Summer beauty – organic favorites for the warmer season

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Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

Spring is here, which means that summer is just around the corner. And that, in turn, means spending all your time outdoors in the sun, on the beach and jumping in and out of the ocean. More or less, right? Let’s not talk about those Swedish summers when it’s raining all day, every day and is 15°C outdoors.

Personally, I love a mix of everything. We usually travel somewhere new each summer because we love to explore the world and visit new cultures. Last year we didn’t go that far though, we went to Swedish Lapland and the Lofoten islands and the year before that we visited Mauritius. Every year, we also make sure to spend a lot of time in the countryside – fresh air, morning swims in the lake, blueberry picking in the quiet forest and early morning runs on the dirt roads. Simply staying away from the busy city life.

No matter where we are, we spend a lot of time outdoors and I guess many of you do to? Isn’t that what summer is all about? Collecting freckles and having coffee outdoors and wearing summer dresses and have beachy (messy) hair?

Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

In order to get ready for those wonderful summer days, I guess we all have a few things that we always do. Like perhaps buying a new bikini because we don’t understand our taste in fashion from last year, or perhaps get the hair done because the spring light makes you realize it was 5 months since last time. We all have our things, right? One thing we all do (or should do), no matter where we live and where we go on vacation, is taking care of our bodies. From within, of course, but also on the outside. Sunscreen is obvious, but there are other things too. The combination of salt water and sunlight can be very damaging to our hair and since the sun dries the skin out, providing moist is crucial.

So, in this blog post, I want to share a few beauty favorites that nourish my skin and hair and help me stay healthy during the hot summer days. I hope you’ll love these products as much as I do. Some are old favorites, but there are new additions to the collection too.

Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

Bruns Products – Salt Water Spray

I use this to create that beachy look that I absolutely love. During summer I want to spend as little time as possible fixing my hair. To be honest, I wear it in a messy bun on my head most of the time anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. But it’s nice to let the hair fly free in the wind from time to time and to create the beachy waves that I love, I use Bruns Salt Water Spray. I just spray it on my hair when it’s wet and let my hair air dry. Bruns is, as you probably know, my favorite brand when it comes to hair care and everything is organic + made by hand in small batches. Absolutely love them! Oh, and Bruns Products are now shipping to all countries within the EU.

Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

Bruns Products – Shampoo and conditioner

I’ve talked about them before and I’m gonna do it again. The shampoos and conditioners from Bruns. I’ve tried all the different products and my no. 1 favorite is the one with lotus flower. It smells absolutely amazing. And my hair has never looked this good before, so I cannot recommend them enough. I love that they also come in travel size bottles so that you can bring them with you on all your summer trips, even if you travel with hand luggage only.

Wooden comb from TEK

When I visited my hairdresser (Green Heads in Stockholm) last year I decided to buy a wooden comb and get rid of my old, plastic one. Such a good decision! I use it in the shower (when the conditioner is working) and then I rinse and let my hair air dry. Nothing else is needed, my hair never looks frizzy after doing this.  The comb is made by an Italian company called TEK and they make both brushes and combs.

Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

Herbivore – Brighten Pineapple + gemstone glow mask

Ok, this product is something else. I have heard so many good things about the company Herbivore and I had been wanting to try their brightening mask for months. I got chicken pox when we were in Bali in January (never got it as a child) and it left some really ugly, brown scars on my body and face. The ones on my face were bothering me quite a lot so I decided to try this brightening mask and see if it could make a difference.

I wish I had taken a before picture to show you the results, but let me just say that the scars are completely gone. I’ve been using the product for about a month – when I got it I used it four days in a row, and after that twice a week. The mask is all natural, vegan and organic – plants are just amazing! The only downside is that it’s a bit pricey, but on the other hand, it seems to last forever. If you want to try it, you can use this link (affiliate link) to get a 15% discount.

Sunscreen from Evy

Sunscreen is super important and I use it whenever I’m out in the sun. 30 is my go-to SPF, but when traveling to warmer countries (like Mauritius and Bali) I use SPF 50. I haven’t found a completely organic sunscreen that works well (hit me with your favorites), but I’ve found one that is free from preservatives, alcohol, perfume, and nanoparticles – the most important things to avoid. The sunscreen is available in SPF 10, 20, 30 and 50 and it works really well. It’s easily absorbed by the skin and isn’t greasy at all. Evy is a Swedish brand using a patented technology and it’s especially great for sensitive skin (like mine). You can read more about Evy and their technology here.

Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

Dry brushing

Not really a product, but a technique that I love. I got a dry brush from Eco Tools a while back and I love it. It helps to remove dead skin cells and stimulates the circulation. I use it before I shower and then apply a lot of moisturizer (coconut oil) after showering.

Homemade body scrub

Another great tip if you want to get rid of dead skin cells is to make your own body scrub. I just mix sesame or almond oil with sugar until I get a nice texture. Sometimes I also add some coffee grounds to the scrub. I apply it in the shower and the rest is pure magic. I don’t need to apply moisturizer for days after using this scrub.

Coconut oil

Lately, I’ve stopped using moisturizers and used coconut oil instead. My skin absorbs it very well and feels super soft and smooth afterward. So if you want an all-natural moisturizer, organic coconut oil is my best advice!

100 % Natural Deodorant from Bruns Products

I’ve been using this deodorant for about a year now and it’s clearly my favorite among natural and organic ones. I’ve found it really hard to find a natural deodorant that works and still is free from aluminum, alcohol and toxic chemicals. This works like a charm even on extremely hot summer days. It comes in two versions, one that smells of fresh cypress and one that is unscented. I’ve tried both of and love them!

Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

Natural nail polish from Little Ondine

I stopped using traditional nail polish over a year ago and I didn’t try organic ones until recently. And now I’m hooked. I think manicured nails are super nice, but I don’t want all the toxic chemicals that are in traditional ones. So, I decided to try an all-natural nail polish and found a brand called Little Ondine. My first purchase was a baby pink nail polish and now I’ve increased my collection with several other colors as well. It looks nice for about 5 days, and to me, that’s very good. The best part is when you remove it though. It has a peel-off technology, so you don’t need to use any remover. Just peel it off and apply a little coconut oil on your nails (they become a little dry afterward) and you’re done. Did I say that they are made from 100% natural ingredients?

Bronzer from Lily Lolos

During summer I want to use as little makeup as possible. Most of the time I’m not wearing any makeup at all. What I do wear, occasionally, is concealer (see below), bronzer and mascara. I’ve found a great, 100% natural bronzer from a brand called Lily Lolos that I love. It’s easy to apply and gives the skin a nice glow.

Concealer from Hynt Beauty

I’ve found the perfect concealer of all time. It’s from Hynt Beauty and apparently, they’ve won awards with this product. And I can totally see why. It covers dark circles (sleep is overrated during summer, right?) like magic. I was honestly blown away when I tried it for the first time. And you need so little it’s crazy. I think mine will last for a year or so, not kidding. I bought mine from Softskin, you can find it here.

Organic Summer Beauty | The Nordic Kitchen

Ok, guys, that was about it. I hope you’ll find some new favorite products and tips in this post. Now it’s time to enjoy the summer weather, the ocean swims, and all the flowers.

Lots of love,

Sofia