Sarah Loves... Summer 2025
Sarah Stacey’s summer must-haves include a glow-getting body treat, the perfect primer, a pretty scent – and an uncrushable sunhat, to shield against sun damage (and squinting)…
Heliocare 360° Body Glow SPF50
I’m a big fan of Heliocare sunpreps but, to be honest, the thing that really sold me on this award-winning oil/gel formula is the ‘Golden Touch’ slightly shimmery tint, which pretties up pasty skin in a trice (and doesn't seem to come off on clothing, bedlinen etc). It’s mega-moisturising too, featuring Fernblock, a natural plant extract with strong antioxidant activity, plus brightening vitamin C and hydrating vitamin E, to help prevent skin ageing. Definitely not natural but I definitely love it. (And next up, for the face…)
£28.99 - buy here
Charlotte Tilbury SPF50 Invisible UV Flawless Poreless Primer
The latest product in Charlotte’s now legendary ‘Magic Skin Ritual’ – and I’m sold! (Almost impossible not to add ‘DARLINGS!!’ – in the manner of the flame-haired diva herself, who we’ve known and loved for many years now.) Stroke this on after moisturising to ‘PROTECT, HYDRATE and perfectly PRIME your skin!’ as the Charlotte blurb says… As promised, it does blur fine lines and pores slightly (more used over time, she says) and is a perfect base for make-up – or none actually, if you’re going bare-faced on the beach. Crucially, if you get hot and it seeps into your eyes, this doesn’t sting and cloud vision, unlike some other products.
£40 for 30ml - buy here
The other day I braved the crowds in lovely Bridport, our nearest west Dorset shopping mecca, to visit one of my favourite shops in the world. Snook’s, founded in 1896 and still a family business, is a byword for us locals for hats for all occasions – but I knew exactly what I wanted: a new version of my beloved Sunday Afternoons Kauai crushable fine straw, which has had too many excursions under thorny roses and mahonias, digging out brambles and bindweed.
It’s still fine for gardening but for any more polite outing I needed a replacement. The charming sales lady offered me ‘Elise’, a gorgeous number, also crushable and adjustable, with a slightly broader brim, trimmed with black ribbon. I tried it and it was a definite ‘Yes, but…’. We both agreed that my original instinct to buy another Kauai was right: ‘The colour is better,’ she said, ‘it matches your hair’. And NB, it’s SPF50+, brilliant for protecting hair in this summer’s heatwave. Snook’s doesn't really do online ordering because ‘hats need to be fitted’, but if you simply can’t get there, you can telephone them and they will post out.
Kauai/£36.95
T.Snook Hatters, 30-32 West Street, Bridport, DT6 3QP
L’Occitane en Provence Néroli Orchidée Eau de Toilette
This marriage of white flowers is Summer bliss and heaven for me. Neroli essence from the Mediterranean, with white orchid absolute from Madagascar (home of more endemic plants found only there, than almost anywhere worldwide), highlighted with lily of the valley (my wedding bunch), accompanied by a delicious fruit salad of orange, mandarin and peach plus fig milk. It’s an EDT so splash it on lavishly. NB There’s an ‘Intense’ 50ml version for the same price which you might use more sparingly. For optimal lasting, raid your beauty piggy bank and layer the EDT with the matching Shower Gel and Body Milk.
L’Occitane en Provence Néroli Orchidée Eau de Toilette/£65 for 75ml - buy here
L’Occitane en Provence Néroli Orchidée Shower Gel/£18 for 250ml - buy here
L’Occitane en Provence Néroli Orchidée Body Milk/£28 for 250ml - buy here
PS The visual above is the fab new packaging coming for L’Occitane’s fragrances in October.
The Natural Africa Kalahari Melon Seed Oil
Yes, I have written about this before but recently I had A Bad Experience – actually make that Very Bad – when I tried out a new serum/night cream duo for a week and someone sent me a photo of my face in daylight. Instead of the plump, smooth, hydrated look I’d grown happily used to, every wrinkle seemed deeper and my skin had lost all bloom. A couple of nights back on the Kalahari marvel and Abracadabra! Ready for my close-up now…
Now, I do have to point out that I slightly go against the instructions, using about a third of a pipette at night on my face and neck. (They recommend two or three drops massaged in as a last step before sunscreen in the morning.) And PS I buy this myself, no discount, no freebie – because I do not want to see a photo like that ever again!
£45 for 30ml – buy here
