August's beauty playlist is dedicated to the beautiful things we wish would never end The moods of the month, told through Lucio Battisti, Irene Grandi, Jovanotti, Bad Bunny, Mina, and Gazzelle
August is the most suspended month of the year. The one where days seem endless and, at the very same time, always end far too quickly. In August, time seems to work differently. The days stretch out, evenings blur together, and some people suddenly become part of our everyday lives. We don't know how long it will last, and perhaps that's exactly what makes everything feel more alive. Every playlist we keep on repeat feels like an attempt to hold onto a moment we already know won't last forever. It isn't nostalgia so much as the deeply human desire to press pause on whatever makes us feel good. August can be an emptier city, an evening on the balcony, a workday moving at a slower pace, or a last-minute getaway. Above all, it's a different perception of time: suddenly, we have a little more of it, and precisely because of that, we immediately begin to fear its end. Even our beauty routine slows down. Fewer products, more lived-in skin, hair that naturally takes on the shape of our days, and simple rituals chosen not to look flawless at all times, but to feel good while life happens. August isn't the month when we're trying to improve ourselves. It's the month when we simply hope it won't end too soon.
How to use the August beauty playlist
In August, your routine doesn’t disappear, it just becomes a little less rigid. The heat sets in, along with travel, impromptu evenings, and those mornings when you’re not quite sure what day it is. To create your August beauty playlist:
- Choose products that are easy to use and even easier to take with you.
- Let your skin and hair retain a few traces of the days you’ve lived.
- Alternate between fresh, lightweight treatments and small, more sensory rituals.
- Don’t turn every self-care moment into a new performance.
- Listen to the songs on repeat until you’re ready to let them go.
August doesn’t call for a perfect routine. It just asks you to find the one you’d like to make last a little longer.
A song for every beauty moment
Mornings we wish would last a little longer
August is one of the few months when even waking up feels slower. There isn't always an alarm clock to race against or a never-ending to-do list waiting the moment we open our eyes. Sometimes all we need is silence, sunlight pouring through the window, and a few extra minutes to begin the day at a gentler pace.
Track: Acqua azzurra, acqua chiara – Lucio Battisti
Mood: bright, comforting, timeless
Beauty vibe: freshness, hydration, and lightness
Perfect products for this mood:
- QC Spa of Wonders Glow Potion Face Serum: a radiance-boosting face serum enriched with fermented grape skins and an orange blossom fragrance. Apply it before your moisturizer to give the complexion a smoother, more luminous appearance. It's the perfect product for those mornings when we want to look well-rested, even if we aren't entirely.
- Avàsh Dry Up: a liquid dietary supplement made with botanical extracts including horsetail, nettle, meadowsweet, and dandelion, designed to support fluid drainage and enhance the feeling of lightness. Diluted in water, it turns your morning hydration into a small daily ritual.
- Missha Chogongjin Youngan Nourishing Emulsion: a nourishing facial emulsion to reach for whenever your skin craves comfort without the weight of rich textures. The perfect balance between effective skincare and effortless summer simplicity.
Why it works: because it doesn't promise the perfect morning. It simply makes it feel a little brighter, and a little slower.
On vacation, even just for an hour
Some people disappear for weeks in August, while others stay in the city, juggling work and errands. The feeling of being on vacation doesn't always depend on geographical coordinates. Sometimes it lasts only as long as an extended lunch break, a refreshing shower, or a song playing while we're doing absolutely nothing productive.
Track: In vacanza da una vita – Irene Grandi
Mood: playful, carefree, energetic
Beauty vibe: a refreshed body, protected hair, and zero heaviness
Perfect products for this mood:
- Comfort Zone Body Strategist Light Leg Spray: a cooling body spray designed to instantly refresh tired legs after a hot day, long hours on your feet, or miles spent walking in sandals.
- Alfaparf Milano Semi di Lino Sunshine Hair Protective Milk: a hydrating leave-in hair treatment with UV protection that helps shield the hair during sun exposure. A quick step that leaves lengths soft and nourished without interrupting the day's plans, or lack thereof.
- Davines SOLU Refreshing Shampoo: the ideal shampoo for washing away the effects of sun, heat, and long days spent outdoors, restoring freshness to every hair type.
Why it works: because it reminds us that taking a break from constant performance is possible, even if we never packed a suitcase.
Lucky girl afternoon
Every August has one afternoon that feels as though it will never end. It doesn't matter whether we're at the beach, in the mountains, wandering through the city, or sitting on our own balcony. There's always that moment when the sun is still high, and we feel unexpectedly lucky simply because we're there. Maybe that's the real secret of August: realizing that happiness isn't always extraordinary. Sometimes it's nothing more than an ice-cold drink, a walk with no destination, or make-up that's just a little more colourful than usual.
