Kona-Girl Hair, a Unicorn Mineral SPF, and More Beauty Finds Our Editors Loved in July

Most scented body washes are either trying to wake you up or put you to bed, which is inconvenient if you don’t want a different bottle for every emotional state. I’m not sure exactly what kind of olfactive alchemy is going on with goop’s new shower gel, but it seems to work equally well at both ends of the day. The scent—a grounding mix of black pepper, ginger, sandalwood, and citrus—is so intoxicating I find myself wishing they also made it in a body cream and a perfume.

Lately, in an ongoing effort to make my life (or at least my bathroom) more Zen, I’ve been trying to streamline the number of products in my shower, so I love that I can also use this gentle plant-based cleanser as a bubble bath and a shaving lotion. I’ve tried this before, and most shower gels leave my legs feeling tight or stripped, but the glycerin, aloe, and panthenol in this one leave them feeling smooth and hydrated. And because a little goes a long way, the bottle lasts much longer than you’d expect (so I don’t feel that guilty about using it for shaving).

Right around this time of year is when U-pick peach season starts at my local farms. It’s unpredictable; because of the way the fruit ripens on the trees, often there’s just a couple days’ notice that peaches are on. But if you manage to catch them: wow. There’s something about a peach at the peak of ripeness—with its soft, downy skin and sweet, juicy flesh—that feels…voluptuous. Like you want to let the juice drip down your chin and over your fingers when you bite in because somehow it tastes that much better if you do and you don’t care if you get peach juice on your T-shirt because the fruit is just that good. Vyrao’s Ludeaux eau de parfum captures that moment of pleasure in scent form. When you first spritz it on, the juicy peach and warm ambrette notes dominate, before giving way to sweet magnolia and jasmine. Then, as it dries down, it grounds you in a mix of sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean. It is sweet but not cloying—unfolding with enough complexity to defy any preconceptions I had about fruit-forward fragrances (my primary point of reference for said scents is the Body Shop passion fruit face wash I used in middle school, which smelled like straight candy). Like all Vyrao scents, it comes in a sculptural glass flacon that doubles as a pretty objet. And inside, there’s a Herkimer diamond crystal that’s been energized by healer Louise Mita. So maybe it’s not just the scent that accounts for the instant hit of joy and confidence I feel when I spritz it on.

In every facial, I always seem to find myself apologizing for my oily-yet-dehydrated skin while my aesthetician is mid-extraction. “Yes, I moisturize.” “Yes, I probably need to drink more water.” In the summer especially, the heat, humidity, and sweat can make it hard for me to know what to even put on my skin when it feels thirsty but greasy at all times.

It turns out, it’s ILIA’s Sun Serum—the brand’s first official sunscreen. 

If we weren’t selling it at goop, I wouldn’t have believed it was a mineral sunscreen. The serum sinks in seamlessly, leaving my skin feeling super hydrated thanks to seven molecular weights of hyaluronic acid (they hydrate different layers of the skin). And while the super sheer formula doesn’t add coverage, the two flexible shades magically offset any white cast from the zinc oxide—and it layers beautifully under makeup without any pilling. 

When I’m wearing it, my skin never looks oily and never feels dry—it’s the unicorn mineral SPF I never dreamed existed.

Most of the year, my hair is straight and fairly well-behaved, but summer always throws it a curveball. Between the humidity, swimming in the ocean and chlorine-filled pools, and my resistance to using a hot tool, it can end up dry, rough, and frizzy. I also have a habit of showering late at night in the summer and going to bed with damp hair (I know—not ideal or advised), which usually means waking up with random bends and an unpredictable texture in the morning. But Crown Affair’s The Smoothing Air Dry Cream has completely changed the game for me.

I apply it after showering and throw it up in my Crown Affair towel—the only one that quickly dries my hair and actually stays put. As my hair dries, the cream somehow leaves it looking smooth, straight, and shiny by morning. The hydrating formula is rich, yet lightweight—the perfect combination for my thick hair. And it has Crown Affair’s incredible signature scent, a blend of yuzu and coconut.

I’ll definitely keep using this cream into the fall and winter, especially since it doubles as a heat protectant up to 450 degrees when I start reaching for hair styling tools again.