Sheer Lipstick or Lipgloss for a Summer Look

We may be in the last month of ‘official’ summer, especially for those who are bound by school holidays.  The good weather may last several more weeks; some people have the luxury of taking an autumn holiday in the sun.

It seems to us that if one is taking a holiday in the sun, then one wants a ‘summer look’ in the line of makeup.  To us, a summer look face has minimal make up, and sheer lipstick or lip gloss.

In early August we went on a lipstick shopping expedition to a nearby town.  It must be said that our nearby town does not boast a SpaceNK, or even a MAC shop.  There are only two shops that offer a choice of ‘big name’ make up, and these being Boots and Debenhams.

We thought that there would be a wide choice of sheer lipstick or lip gloss, and that most of the cosmetic companies would offer at least one lipstick with built in Sun Protection Factor (SPF).

There was a very wide choice of lip gloss, with Lancôme probably having the loveliest colours.  In our opinion Dior was a close second in the lip gloss beauty competition.  There were few lip glosses with Sun Protection Factor.  Clinique has a lip gloss with SPF 15, which is the highest level we could find.  Clarins currently has a product called ‘Click and Gloss’ with SPF 6.  It costs £15 and is available in a limited range of colours, but these were exactly the subtle shades we had in mind for a summer look.

When it came to lipstick all the cosmetic counters were displaying their autumn collections.  The weather on the day of our shopping expedition was very warm and humid, and we certainly did not feel ready for autumn make up.

Clinique had the best choice of lipsticks that in our opinion provided a summer look.  They had both lipstick and lip gloss with SPF 15.  Their ‘High Impact Lip Colour’ provides medium rather than sheer colour, but some of the more nude to natural shades would be just right. The price is £14.50.  We also liked their ‘Almost Lipstick’, which provides a sheer tint (picture of product at top of page).

The Clinique lip range includes a lip gloss that seems the perfect product for bridging the time between now and the end of autumn.  It’s called ‘Vitamin C Lip Smoothie Anti-oxidant Lip Colour’ (doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue) and costs £13.50.  The colours available are billed as autumn shades, but the product is so light that it seems right for summer.

If you are looking for something in a lower price range, try The Body Shop.  Their Colourglide lipstick comes in some delightful colours, sadly with no SPF, but the attractive price tag of £8.00.

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