Life is cruel: I was delaying this article until the weather here would at least vaguely resemble summer. This finally happened last weekend, so I got the post ready for today and… now it’s horrible and grey again. But this important matter cannot wait any longer, as some of the limited edition summer products have already been sold out. The list below doesn’t cover (obviously) everything I’ll wear this summer, it’s my pick of this season’s collections by the big brands.

1. Face: Chanel Les Beiges Blush No 20. Chanel has really hit the jackpot with their Les Beiges . This is a permanent sub-brand that focusses on glowing skin, the holy grail of modern make-up. I don’t like the CC cream in the line, but most of the stuff is indeed pretty gorgeous. Not terribly exciting, but even I don’t want to wear exciting make-up every day. For this summer, they have released three cream blushes. I do generally prefer cream blushes anyway, but these are especially nice and the stick format is convenient. No 20 works as a blush-bronzer hybrid on my skin tone and indeed makes me look glow-y and less pale in a neutral way. Estee Lauder has a similar stick with more shimmer, more of a bronzer-highlighter hybrid, also worth checking out.

2. Eyes: Chanel Stylo Eyeshadow in Azulejo. Chanel’s main summer collection as a whole was a bit too 80s for me, but you might remember that I did buy three Stylo Eyeshadows. You can read more about them here. Somewhat surprisingly, I have worn the blue Azulejo the most, even without having a tan – it’s been more wearable than I thought. I’ll definitely get more wear out of it now that it’s actually warm. (Well, I wrote that yesterday when it was actually warm.)

3. Nails: YSL La Laque Couture in 62 Jaune Babouche. Most of the talk in the blogosphere has been about Chanel and Dior, but my favourite colour story for this summer comes from YSL. It’s not as assertive as Chanel nor as pretty as Dior, but to me, it looks most of-the-moment. It is called the Marrakech collection and the yellows and brick reads and browns for once really do reflect the concept. These colours would work very well with the seventies vibe that is everywhere at the moment, with blue denim and suede and freckles. Or a kaftan, if you want to be more literal. Yellow tends to be a difficult colour in nail polishes (I remember Chanel Mimosa being horribly streaky), but this striking colour is OK to apply and smooth in two coats (top coat recommended, though). If you like your yellow more faded, Dior’s will probably suit better.

4. Lips: YSL Gloss Volupte in 107 Bordeaux Sarouel. To me, this is not a wine colour, it’s a warm, brick-ish red. It’s great for summer, for the time even pale people have a bit more colour in their face. I usually prefer YSL glossy stains to their glosses, but it’s nice to have lighter options for the warmer months. Gloss Volupte has a good, comfortable formula and I especially like the creamier, non-shimmery colours. You can easily keep wearing this particular shade in the autumn, something that is not necessarily true for all those coral glosses…

If the work hadn’t been so intense, there are some items I would probably have sought out online by now. Tom Ford seems to have a stellar collection this season, I would be interested in the Pink Sand blush and the Midnight Sea eye shadow. And Illamasqua, one of the less mainstream make-up brands that I seriously like, came out with very appealing gel blushes and a subtle contouring product, also in stick format. Maybe there is still time…