Bathrooms drawers have a habit of turning into museums of good intentions – half-used tubes and bottles we never quite finish before the next arrival distracts us. But there’s a lot to be raving about this summer – and it’s not all just more products for the sake of more products. For example, a new addition to the Liz Earle Cleanse & Glow family, a micro-needling product breakthrough coming from the US, and an oh-so-alluring Italian SPF brand that’ll be head over heels for (branding aside, the formulas are fantastic).

Here are all the new skincare bits that have arrived at our desk and our team got to try and instantly add to the side of the bathroom shelf we actually use:

The best new skincare products for the summer

Liz Earle Cleanse & Glow Brightening Cleansing Balm

“Glow” is a word skincare marketing has worn thin, but this new balm, now joining the much acclaimed Cleanse & Glow Brightening family, has all the science to back it up. Ingredients include acerola cherry (one of the most concentrated natural sources of vitamin C, with ten times as much vitamin C as orange) for brightening, prickly pear seed oil and sea buckthorn to supply the fatty acids that keep a cleanse soft and not stripping.

Acacia tree extract, Liz Earle’s plant-based alternative to collagen, is also in the mix, working to improve the look and feel of skin that’s already experienced collagen loss.

The texture melts on contact with water, dissolves a full face of make-up including stubborn mascara, and transforms into a milk that rinses away and doesn’t leave your skin dry and crying for help. Plus, a little goes a long way. Like the rest of the Liz Earle range, it’s cruelty-free and certified under the Leaping Bunny programme, and formulated without harsh alcohols, parabens or sulfates.

Price: £30 for 100ml

Nivea Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Collagen Expert

We have all had a small blue tin in our bags at some point in our lives – and so did our mothers and grandmothers. But Nivea, despite being a trusted drugstore staple, is continuously innovating. The latest addition: The Collagen Expert range, built around pure Q10 to support the skin’s cell function, collagen peptides to boost different types of skin collagen, and ceramide to strengthen the moisture barrier. The range includes a Day and Night Facial Butter and a 3-in-1 Repairing Serum, designed to be used together for what the brand claims is a fourfold anti-sagging effect.

The Facial Butter has a rich, buttery texture that is deeply moisturising – closer to a winter night cream than anything else, but ideal for replenishing lost moisture when our dry skin is screaming for help. The serum is naturally much more blendable – set to improved elasticity and moisture for 82% of women within 24 hours, visible wrinkle reduction within a week, and firmer, less sagging skin for 83% within two weeks (according to Nivea studies).

Price for the serum: £19.99 for 30ml

Price for the butter: £18.99 for 50ml

LAB31B

LAB31B’s premise sounds far-fetched: microneedling in a bottle, with no needles anywhere near the skin. The US brand, developed by ABG Lab under molecular biochemist Dr Elina Tester, calls its patent-pending format MicroMelt Technology – thousands of peptide-infused hyaluronic acid crystals packed into each jar (the brand claims upwards of 10,000 per pot) that are massaged into the skin, creating microscopic pathways before dissolving completely. What’s left behind to sink into those pathways is PowerPeptide-5, a proprietary complex designed to target smile lines, crow’s feet and deeper wrinkles by supporting the skin’s own collagen production.

The range spans a serum, a treatment cream and an eye cream, all built around the same mechanism, with bakuchiol added to some formulas for extra retinol-like support. Claims of this scale usually collapse under scrutiny, yet the finish – fast-absorbing and entirely free of any gritty residue as the crystals melt away – suggests there’s more substance behind the marketing than the “needling” claim first implies. Originally from the US, it’s now shipping to the UK.

Darling CLOUD DROP SPF50

Founded in Modena on the premise that SPF stands for “stay pretty forever,” Darling treats sun protection with extreme seriousness (despite how adorable the brand looks). Their brand new Cloud Drop SPF50 is a hybrid daily moisturiser and broad-spectrum SPF50, designed to replace the separate steps most of us layer every morning. The texture is noteworthy: an ultra-light, milky fluid that absorbs in seconds and leaves no white cast, no greasy film and no residue, which makes it ideal to layer under make-up.

The formula goes further than a standard sunscreen on the skincare side too. Seven molecular weights of hyaluronic acid, ectoin and niacinamide handle hydration and barrier support, while biotech beta-glucan and α-glucan oligosaccharide are included specifically to support the skin’s microbiome – a detail rarely found in daily SPF. It’s fragrance-free, unlike much of the rest of the Darling range, which carries the brand’s signature Monoi de Tahiti scent.

Price: £30 for 50ml

Clinique UV Solutions Hydrating and Mattifying Sunscreen SPF50

We love an SPF that not only works well under make-up, but easily doubles as a primer, prepping your skin so it has that velvety smooth canvas ready for painting. A few months ago, Clinique launched two new options, which are now sitting on shelves at Boots, Sephora UK and Harrods. These SPFs are specific to not just your skin type but the kind of finish you’re looking for: there’s a Hydrating Sunscreen SPF50 with hyaluronic acid, and a Mattifying Sunscreen SPF50 with salicylic acid.

The Hydrating version is built for instant and lasting moisture, with a sheer, weightless finish. The Mattifying version does the opposite job well: it controls shine throughout the day, helps unclog pores and refine texture, and is specifically positioned as safe for blemish-prone skin – while still absorbing without the white cast that mattifying formulas often leave behind. Both carry all-day antioxidants to fight free radical damage on top of UV protection, and both are dermatologist developed, dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested, allergy tested and 100% fragrance-free.

Price: both £30

Medik8 Total Moisture Daily Cleansing Gel

If you’re one to venture into actives and wear them on the daily, you need a cleanser that can keep up. It’s the retinal, the salicylic acid, the hyaluronic acid, the niacinamide… a slapdash wash won’t wipe your face clean, but a harsh one will strip it raw, and finding the middle ground is harder than it sounds.

That’s why this new cleanser from Medik8 is something of a divine intervention. It starts as a gel and turns to foam, using what the brand calls its Smart Surfactant System – a gentler blend that lifts make-up and SPF without leaving skin feeling tight – alongside prebiotic inulin to support the microbiome and fermented rice extract, rich in amino acids, to hydrate and nourish the complexion. “Moisture Magnets” are also in the formula, working to put hydration back the second you rinse.

In Medik8’s own clinical testing, 87% of participants agreed it removed make-up and sunscreen in one cleanse without stripping, and the formula is clinically proven (via a four-week corneometer study) to maintain hydration until the next cleanse.

Price: It’s £29 for 145ml, with a 500ml professional back-bar size also available.

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