Summer is in full swing here in Toronto (seriously, it feels like a million degrees ever single day here – please send us some rain!), and I’ve got some items from the Estee Lauder Summer 2016 collection to play with!

The Estee Lauder Summer Glow Eyeshadow Palette is a small, but hefty feeling compact. The hinge snaps shut with a solid “I’m closed” feeling (you know the one!) and it has a huge mirror on the inside as well.

The palette contains six eyeshadows, two of which are matte/satin, the others are all shimmers. I very, very much appreciate the fact that the cream and deep brown shades are the non-shimmers!

This kind of palette colour scheme is really not unexpected for summer, but it’s still really nice to see the gold and blue punch added to an otherwise neutral palette.

The Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Gelee Bronzer is a 1 ounce bottle of cream bronzer. You can use this to add colour to your foundation, or – do what I do – and use it as any regular bronzer to add targeted dimension and colour to your face.

That’s a very, VERY heavy swatch, but I wanted you to be able to see the texture. It’s not overly thick, but it’s definitely not a liquid either.

The Estee Lauder Lip & Cheek Glow in Sunburst is a 2-in-1 type product intended for both your lips and cheeks.

It’s a bit bulky in terms of packaging, but you are getting two items at once. The balm/traditional lipstick-looking side is fairly creamy (and smells amazing by the way), the gloss is easy to apply and looks beautiful on.

As it stands though, I prefer both sides of the product for the lips. I found the gold cast of the lipstick bullet oddly flattering (I had originally though it would pale me out too much) and the gloss with the specks of glitter in it is just beautiful. On the cheeks (I only tried the balm), it was a bit too tacky and never dried down completely.

Estee Lauder Summer 2016 Looks

For this look, I opted to use the more colourful shades in the eyeshadow palette (teal, gold, darker brown).

I also applied the Gelee Bronzer to the perimeter of my face, using a sculpting brush to blend it in. I used the Lip & Cheek Glow gloss on my lips, as well as the stick side where I usually apply my face highlighter on my cheekbones.

I applied the teal/blue all over the lid, the champagne rose through the crease, the darker brown through the outer corner and then through the crease and topped it off my highlighting my inner corner with the gold.

For my second look, I opted for more natural/bronzey tones. I skipped on foundation and instead used the Gelee Bronzer to warm up my skin in the usual bronzing places. I used the lipstick side of the Lip & Cheek Glow on my lips and LOVED the effect it gave them – kind of muted gold with a sheen.

I kept it really, really simple for the eyes. Shimmery bronze all over the lid, dark brown in the outer corner and the matte cream shade on my brow bone.

Final Thoughts

• If you’re looking for something quick and easy with a simple spark of colour for the summer, I don’t think you can go wrong with the  Summer Glow eyeshadow palette. They blended out nicely and wore well.
• The Gelee Bronzer was a little bit of a miss for me because it’s a touch on the orange side and I discovered that I’m just not a fan of cream bronzers, I far prefer powders. However, if you need something to perk up your foundation with a bit of a tint, this would work wonders. I did also prefer using it on my bare skin instead of over foundation since I felt it blended better.
• The Lip & Cheek Glow in Sunburst was an unexpected win. I love, love, LOVE the lipstick side of it – between the lovely smell (sweet, caramel-vanilla) and the way it looked on my lips… well, I was in love!

The products featured in this review were sent to me for consideration.