There really isn’t much the Cosmopolitan beauty team won’t do in the name of discovering the very best products… We’ve swatched, swiped and spritzed hundreds of the newest beauty drops (tough job, huh?) and we can officially say, without a shadow of a doubt, that these have achieved gold platinum status. We don’t have the time (or money) to waste on ‘meh’ beauty products, we want results, and we want them fast. From SPFs to shampoo and foundation to face masks – if you find the product on these pages, you can be assured it’s truly worth a spot in your beauty routine…
We know and love the OG Jet Lag Face Mask, so naturally, we were expecting great things from this - and luckily we weren’t disappointed. The hydrating, brightening formula swiftly overhauls zombie eyes.
With green tea and pineapple enzyme, this balmy cleanser lathers up for that refreshing, invigorating gel wash feeling, but without the stripping effects of many of its shelfmates. Perfect for every day.
Are you rosacea-prone, struggling with redness or suffering with sensitive skin? Look no further than this game-changing tube for a soothed, calm and hydrated happy face.
Impatient? Then this is the lash serum for you. With a conditioning blend of plant extracts, rice protein and vitamins, we saw results – in volume and length – almost too soon to be truly believed.
Age, pollution, sunlight and sugar all impact the skin’s health. But working to combat this is Dermalogica’s serum that locks in moisture, quenches skin thirst and plumps in one.
A similar texture to the excess juice you find in sheet masks, this is packed with uber-hydrating polyglutamic acid and neutralising cica to feed your skin barrier. It’s glossy skin in a bottle.
This contains enzymes that brighten, alongside physical and chemical exfoliants to give the skin a glow and fade hyperpigmentation, yet by some wizardry, it’s still suitable for sensitive skin.
We’re pretty sure the S in SPF stands for silky after trying these drops. Packed with active anti-aging ingredients, the formula soaks into skin instantly, leaving you with a perfect base for makeup. SPF50 protection has never been so lightweight.
Lightweight moisturiser
Simple Active Skin Barrier Care Soothing Water Cream
It’s a hard line to toe, keeping your face cream lightweight in the summer while actually hydrating the skin. Luckily, this refreshing cream does both while also nourishing your skin’s barrier.
Both prevention and cure; 10% niacinamide improves the appearance of existing pigmentation, while the brand’s new Melasyl active intercepts excess melanin during production, before it marks the skin #tagteam.
This little pocket-friendly wonder is so handy. Perfect for face, lips, hands and anywhere that needs frequent SPF top-ups. One quick swipe delivers high protection in a non-greasy disappearing formula.
Akin to her iconic older sister, the BHA, this liquid exfoliant boasts a combo of alpha hydroxy acids for gentle yet effective resurfacing. Skin texture? We don’t know her.
Jam-packed with soothing colloidal oatmeal and replenishing wheat ceramides, this tackles the toughest mascaras without upsetting skin. It’s so gentle, it’s like a kitten is licking off your makeup (well, what we’d imagine it to feel like anyway…).
‘Blah blah blah’, is what you’ll be saying to anyone who tries to convince you of a more texture-smoothing, clarifying face mask. ‘Tis a cherry-scented jelly of dreams.
Rich moisturiser
The Inkey List Bio-Active Ceramide Repairing and Plumping Moisturiser
It soothes, it hydrates, it restores; this nourishing formula is like rehab for intensely dry or compromised skin. Rich without being heavy, it’s the perfect indulgent treat after a long day in the sun.
Firming serum
Kate Somerville KateCeuticals SuperCell Rejuvenation Serum
This genius serum contains a vegan stem cell complex that works to stimulate your own collagen production abilities, boosting skin elasticity and firmness. Plant-derived squalane gives a huge moisture hit as well.
Face tanning serum
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Island Glow Easy Tanning Drops
Of course Charlotte Tilbury would concoct the most flawless, golden, goddess-like tanning serum – is there anything she doesn’t know about glowy skin? Moisturising, plumping and smoothing = everything you need.
These hydrocolloid patches are no match for your summer breakout. Not only do they prevent you from picking, but the niacinamide and tea tree oil blend also draw out any impurities and speeds up the healing process.
Oh, sugar, sugar – you are my candy girl… and a scientifically proven ingredient that provides long-lasting hydration. Pucker up because your pout will have never looked so good!
