Jackie’s Beauty Buys: 15 Items I’m Obsessed With This Summer

I’m deeming Kopari’s Starry Eye Balm the best under-the-radar product I’ve tried all year—and I try a lot of products. From the packaging, it looks almost like an innocent lip balm or salve that I’d toss into a purse and forget about; its results, though, have earned it top shelf status on my vanity. Its de-puffing caffeine and hydrating coconut oil ingredients work great, but I mostly love it for the natural pearlescent glow it gives my eyes—it’s perfect for adding some brightness on no-makeup days (which tend to be most days in the summer).

While I’m definitely not afraid to rock a bold lipstick, summer brings out my love for lightly tinted balms—they’re just so easy and foolproof, especially in the melty summer sun. This one from Olio E Osso can actually be used on cheeks too, making it an even more versatile product.

Sunday Riley’s cult-favorite Auto Correct cream targets dark circles, puffiness, and fine lines in the sensitive eye area, thanks to its potent formula that includes caffeine, Brazilian ginseng root extract, and black cumin seed oil. If you’re ready to take the plunge, consider Sunday Riley’s just-released travel-themed subscription box—it includes a full bottle of Auto Correct, plus other TSA-friendly products and additional goodies.

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From celeb stylist Ted Gibson, Shooting Star Texture Meringue adds texture, volume, and shine to any hair type, wet or dry. In texture, it’s somewhere between a mousse and a foam, giving hair just the right amount of control without making it crunchy. And if that’s not enough to convince you, consider this: before launching, Gibson tested the product on actresses like Debra Messing, Melissa McCarthy, and Lupita Nyong’o, so it’s star-approved, too.

I know you know, but it’s worth repeating: it’s crucial to wear facial sunscreen year-round and especially in the summer. The one I’m loving most right now is Jao Brand’s tinted Face Crème, made with zinc oxide mineral sunscreen (SPF 30) and nourishing plant-based ingredients that work wonders to smooth skin. Fans of the brand recommend layering its Seed Face Oil underneath for additional antioxidant benefits.

Peace Out is known for revolutionary, never-before-seen skincare, and the brand’s new dark spot stickers are no exception. The microneedling dots ever-so-gently prick skin with their tiny spikes to create micro-channels, delivering brightening ingredients right where they’re needed. If you struggle with hyperpigmentation from acne scars or small age spots, these are a must-try remedy.

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Honestly, half of the appeal of Aussie skincare brand Blaq’s mask is simply that it’s fun—peel-off masks truly elevate every Netflix-and-wine night. The other half, of course, is that it really works. Activated charcoal helps to clear out pores and smooth skin, delivering instant results. And, okay, one more reason for my praise: the beautiful packaging commands a front-row seat in my product collection.

Hot summer temps and increased sun exposure can turn hair into a frizzy, brittle mess, so I’m prepping by adding Moon Juice’s newly-released SuperHair supplements into my routine. The 21-ingredient vitamins combat nutritional deficiencies and stress, while supporting locks with follicle protection and minerals that promote thicker, healthier hair.

I’ll admit I was extremely skeptical of Etude House’s eyebrow pencil, despite all its five-star reviews. An amazing brow product for only $3.50? Too good to be true, I thought. But the Korean cosmetics brand, sold on K-beauty site Soko Glam, far exceeded my expectations. The pencil is the perfect shade for cooler hair tones—an awesome surprise, since brown colors almost always skew too warm for my darker brows.

RELATED: 11 Korean Beauty Products That’ll Totally Transform Your Skin

I can be a bit lazy about skincare in the morning when I’m hurrying out the door, but these new acid pads from This Works make me...dare I say...excited to go through my morning routine. The citrus smell perks up my senses as alpha-hydroxy acids remove dead skin cells and Vitamin B3 brightens my face. I was initially worried that using an acid every morning would be too harsh for my skin, but these have surprisingly only improved it—no irritation whatsoever, and noticeably improved texture.

I recently added some blonde to my naturally light brown hair, and my colorist at Spoke and Weal recommended introducing a purple shampoo to my hair care routine once a week. Whether you’re a full-on blonde or just have some highlights or balayage, like me, purple shampoo wards off the dreaded yellow tones. I love that this one from Kyn. is a low-irritant, vegan, clean formula.

Toners can be mysterious, and many think they’re unnecessary because they don’t understand their purpose. In fact, toner works as an important post-cleanse skincare step for clearing dead skin cells and preventing breakouts, especially during extra sweaty summer months. And that doesn’t mean toners have to be harsh, as commonly believed—emerginC’s lavender toner soothes with natural plant extracts and restores pH balance with an alcohol-free formula.

RELATED: The 15 Best Reef-Safe Sunscreens to Stock Up on This Summer

Summer means festival season, and festival season means glitter. And I think, according to my limited memory of the transitive property from math class (this is why I’m a writer, guys), whether I attend a festival or not, summer therefore means glitter? That’s how I’m justifying these amazing sparkles from Smith & Cult, anyway. I plan to wear them often, occasions TBD.

I’ve been known to speak in hyperbole too often, but when I say Sundays polish changed my nail game forever, I really, really mean it. I’d pretty much given up on nail polish until I tried it (the chipping of every other brand just became too big a hassle), but after this lasted three weeks on one application, I’m back, baby. I love the pretty pink for summer vacay.

One of summer’s biggest beauty breakthroughs, this just-launched cleansing product from Artis wins the hype award, for sure. The Phantom Cleansing Silks combine oil cleansing, foam cleansing, and gentle exfoliation into one—and that’s not to say it’s a product that replaces the three steps, but literally takes you through them all, in a single product. It works thanks to the nanofibre technology-based textile, which uniquely delivers products that activate separately.