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This £45 beauty box is brimming with £130 worth of summer essentials

From Isle of Paradise’s fake tan to Iconic London’s liquid blush, here’s a peek inside

Daisy Lester
Tuesday 25 June 2024 12:11 EDT
There’s five full size and six deluxe size formulas
There’s five full size and six deluxe size formulas (iStock/The Independent )

Just like our wardrobe refreshes each season, so does our beauty arsenal. While SPF is a year-round essential, some formulas are summer heroes – think fake tan, sweat-proof setting sprays and holiday-in-a-bottle fragrances.

Whether you’re enjoying the heatwave at home or flying off to even warmer climes, the LOOKFANTASTIC summer edit has landed just in time to fill up your bathroom cabinet and make-up bag for the hot weather ahead.

As always, the beauty box offers stellar value for money. Setting you back £45 but with an overall value of £130, the edit includes cult brands like Sol De Janeiro, Isle of Paradise and Nars, as well as beauty editor-favourites including Ultrasun, Aveeno and Iconic.

Spanning fake tan, bronzers and liquid blushers, it’s also packed with essential summer skincare like body scrubs, SPF and hair masks. In other words, everything you need for your next beach holiday (helpfully, a lot of the products are travel size, too).

How I tested the LOOKFANTASTIC summer edit

The full contents of Lookfantastic’s summer beauty edit
The full contents of Lookfantastic’s summer beauty edit (Daisy Lester)

To find out if it’s as good as it sounds, I got my hands on Lookfantastic’s summer heroes edit to give our verdict on the contents inside. Unpacking the box, I considered value-for-money, the variety of formulas and how useful they are for summer (and beyond). Here’s my full lowdown on the summer box.

LOOKFANTASTIC summer heroes edit

lookfantastic beauty box.png
  • Number of products: 11
  • Why we love it
    • Variety of products
    • Travel sized formulas for hand luggage
    • Good value for money

You’ll find 11 products in the summer box, including skincare, make-up and haircare. Considering the price, there’s a nice balance of full-size formulas and deluxe-sized products (five and six, respectively).

When it comes to skincare, a full-sized Aveeno skin renewal body scrub is the perfect addition to your summer beauty routine. Whether used as a fake tan prep or after a salty swim in the sea, it works to nourish and exfoliate skin. There’s also a mini version (and I mean mini, it’s just 15ml) of Youth to the People’s green tea, spinach and vitamins superfood cleanser. I’ve dabbled with this formula for years and love it for giving skin a radiant glow while removing make-up.

Also in the line-up is one of Sol De Janeiro’s scents: Rio radiance. Tropical, fruity and fresh, the travel-sized fragrance immediately transports you to warmer climates.

As for haircare, Philip Kingsley’s swimcap hair mask is a holiday haircare hero. Designed to be applied to wet hair before swimming or sunbathing, it protects your strands from chlorinated or salt water (great for those with coloured locks). Another holiday essential arrives in the form of Ultrasun’s SPF for your eye area. I’m guilty of neglecting my undereye area when applying sunscreen, so Ultrasun’s dedicated formula is a good reminder that this area is just as important to protect.

But the highlights for me are the fake tan and make-up goodies. Not only is there a travel-friendly 75ml Gatineau golden glow gradual tan (it’s a beauty editor-favourite thanks to its nourishing formula and natural finish), but there’s also Isle of Paradise’s medium shade self-tanning oil mist. I love this formula for its easy application, hydration boost and bronzed results. Better yet, it fades without any patchiness (no tiger bread legs in sight).

As for make-up, Iconic London’s 12.5 liquid blush comes out in a gorgeous coral-pink hue and can be blended easily with your fingertips on the cheeks and the bridge of your nose for a healthy flush. There’s also a mini version of Nars’ cult bronzer in the shade laguna 02, giving skin a natural-looking contour. Again, this can be applied fuss-free with your fingertips, so both pocket-size products are perfect for topping up on the go.

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The verdict: LOOKFANTASTIC summer heroes

With Isle of Paradise’s fake tan, Iconic London’s blusher, Ultrasun’s eye SPF and Gatineau’s gradual tan all individually costing around £20 each, you’re getting stellar value for money with LOOKFANTASTIC’s beauty box. It’s got you covered for both summer skincare and make-up. If you’re heading on a summer holiday soon, this box is bound to get you excited.

Looking for more summer skincare recommendations? We’ve rounded up the best non-greasy skincare formulas

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