Niacinamide? In a face SPF? Yes, please! We’re not only protecting our skin from the sun, but treating fine lines and texture with a mattifying effect, too. Pores, be gone!
If you’re in need of some urgent barrier repair (read: you’ve gone overboard with the active ingredients… we’ve all been there), try this rich, velvety and highly nourishing cream.
Permanently dry skin? It’s time to take a look at your skin barrier. This serum restores damage by emulating barrier-strengthening peptides that reduce water loss - it’s a serious hydration injection for stubbornly parched skin.
This is basically a comfort blanket for your complexion, with ceramides and hyaluronic acid to target peeling or chapped skin, dab onto the troublesome spots and the SOS balm offers instant relief.
Dark spot treatment
L'Oréal Paris Bright Reveal Dark Spot Exfoliant Peel
Introducing the ‘snake peel’ effect… This DIY weekly peel treatment helps shed away the dead skin cells that no longer serve us to reveal a new, refreshed complexion.
Famous for their epic moisturising lip mask, Laneige has channeled all that good stuff into a skin-soothing, dewy, complexion-plumping overnight face mask. Obsessed, doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Available in two shades (a light sunkiss or a deeper bronze), this golden formula with vegan tanning agents gives the most natural-looking glow. There’s nothing better – except maybe two weeks on a sun lounger.
Fancy extending that summer glow for a couple of months? Yep, we see you. Bali Body’s creamy decadent instant tan is a winner for giving a deep bronze glow in seconds.
Can sun cream ever be sexy? If so, allow us to intro you to the sexiest sun spritz there ever was. It packs in SPF 50 plus contains hydrating vitamin E for silky, not sticky, skin.
Packed to the brim with mind-soothing essential oils like lavender, chamomile and patchouli, this calming bath oil is the ultimate pre-bedtime treat. Just dreamy.
As if walking through a Mediterranean field of clementine trees, this lightweight yet hydrating and deliciously scented body lotion will carry summer throughout your beauty routine year-round.
Smelling good enough to eat, this left limbs feeling quenched and refreshed. The unique whipped foam-like texture is like nothing we’ve tried before and brings a welcomed boujiness to your ‘everything shower’ routine.
Leaving skin as supple as a baby’s bottom, this luxe body oil is the secret to self-care. Natural geranium and rose infusions make for ultimate relaxation and nourishment.
If you’re after the kind of hydration that you can slather on and still pull on jeans immediately, you need to try this new addition to the 8 Hour Cream family.
A smart body buffer if ever we saw one, this has both physical and chemical exfoliating ingredients, plus nourishing avocado oil, to leave skin feeling silky smooth. Oh, and it’s under a tenner!
Love the matte coverage and durability of Fenty’s OG foundation but wish it was a tiny bit glowier? Your prayers have been answered with this velvety-but-luminous formula. Plus, you won’t be disappointed with the brand’s iconic extensive shade range.
After a ‘your skin but better’ foundation effect? This peptide-rich formula comes in 20 shades, is seamless to blend and feels like you’re not wearing a scrap of makeup. Luminous healthy-looking skin for just over a tenner, ah-mazing.
Packed with skin goodies like vitamin B5 and hyaluronic acid, this offers way, way more than just coverage (which btw, is glowy and full). Expect bright, even skin in seconds.
Forgot to apply your lash serum? Thankfully, the clever folks over at Rimmel have combined all the good stuff to moisturise, strengthen and reduce lash loss in their new length-boosting mascara.
This ground-breaking brush may look a little phallic, but don’t get distracted from the super-natural long lash result that holds up your lashes like scaffolding, with no transfer.
Volumising mascara
L'Oreal Paris Volume Million Lashes Panorama Mascara
Fuller, thicker lashes without huge clumps? Sounds suss. But this mascara really does give the appearance of bigger, more fanned-out lashes in a couple of strokes.
You know when you’ve had a facial, eight hours of sleep, and a vitamin-packed smoothie? Yeah, us neither. Thankfully, Dior has concocted a clever way to fake healthy glowying skin, with this stunning-but-subtle illuminating base.
Gone are the days of ouch-inducing lip volumisers, this creamy, plumping gloss is made with a clever complex that gives tingle-free fullness. Oh, and there are six dreamy shades to choose from.
While most of the best lip glosses are clear or tinted, NYX has nailed a richly pigmented glossy liquid lip that still fires up that pout. Bye-bye layering!
