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Each month, Fashionista editors try a *lot* of beauty products. And while not every formula we test is a winner, we’re constantly unearthing new favorites. Here, we’ve rounded up our latest hair, skin, fragrance, wellness and makeup discoveries — whether fresh-to-market drops or merely recent additions to our personal routines.
With humid heatwaves, torrential downpours and blankets of wildfire smog descending upon NYC this month, team Fashionista’s skin has been through the wringer. Before we schedule much-needed spa trips, our refreshed beauty routines are coming to the rescue.
Our updated skin-care regimens included a gentle exfoliating scrub with magnesium flakes, a soothing oat cleansing balm, a clarifying enzyme mask and a moisturizing massage bar. Fragrance stood out as one of our favorite categories this month, with our editors reaching for a woodsy (non-headache-inducing!) perfume oil, a comforting gourmand inspired by Korean sweets and a smoky floral scent designed for “Hot Girl Summer.” As for our makeup finds, a creamy semi-matte lip liner and a luminous finishing powder emerged as our summer must-haves.
Ahead, see (and shop!) our team’s standout beauty discoveries from July.
NuFace Mini+ Starter Kit, $250, available here: “It’s almost shocking how small and lightweight the mini NuFace is. It’s ideal for summer travel and was a game-changer for the out-of-town wedding I was in this month. After the flight and welcome party, my skin needed some serious toning and de-puffing, and it got the job done in minutes.” —Dhani Mau, Editor in Chief
Sofie Pavitt Face Studio-Smooth Microdermabrasion Treatment, $44, available here: “After coming of age during the Ruin Your Face With Apricot Scrub Era, I’ve been largely anti-physical exfoliant when it comes to my neck and up. But due to a lovely combination of travel, wildfire smog and NYC’s peak summer disgustingness, my skin was looking particularly congested and dull this month. Enter: This gentle-yet-effective scrub, which relies on magnesium flakes to slough skin, alongside PHAs to draw moisture back in. Some weird textured bits I’d had around my jawline and nose disappeared after a single use — so satisfying.” —Steph Saltzman, Beauty + Style Director
La Beauté Louis Vuitton Lip Crayon, $58, available here: “Leave it to Dame Pat McGrath to create my new favorite lip liner. The trailblazing makeup artist was named Louis Vuitton’s Creative Director of Cosmetics in March 2025 and has turned out hit after hit since. The LV Lip Crayon is creamy and buildable, with a semi-matte finish that keeps it looking fresh for hours without feeling dry or flaky. My favorite shade is Nude Rêverie, which the brand calls a ‘nude infused with muted rose undertones.’ Unfortunately for my bank account, I now need the complementary lipstick.” —Elizabeth Denton, Deputy Content Editor
The Inkey List Oat Balm Cleanser, $17, available here: “With sweat, makeup and SPF teaming up to terrorize my pores this summer, I need my cleanser to work overtime. This soothing formula — powered by 5% oat kernel oil — is up for the task, and without leaving my sensitive skin feeling parched or irritated. It melts away impurities with ease, bolstered by a natural wax blend to smooth skin and sea buckthorn oil for a boost of antioxidants. With the dog days of summer soon approaching, I’m already a couple of washes away from squeezing out every last drop of this cleanser.” —Catie Pusateri, Staff Writer
Megan Thee Stallion Hot Girl Summer Parfum, $84, available here: “If I can’t be Megan Thee Stallion, then I guess I can settle for smelling like her. Her first-ever fragrance launch is everything I’ve been looking for in a summer scent: floral yet woody, thanks to notes like coconut milk and orchid. Anytime I spritz it on, I’m mentally transported to relaxing at a beachside resort. And I really appreciate how the smell lingers hours after the initial spritz.” —Janelle Sessoms, Staff Writer
Lush After Massage Bar, $15, available here: “I’ve fallen victim to the body glow craze on TikTok, and it has now seeped into my nighttime routine. After watching countless videos of girls sweeping this bar over their décolletage and consequently looking like glazed donuts, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Not only does the bar soothe my skin in all the ways it prophesied about, but I smell incredible after. I like to layer it as the last step on my body, following a moisturizing lotion.” —Neia Dizon, Editorial and Multimedia Intern
Le Prunier Plumtox Clarifying Enzyme Mask, $85 $77, available here: “The exfoliating products that work best for me tend to be the gentler ones, like this creamy mask which combines Le Prunier’s proprietary hydrating, antioxidant-packed plum extract with fruit acids (also plum-derived) and a purifying-yet-soothing mud sourced from Austria. Together they create a lovely purple hue and an effective mask that I know won’t irritate my skin.” —Dhani
