
Refill. The Summer edition
Written By Divya Venkataraman
Beauty is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and there is no shortage of products out there to stoke your desires and prod at your insecurities. We're taking a different approach. Beauty shouldn't make you feel less than. It should be at your will; fun, soothing, playful! If you're looking to engage with the beauty industry in a mindful way, here's our picks of the best new releases this season - each of the products and brands are handpicked from the fray, and come from a brand that takes a sustainable, ethically-minded approach to business.
This summer, we’re looking for products that will leave us feeling like we just stepped into the warm glow of the rising sun. We’re looking for dimension, and maybe a pop of colour, or a hint of shimmer — but nothing that goes against the grain. Nothing heavy, or too much. We want to feel salty, satiated, casually and carelessly sun-kissed. A dab of bronzer here (look to Ilia, whose creamy formulation has won fans around the world) and a multi-tasking lip and cheek stain here, for maximum efficiency (there’s a reason RMS has been in the clean beauty game for so long). We’re here to capture that summer feeling.
ILIA
The ILIA Sunshift Cream Bronzer brings an easy, sun-kissed warmth that feels like your skin on its best day. The creamy formula blends seamlessly, leaving behind a soft glow that’s understated but transformative. It’s intuitive and effortless—perfect for a hint of warmth or a touch of definition, no matter your mood. No rules, no fuss. Just skin that looks alive.
Saie
Over-enthusiasm in early teenhood has left many of us with an irrational fear of anything with ‘shimmer’ in its description — but fear not. Saie’s Glowy Super Gel gives you a much more grown up kind of glow. Perfect for wearing when you don’t want to wear much makeup at all, this base product can be worn on its own for a gentle dewy effect, or under light foundation to give a light-reflecting finish. It comes in three sheer-ish shades.
Kulfi Beauty
South Asian beauty has a long history, but it’s only recently that makeup brands focusing on the specific concerns and tones of South Asian skin have made their mark on the market. Kulfi Beauty, founded in New York by Priyanka Ganjoo, is all about playfulness and joy through makeup, and offers a range of blushes, glosses and concealers for anyone to create with. We’re particular fans of the serum-like concealer, which has an extensive shade range, and which manages to conceal and brighten without cakiness or dryness. (Perhaps that’s down to the inclusion of amla and saffron extracts, which antioxidise and hydrate respectively.)

Veronique Gabai
Drawing on her roots in Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, Veronique Gabai creates fragrances from biodegradable ingredients that capture the Frenchjoie de vivre. There’s an intimacy to the smells of her world, and the packaging elevates them to art pieces. We love the Délices des Bois, one of the brand’s latest releases, which has the scent of ripe, milky fig at its core, balanced with woody notes and patchouli for earthiness.
SANDOR
The New York based haircare label is focused on bringing the natural ecosystem of your hair to balance. With only three key products, Sandor cleanses, hydrates and protects while facilitating your scalp to maintain its own equilibrium. (This isn’t one of its stated aims, but we’ll add that it’ll also look beautiful on your bathroom shelf.)
Bruxa
Take everything that flashes to mind at the mention of a sex shop — fluorescent lighting, pink and purple silicone as far as the eye can see — and shelve it. Melbourne-born label Bruxa is approaching sexual wellness in a much more aesthetically minded way, making silky body oils and body lubricants to be enjoyed by yourself or with another. The Summer Body Oil carries strong notes of jasmine, and is perfect for smoothing on your skin after a cool dip in the sea (or onto someone else).

RMS
Founded by makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift (now the name makes sense!), RMS has been at the forefront of ‘clean beauty’ for a long time. While the ‘clean beauty’ concept has devolved, in some ways, into just a monolith of a marketing term, the brand has always been clear in what it stands for: organic ingredients, minimal and multipurpose formulas, all made without synthetic preservatives, parabens, or phthalates. The Lip2Cheek stain is a favourite for a reason — simple, multifunctional, and properly pigmented.
