I'm a Beauty Director—30 Products on My (Somewhat-Unhinged) Summer Wish List
Meet my 10/10 staples.
Most Wanted is a weekly series in which one editor, staffer, or influencer shares their top 30 must-haves or current wish-list items.
It's officially summer, which means attaining clear, glowing skin; incandescently healthy hair; and an unforgettable signature scent has become my seasonal sport of choice. So over the last few weeks, I've put together a somewhat random (yet incredibly effective) group of products to unlock all of the above. From celeb-coded tanning oils to the under-$25 hair tool I can't live without, keep scrolling for 30 must-have summer beauty staples you don't want to miss.
This shimmering Alix Earle approved tanning oil is strategically spiked with SPF so you can have the glossy skin of your dreams sans sun damage. It's a staple that will be in my beach bag all summer long.
I thought I had smelled every iteration of vanilla perfume possible—and then I tried Dave. This lush gourmand is in a league of its own, and I've been rather infatuated ever since discovering it a few months ago. The scent's starring ingredient, "vanilla bean chantilly," is balanced with cocoa shell, tonka bean, tangerine, neroli, pink pepper, almond blossom, lavandin, and orange blossom. Trust me when I tell you that the result is divine.
I'm a fiend when it comes to trying new gizmos and gadgets that promise healthy, youthful-looking skin. After consulting many of my fellow beauty editors, they've confirmed that this multitasking cooling and LED face mask from Shark is, indeed, worth the splurge.
What's summer without a new salty skin scent? If you want to smell like you just returned from the South of France, I recommend Noyz's new hair-and-body mist, which has notes of pink sea salt, coconut water, pineapple, golden waterlily, driftwood, sea moss, and marine accord.
There are plenty of bronzing drops on the market right now, but this SPF-infused formula from Ciele is the one I keep coming back to. I love to work a tiny bit into my skin with a brush (see below!) before I go in with the rest of my makeup. I swear it delivers the most naturally angelic glow.
Anyone who knows makeup will tell you that your products are only as good as A) your skin prep and B) your application tools. As the brainchild of Katie Jane Hughes (one of the most in-demand celebrity makeup artists in the biz), it's no wonder that this new trio of brushes is fantastic.
This ingenious spray from facialist Sofie Pavitt tackles two of my biggest summer skin woes in a single spritz: sensitive, hot-to-the-touch skin and clogged pores that lead to breakouts. This mist works so well I've forgotten what life was like before it launched.
Sarah Creal is the under-the-radar makeup brand I need more people to know about. There isn't one subpar product in the entire collection, and I had such a hard time choosing just one to recommend that I'm throwing you the Welcome to the Club bundle featuring the brand's full lineup. Here's what you'll get: a four-in-one eye cream, a complexion-enhancing concealer, a serum-infused lip repair balm, a glow-inducing SPF 50 facial sunscreen, a lengthening tubing mascara, a bi-phase brightening essence, and, last but not least, a super-soft foundation and concealer brush.
I'd been a fan of Sakara's best-selling Metabolism Powder for years, but this new-and-improved formula is officially one of my favorite wellness products of all time. It instantly transforms my morning coffee into a frothy cup of chocolaty goodness, and key ingredients like West African spicefruit, chromium picolinate, and cinnamon bark extract help to keep my cravings and blood sugar in check.
Speaking of favorite wellness products, I can't not mention these new sleep-supporting fruit snacks from Sweedies. You won't find another gummy on the market with a cleaner ingredient list, and each adorable pouch of raspberry-flavored rings contains 5 milligrams of hemp-derived THC and 10 milligrams of CBD in addition to GABA and magnesium. (Each gummy has 0.5 milligrams of fast-acting THC, which makes it easy to customize your dosing—especially if you're new to the world of THC-containing gummies!)
Have you ever looked at a celebrity's manicure and thought to yourself, I want that? Well, celebrity nail artist Brittney Boyce is here to make your dreams come true with her editor-loved press-on line, Lost Angels. The third drop just landed, and it even includes one of Boyce's most iconic designs worn by Megan Fox herself.
Get in line because Prada Beauty will be dropping Sabrina Carpenter's latest music video product tease on July 8. The banana-yellow color (which leaves a warm, slightly golden, sheer hue on the lips) is a chic ode to the brand's iconic banana print from the spring/summer 2011 collection. It's a sure-to-sell-out shade addition to the brand's fan-favorite Hydrating Lip Balm, and, yes, because I know you're wondering, it does indeed have a light banana scent.
Eye drops might seem like the most boring product to include on a summer wish list, but these redness-busting eye drops from Lumify are the best you'll ever try and will truly transform tired, irritated, and/or bleary eyes. My makeup doesn't look the same when I don't use these beforehand!
This epic collab between Victoria Beckham Beauty and Augustinus Bader was a highlight launch of 2025. Not only does it provide flexible, undetectable coverage that somehow—quite magically—does not crease, but it's also spiked with Bader's signature TFC8 technology to slow the signs of natural skin aging. The handy pen design makes application a snap and is the cherry on top of a truly remarkable complexion product.
Some days, I just can't be bothered with my normal three-product lip routine, and the easy solve is this award-winning sheer lip plumper from Sara Happ. It's full of great ingredients like peptides, hyaluronic acid, and vitamin E, and I get everything I want—shine, pillowy volume, and a touch of tingle-induced pigment.
My colorist wasn't joking when she told me that my red hair would fade faster than any other hair color. So ever since going from platinum to red almost two years ago, I've been on a quest to perfect the ultimate care routine to slow fade and boost that post-salon vibrance I always seem to be chasing. Redken's Acidic Color Gloss line is the first to truly impress me! I've been loving this shine-enhancing oil, but I recommend investing in the entire collection for rich, expensive-looking hair this summer.
Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content forBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing for over five years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie andBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor.
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