Caudalie Vinoperfect Dark Spot Niacinamide Moisturizer, $65, available here: “Caudalie is one of those brands I feel like people should be way more obsessed with, and this lightweight, potent moisturizer is a perfect example why. Spiked with multi-tasker niacinamide (good for breakouts, evenness, large pores, dark spots) and viniferine (an antioxidant-rich proprietary brightener the brand makes from grape vine sap), it’s an ideal daytime formula to keep skin smooth, hydrated and bouncy while improving tone and texture over time.” —Steph
Ilia Soft Focus Finishing Powder, $44, available here: “In our modern ‘no-makeup makeup’ era, powder gets a bad rap. Sure, it can veer into cakey territory when applied with a strong hand, but it’s a necessary step for my oily-skin comrades. This lightweight pressed powder reimagines the makeup-setting experience with a ‘skinification’ formula of squalane (to boost elasticity), edelweiss extract (to smooth the skin) and a ‘soft focus complex’ (to blur via light-filtering powders). The result? A luminous, long-lasting finish that keeps makeup in place without separating or turning chalky.” —Catie
Elorea Cloud Daze Eau De Parfum 50ml, $140, available here: “When I visited Elorea’s first Los Angeles store, I was impressed by how the New York-based fragrance label reimagines Korea’s centuries-old perfume heritage through modern, genderless scents. And since I took home Cloud Daze Eau De Parfum, I haven’t been able to stop wearing it. Inspired by two iconic Korean treats, the fragrance pairs the creamy, lightly fermented aroma of makgeolli with the toasted sweetness of dalgona candy.” —Elizabeth
Dae Dreamriser Volumizing Mousse, $30, available here: “At a recent hair appointment with Dae, I had an epiphany: I’ve been using far too little mousse. My thick, wavy hair needs a handful of product to actually achieve lasting volume, not the bite-sized dollop I’d been applying. Now that I’ve corrected this years-long user error, Dae’s lightweight mousse delivers the drama I’ve been seeking with some help from capilipid, a hair-care ingredient formulated with olive leaf extract and glycerin to boost volume and hydration. Plus, the sweet-smelling mousse also protects hair from heat damage up to 450℉.” —Catie
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution, $10, available here: “This peel is not in my weekly rotation, but is my guiding light when I feel like the pores on my nose have become a bit too congested. There’s a strict 10-minute rule I abide by when using the treatment (learned the hard way when I first bought it), and it refreshes my skin like no other.” —Neia
Maison Louis Marie Perfume Oil in No.4 Bois de Balincourt, $17, available here: “After abstaining entirely from perfume for years due to migraines, I’ve started to gently dip my toes back into the space via perfume oils, which many find to be less irritating than eau de parfums. So far, this scent (which matches my favorite candle from the brand) is a winner: Several dabs later, I have no headaches to report. Plus, the smaller size is a dream for travel or just throwing into a purse.” —Dhani
Hanni Water Balm in Wildwood Vanille, $37, available here: “This month has been disturbingly humid in NYC, and this hydrating, mist-on liquid body moisturizer has become a highlight of my routine. The aptly-named ‘water balm’ goes on in a clear, featherweight layer and absorbs in just a few seconds, imparting aloe leaf and red algae extracts and glycerin to hydrate. But it’s the limited-edition scent that got me: The blend of sandalwood, vanilla, musk and woody vetiver is subtle, nuanced and just earthy enough that it doesn’t feel confectionery.” —Steph
Live Tinted Hueguard Invisible Body Mist SPF 50, $26, available here: “A lot of SPFs say they’re invisible, but my smudged black leather bags tell a different story. However, Live Tinted’s SPF 50 lives up to its ‘invisible’ claim, while also featuring a hydrating formula packed with niacinamide, goji berry, grapeseed oil and vitamin E. With its fast-drying finish, lightweight feel and coconutty scent, I’ve been spraying this on all summer long.” —Catie
La Bonne Brosse N.03 The Gentle Scalp The Essential Soft Mini Hair Brush, $103, available here: “Literally all my handbags have charms on them these days — and I like it that way. My newest one is not only chic but actually useful: a mini version of the French luxury hairbrush known for its colorful, sculptural handle. It smoothes out my messy strands on the go and makes even the most basic bag look cool. At around $100, it’s still pricey for a brush, but it’s an easier entry point than the full-size versions.” —Elizabeth
LYS Beauty Self-Love Edition 11-Piece Eye Shadow Palette, $39, available here: “Now this is peak pigmentation. LYS Beauty’s new eye shadow palette packs a colorful (and long-lasting!) punch with grounding neutrals and bold shimmers. My MVP is ‘Radiate,’ a pinkish champagne shimmer that glides on like butter and lights up the lid. For those days when an all-matte look is the move, I’ve blended out ‘Never Too Much’ — a deep chocolate brown — into a beautifully diffused smokey eye.” —Catie
