mean to be intrusive, but I dealt with “adult onset acne” for a very long time and it was totally by accident that I discovered the cause – no dermatologist ever got close to suggesting food was a problem and a facial provider knew food could contribute but believed that if my acne was food-caused, it would be in a different zone of my face…
Thanks for your research on the cosmetics!
Thanks Rachel – I agree dairy makes me break out, so I try to avoid it. I just starting avoiding nuts for migraine-reasons, but maybe it will help my acne as well. I have heard taking an omega 3 supplement can help as well (most nuts are heavy in omega 6).