The beauty insider’s key ingredients for stunning summer skin
This glorious summer weather is wonderful for the heart and soul, but can cause havoc with your skin. Liz McCarthy, bio-tech beauty expert, shares her five key skincare ingredients to help you get stunning skin this summer.
- Sunscreen
Sun’s out, this means that the skin is exposed to more UV rays – this can cause skin damage, dehydration, photo-ageing and pigmentation. It’s important to protect your skin with a daily SPF. Look for products that you can easily work into your routine with added SPF. I love the Josh Rosebrook Nutrient Tinted Day cream with SPF. It’s a beautiful lightweight tinted moisturiser with UVA and UVB protection. It uses non-nano zinc oxide to provide an effective sunblock, coupled with Sea Buckthorn to nourish and hydrate, and chamomile to soothe the skin.
Josh Rosebrook Nutrient Tinted Day Cream SPF30 - £60
- Vitamin C
During summer, skin can be prone to hyper-pigmentation or ‘sun spots’. These areas of darker skin often appear when skin is exposed to the sun and melanin production goes into overdrive. Vitamin C is super saviour for summer skin; it naturally brightens and repairs, reduces pigmentation, while helping to protect against environmental damage. I use Sunday Riley 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum, which minimises the appearance of hyper-pigmentation, inhibits melanin formation and reduces the visible signs of photo-ageing.
Sunday Riley 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum £100
- Hyaluronic Acid
Skin can become easily dehydrated during humid days and warm nights. A hero ingredient for summer is hyaluronic acid, a humectant that draws water into the skin and holds it there. This spray toning hyaluronic toner from Upcircle is perfect to keep with you throughout hot summer days, it uses a beautiful blend of hyaluronic acid coupled with anti-inflammatory green mandarin fruit, and skin soothing chamomile stem extract.
Upcircle toning facial toner with hyaluronic acid and chamomile £17.99
- Natural Bio-Retinol
Retinol has become a bit of a beauty buzz word, but people are starting to see the negative effects of overuse and during summer it can leave skin over sensitised, and exposed to damage. Switch to a natural bio-retinol in a night cream for all for the skin renewing benefits without the issues. I use Romilly Wilde Night Duty each evening. It has a Bio-Retinol from Revenage WPO which helps to gently encourage natural cell renewal and boost collagen production. It has dramatically reduced my areas of sun induced pigmentation and it feels like waking up with new skin each morning.
- Beauty from the Inside out
I make a delicious Phyto Nectars I AM RADIANT (£14.95) every morning with my breakfast. This antioxidant and vitamin drink helps to stimulate natural collagen production and protect and repair skin from the inside out. It’s got many of the key ingredients that I look for within skincare, plus my summer skincare hero Tremella Mushroom.
I AM RADIANT with:
Vitamin C – to boost natural collagen production and boost cellular turnover
Vitamin A (ingestible Retinol) – to repair and rebuild on a cellular level
Biotin (Vitamin B7) – to nourish the skin, and give me shiny hair and healthy nails
Vitamin E – to protect cells from oxidative stress
Tremella Mushroom ‘The Beauty Mushroom’ – a powerful hydrator and a source of natural plant collagen and Vitamin D that reduces wrinkles, stimulates cell renewal, while giving you beautiful skin tone and elasticity.
For more information about summer skincare, wellbeing and generally how to get the most out of these glorious long summer days, and heady summer evenings head, over to @phytonectars to follow us on Instagram, and also sign to our newsletter.
Phyto Nectars I AM RADIANT will launch 14th Sept. Sign up to the waitlist now.