Sheer lip gloss
MaxFactor 2000 Calorie Lip Glaze Full Shine Lip Gloss
Non-sticky, high-shine, suuuuper moisturising, and a stunning subtle shade selection. What more could you ask for from a new lip gloss? This is fast becoming our most-reached-for product.
As its namesake would suggest, this galactic quad of shadows are as ultra-shimmery on the lid as they are in the pan. Get your spacesuit because we’re taking a trip ‘outta this world.
Delivering a velvety pout in just one swipe, this balmy formula is packed with hyaluronic acid, so your lips won’t look shriveled by lunch. They’re comfy to wear and the shine-less finish provides a hint of colour without appearing too ‘done’.
No need to be baffled by the BB, bb, because this skingredient-packed formula is upping the tinted moisturiser game. What’s not to love about buildable coverage with a feather-light feel?
Think powders are cakey? Think again. This fine loose formula contains vitamin C and niacinamide to perfectly brighten tired peepers and set your concealer at the same time—no creasing to see here.
So enticing that half of TikTok has actually tried biting them, these cool-to-touch jelly-textured tints provide a splash of colour that really does stay put all day (and night!).
These might be the most luxe lippies we’ve ever tried… From the sleek, fancy packaging to the cushiony, moisture-packed formula, they glide across lips leaving a smooth, full wash of beautiful colour.
The hydrating formula leaves a glowy, soft-focus effect behind on skin, it’s fuss-free to blend and buildable, so you can turn up the heat on your blush with ease.
These melt into skin so beautifully, in clever tones for shadow and glow. Build up the colour, or keep it really natural, they’re perfect for on-the-go radiance top-ups.
24-hour hydration? Sign us up. Apply to make bare skin look more even or as a glowy canvas for foundation. We were impressed with how soft this made our skin feel and how well it locked in our base.
This baby is perfect for brushing brows up without flattening them, for a full and bushy look. Plus no crusting or flaking come 5pm (or 5am for the party girlies).
Control shine and create the best base for makeup to withstand any temps with this super unique watery formula that sets like a silky powder. Pure genius.
With a nib as fine as a cat’s whisker, it’s effortless to create a sharp wing with a flick of the wrist. The pen is ultra-flexible, giving you maximum control, and allowing you to get into every nook of the eye area.
This is not the matte you know. The longwear finish never looks dry and the clever shape means you can line and fill with one product. Basically half price #GirlMath.
Yes, this features Mirsalehi honey and is a nourishing treat for the lips. But OMFG they’re SO pretty, on your lips and in the tube. The sparkling Watermelon Sugar is art.
Brow definer
Benefit Precisely My Brow Detailer Micro-Fine Pencil
The cult pencil’s new 0.8mm companion is the smallest on the market, with a clever teeny plastic protective tube surrounding the tip, which retracts to allow the ultra-fine strokes.
Designed for brightening, this radiant medium-coverage concealer delivers the fresh, glowy undereye rescue of a lightweight option, despite the added oomph of coverage.
Mr Dedivanovic certainly snapped with this launch. Available in 22 shades, you can forgo your foundation this summer and use this for pinpoint concealing that actually lasts.
Hitting the trifecta of falsies innovations, this kit of cluster lashes comes with seven-day glue, and is designed for the viral (and genius) under lash technique for invisible wear.
Too impatient to wait for your nails to dry? We got you. These press-on kits feature 30 nails of varying sizes are fuss-free to apply, require no filing to make them fit and can last up to two weeks. Acrylics, eat your heart out.
Itchy, flaky scalp begone! This light, easy-to-apply serum relieves scalp issues and restores the skin's microbiome. A total must-have for healthy hair growth.
Not only does this spray protect strands from hot tools, but it also delivers invisible nourishment. Saturate from root to ends and activate with heat to reveal a super-shiny finish.
Heat + oil + summer doesn’t sound like a winning formula for your hair but I promise, smoothing this lightweight formula will leave it glistening and more importantly, frizz-free.
If the hair assignment is amplified body and tousled texture, this air-light spray gets an A* grade. Plus, its UV protection shields strands from sun damage! 10s across the board.
Excuse the oxymoron but this liquid dry shampoo is like nothing ever before. By the sweat (soz) of its ‘brow, AirWash’s grease-busting technology is the ultimate lazy girl hair saviour.