Track: Ragazzo fortunato – Jovanotti
Mood: energetic, carefree, free-spirited
Beauty vibe: sun protection, colour, and the desire to play
Perfect products for this mood:
- Lanolips Sun Balm SPF 30 Tropical: a lip balm with SPF 30 and an unmistakably summery personality. Keep it in your bag and reapply throughout the day, no mirror required.
- Sephora Collection 12H Colorful Special Effects Eyeliner: a retractable, multi-chromatic eyeliner whose reflections shift with the light. The perfect reminder that August is also the season for taking both make-up and ourselves a little less seriously.
- Essence Club Soleil Eyeshadow Palette: warm, luminous eyeshadows inspired by sunshine, designed to be mixed and matched freely without the pressure of creating a perfectly curated look.
Why it works: because feeling lucky doesn't always require a special occasion. Sometimes, all it takes is a song and a detail that changes colour under the sun.
A summer that changes coordinates
August is also about movement. Not just departures, but constant transitions between places, people, languages, and different versions of ourselves. Some summers are remembered because of a destination, while others stay with us because, for a few days at least, we became someone else entirely.
Track: NUEVAYoL – Bad Bunny
Mood: urban, magnetic, contemporary
Beauty vibe: vibrant colour, sun-kissed skin, and details that go the distance
Perfect products for this mood:
- Morphe Cheek Thrills Face Trio: a blush trio housed in an elegant, travel-friendly palette. It blends effortlessly to bring colour and radiance back to the complexion, even after hours spent outdoors.
- Patyka Concentré de Soleil: the perfect addition to your skincare routine whenever you want to preserve a warm, luminous glow without waiting for your next holiday.
- Nailberry Oxygenated Nail Lacquer: a breathable nail polish that lets your manicure carry the colours of summer well beyond any change of plans.
Why it works: because some summers aren't remembered for where we went, but for the person we became while we were there.
Cities that finally breathe
In August, there comes a moment when even cities seem to hold their breath. Streets empty out, shop shutters stay closed, and silence settles over places that, for the rest of the year, are filled with noise. It isn't necessarily loneliness. It can feel like an entirely new space, almost cinematic, where we walk a little slower and see familiar streets as though for the very first time.
Track: Città vuota – Mina
Mood: sophisticated, suspended, wistful
Beauty vibe: warm light, soft waves, and a lingering trail
Perfect products for this mood:
- J-Scent Shaft of Light: a fragrance made for evenings when we want to leave behind a luminous impression, even as the streets grow quiet. It captures the warmth of a ray of light descending from the sky into nature through musky and floral notes.
- ghd Wave Triple Barrel Waver: a three-barrel hair styler designed to create defined yet natural-looking waves. Perfect for achieving that effortless, lived-in texture that looks as though you've spent the entire day outdoors, even if you only got ready five minutes ago.
- By Terry Terrybly Mascara: a mascara that defines and enhances the lashes, making the eyes the focal point of an understated evening make-up look, elevated by its colourful shades.
Why it works: because an empty city isn't always something that needs filling. Sometimes, it's exactly where we needed to be.
Sayonara, but not just yet
As August draws to a close, we begin to notice the signs. The light shifts ever so slightly, people start talking about September, and suddenly every evening feels like it could be the last. But it's not time to pack everything away just yet. We can begin saying goodbye without leaving immediately, allowing simple pleasures to linger a little longer: a slow shower, body lotion massaged into the skin, or listening to a song all the way through instead of skipping it after the first chorus.
Track: Sayonara – Gazzelle
Mood: intimate, bittersweet, suspended
Beauty vibe: repair, comfort, and rituals that stay with us
Perfect products for this mood:
- Vigal Latte Fresco: a hydrating hair milk enriched with camellia and mint, ideal whenever your hair craves freshness and nourishment, and you're hoping to hold onto that unmistakable summer feeling for just a little longer.
- Alyval Med Intimate Cream: a gentle act of self-care dedicated to everyday intimate comfort, focusing on a part of the beauty routine we often overlook. It hydrates while helping improve intimate comfort.
- Adesso Beauty Pro-Collagen Eye Patches: smoothing and regenerating eye patches, perfect for a comforting end-of-day ritual, even when you're still on the go.
Why it works: because saying sayonara doesn't mean forgetting. It simply means acknowledging that something is changing without forcing it to end before its time.
Beautiful things come to an end, but they never truly leave
Every year, August reminds us of the same truth: we can't hold on to everything forever. Holidays end. People leave. Cities fill up again. Playlists change, and eventually even our tan begins to fade. But none of that makes those moments any less meaningful. If anything, the opposite is true. Temporary things leave the deepest mark precisely because, while we're living them, we already know they won't last forever. They ask us to be more present, to pay closer attention, even when all we want to do is press pause. The August Beauty Playlist isn't about stopping time. It's about moving alongside it without rushing toward the ending. Because some things don't last as long as we'd like, but they stay with us far longer than we ever imagined.