The Best New Beauty Arrivals to Shop This Month

No one who has run a simple errand or naively tried to exercise outdoors recently needs to hear this from me, but here it is: It’s really hot outside. We have stumbled into the stiflingly humid, all-clothes-stick-to-your-back part of the summer, which arrived early this year and shows no signs of abating anytime soon. This means the thought of putting anything heavy on your body or face—clingy knits, pants of any kind, foundation—is deeply unappealing. Most makeup actually goes onto this list for me (except creamy lip-and-cheek balms and, of course, tinted sunscreen), as the only thing I can focus on when I’m not desperately seeking an air-conditioned room is cooling, cleansing, and then rehydrating my skin. Luckily, there are a number of exciting new launches to help achieve these goals until we all stop melting—and inevitably start complaining that it’s too cold. Until then, beat the heat and keep your skin glowing with these seven new arrivals.

La Mer Hydrating Infused Emulsion

I hoard jars of La Mer’s original creme (and the brand’s excellent sheet masks) for those dry winter months when no amount of moisturizing is enough to soothe my parched complexion. But it is far too thick for the sweltering summer of 2021, which is why this latest iteration is particularly well-timed. La Mer’s nutrient-rich sea kelp-based Miracle Broth has been rethought as a fast-absorbing kelp milk, which sinks into skin on contact. With a texture that is best described as somewhere between an essence and a lotion, it applies so well, you could easily layer it over other serums or underneath an oil. But less is really more when looking at your weather app is so triggering.

Glossier Solar Paint in Ray

For a brand that leans heavily on its 2-million-strong community for insights, Glossier has caused some of its faithful to question whether the brand has been deliberately choosing not to create its most requested product ever: cream bronzer. There are literally Reddit threads demanding to know why the New York–based makeup company has not offered the skin-warming product in its popular lineup. This morning, the world was finally introduced to Solar Paint, a gel-cream bronzer with ultrafine, light-reflecting pearl pigments available in four community-tested shades developed for a range of skin tones, including Ray, a light copper. Hyper-blendable and lightweight, it seamlessly applies onto skin, which means it mimics the look of a day on the beach should you choose to stay indoors—and that it won’t create unsightly orange streaks should you brave broad daylight.

Chanel Factory Five Collection The Soap

Run, don’t walk to get your hands on this one. So many of my other favorite pieces in Chanel’s just launched Factory Five collection, which celebrates functional objects as luxury items for the 100th anniversary of its iconic No. 5 fragrance, have already sold out. But this fragrant soap, which comes in a keepsake tin inspired by shoe polish, is still available for your Chanel beauty collection. Fun fact: The classic floral aldehyde scent hits slightly differently when rendered as a body lotion, shower gel, or soap; and some people (myself included) actually prefer lathering with Chanel No. 5 to spritzing it onto pulse points.

CDG x ERL Sunscreen Fragrance

Fashion designer Eli Russell Linnetz has been many things to many people: director and set designer to Kanye West; photographer to Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and Hailey Bieber. But before he decided to press pause on his ties to the worlds of celebrity, art, and music two years ago to launch his brand ERL, Linnetz also had connections to the beauty world. In 2017, he shot a campaign for Comme des Garçons perfume, which makes ERL’s first fragrance—a collaboration with CDG—almost kismet. Billed as “the scent of Venice Beach,” where Linnetz is from and where he draws much of his inspiration, the limited edition eau de toilette smells of sun and citrus and coconut and musk, and it’s meant to evoke hazy olfactory memories of beachy nostalgia (to wit, it is simply called sunscreen). Also appealing: The clear rounded bottle arrives in a laser-cut foam case that floats on water, so you can reapply it without ever having to get out of the pool.

Nécessaire The Body Serum

Despite all the trends signaling an increased interest in using active ingredients below the neck, I am still pretty lazy when it comes to giving my limbs the same attention as my face. But now that they simply cannot be covered so as not to risk heat exhaustion, I’m much more aware of some unsightly chalkiness that needs attending to. Nécessaire’s newly updated body serum features five molecular weights of hyaluronic acid for multilevel hydration, and a new plant-based bioresin package means it’s compatible with your hot girl—and plastic-free—summer.

Flamingo Estate Aphrodisiac Body Oil

There are few things that make me want to move to L.A. more than its proximity to Flamingo Estate. The pink 1940s villa surrounded by a lush orchard and dense gardens has become a soil-to-bottle operation offering farm boxes, soy wax candles, botanical body care, pantry items, and a delicious rosé centered around regenerative, environmentally conscious production practices. This month, the brand debuts its Summer of Pleasure collection, which features an arousing herbal tonic, an aphrodisiac tincture, and an incredible body oil with fresh English lavender, warm patchouli, and heady rose geranium that can be enjoyed alone—or with a partner.

Malin+Goetz Meadowfoam Seed Oil Balm

And if oils, intimate or otherwise, are just too messy for your life, allow me to present the oil balm as an exciting skin-smoothing proposition. Rich and waterless and good for body, face, and hair, this multitasking treatment features 17 concentrated botanical oils and butters that melt on contact to deeply nourish skin post-sun, post-swim, or post your third shower of the day.