Whether it’s a sweaty scalp or gel build-up from multiple days of a slicked-back bun, this shampoo cleanses it all away without totally stripping moisture from the hair and scalp.
The popular Acidic Bonding Concentrate line is extending with curly and coily specific products, and they work wonders repairing and supporting your pattern. Expect a drastic curl revamp.
Moisturising hair wash duo
Cécred Hydrating Shampoo & Moisturizing Deep Conditioner
As if we needed another reason to love Beyoncé… This uber-nourishing shampoo and deep conditioner can transform even the driest of strands and leave them silk-like.
Silicone-free and 100% vegan, this conditioning water can be rinsed over lengths (post-shampoo) to give super-dull, dry locks a new lease of life in just eight seconds.
Crispy curls and coils are not it, so we need to be renourishing our strands on the regs. This treatment is packed with goodness like shea butter, rosemary oil and baobab oil.
The light cream-to-serum formula is infused with peptides to repair fried strands with hair-mimicking proteins – seriously high-tech stuff. Expect to see enviable glass-like hair in no time, with split ends nowhere in sight.
Loaded with Coconut and Macadamia Oils, yet still incredibly lightweight and non-greasy, this leave-in cream gives lengths a ridiculous amount of glossy, mirror-like shine.
Bringing the best out of natural curls and making egg-head hair chic again, this gel works for all hair types and textures. Think: definition without crunch and style without flakes.
Colour fade is real, especially during the summer. This salon-quality treatment helps to restore the mirror-like shine that you left your colourist’s chair with.
Use as instructed pre-styling to seal and fill the hair, as well as for heat protection. But, wow, put a bit in your dry frizzy ends and watch splits disappear.
No more planning workouts around your hairstyles to avoid sweating them out. Plus it can stretch to accommodate braids and locs and can fold out to cover the whole head.
A summer holiday in a bottle, this floral number mixes vibrant red hibiscus, sweet vanilla and fragrant jasmine. Expect to be transported to a tropical sandy beach with fresh sea air in just one spritz (well, almost).
With notes of ‘fruit gummies’, this is one for those with a sweet tooth. The amber in the mix adds a sophisticated twist and means it dries down to a very tasteful nostalgic sweet escape, without being sickly.
This iconic scent has had a revamp, thanks to one Francis Kurkdjian (AKA, the nose behind Baccarat Rouge). The mandarin, jasmine and woody amber notes combine for a fresh scent that makes us feel like we’re forest bathing.
With black coffee and bursts of cherry, this is the evolution of the OG’s It Girl, into glamorous aunt. The young, forever-cool, rich aunt with no kids aka Kendall Jenner.
This unisex fragrance feels like the seduction of a sultry nightcap. Roasted barley, coffee and frangipani may sound like your grandma’s pantry, but it’s actually boozy, luxe, delicious and *so* indulgent.
Powerful notes of myrrh blended with the warm scents of cinnamon and ginger make for a sensory delight. A few spritzes are guaranteed to spice up any room.
Dyson have done it again… They’ve created a one-of-a-kind hair straightener that uses air instead of hot plates to smooth strands - so you don’t have to worry about the damage, it’s a game-changer guys.
This powerful dryer tackles all hair types with its 122 km/h airspeed, so we spend less time drying our hair and more time getting people to feel how smooth it is.
Can’t decide if you want beachy waves or pin-straight strands? We got you. Not only is this a really, really great hair straightener, but flick a switch and the barrel clips together into a curling wand. Just, wow.
You can get the deepest of cleanses thanks to this device’s warming pore-opening tech. It’s teamed with microcurrent pulses to lift and stimulate the skin – trust us, it’ll become the hardest working tool on your shelfie.
No, seriously this is your sleekest hair ever. Thanks to some nifty new tech (erm, hello, unparalleled heat monitoring accuracy) you can get smooth, shiny hair with just one pass.
If you’re after a hairless summer (your body hair, your choice), an IPL device is the way to go. This cleverly communicates with an app on your phone to tell you when you’re doing it right (or wrong) and sends you reminders so you don’t forget your next sesh.
What do you get when you combine the suction of a vacuum with microdermabrasion technology? Why, rich in collagen, firm, fresh and radiant-looking skin, ofc! Suck and glow, friends.