This month, we tried to put a beauty-desk ban on new products—we failed, but these 8 were *so* worth it

As a beauty editor duo, both myself and Katie are particularly bad when it comes to hoarding new beauty products. The Marie Claire UK desk is in a permanent state of overflow when it comes to new launches we 'set aside' with the intention of taking home to try. In fact, right now, our respective shelves are overflowing with cleansers, sun creams, body creams, summer perfumes and summer candles—you name it, we've got it. The problem? Despite our intentions, we very rarely do take these products home.

At the start of this month, we realised that our 'to test' pile had become a sort of new beauty product purgatory—full of products impressive-looking enough for us to not want anyone else to have them, but not enticing enough to convince us to lug them home from the office. Our solution? Every time one of us caught the other adding a new product to the pile, we intercepted. "Do you need that face cream, Katie?" I asked countless times. While she stopped me in my tracks often with comments such as, "Shannon, can you really see yourself carrying nine candles home?" and "Just stop—I know you won't use that." The result was, for the entire months of July, we put ourselves on an unofficial new-beauty-product ban. Of course, we broke it—the following eight were just too good to turn down. And, my goodness, I'm so pleased we didn't leave them on our shelves to gather dust. Behold—the absolute best new beauty products from July.

1. Victoria Beckham Beauty Portofino '97 Golden Shimmer Body Oil

"Look, I don't make it much of a secret that I like the finer things when it comes to my fragrance and body care, and this product isn't exactly one that could land on my desk unnoticed—I mean, just look at it?! Victoria Beckham Beauty perfumes are some of my absolute favourites. They're luxurious, expensive-smelling and embody everything luxe. And as for Portofino '97? It's my favourite. It smells like waking up in a 5-star hotel room on a summer holiday, throwing open the windows and rolling around in impossibly expensive bed linen—fresh, crisp, bright and uplifting. So, to see it launch as a shimmering body oil fills me with immense joy. It packs the same aromatic punch as the eau de parfum and leaves limbs beautifully silky with a fit-for-summer shimmery glow. Forget the shimmery body oils of yesteryear, this stuff is elite." – Shannon Lawlor, Executive Beauty Editor

2. ghd Duet Blowdry

"I'm not going to lie to you—initially, I thought, "Oh great, another blow-dry brush." And even when I used it for the first time, I wasn't impressed. However, that all changed the day I realised I had got it all wrong. One of the big mistakes I had made was not leaving the tool to heat up properly—this is key. The clever thing about the Duet Blowdry is that the plate that the bristles sit on is similar to that of its iconic straighteners, it heats up to 120°C to help smooth the hair as it dries. My other oversight was thinking that I would have a salon-worthy blow dry with just a couple of passes of the tool. You have to dry the hair first, and then when you go over the whole head again, that's when the magic happens. I will admit that I haven't quite cracked the big bouncy waves yet, but I've seen it in action and I know it's possible. I just need to practice more. If you blow dry your hair and follow it up with straighteners, this will transform your morning hair routine." – Katie Thomas, Senior Beauty Editor

3. Hourglass Unreal Liquid Blush

"It takes a lot for me to take a new make-up product home (with the exception of tinted lip balms, lip oils and mascaras—those I hoard). However, blusher is one of my most used beauty products of the moment. I wouldn't dream of leaving the house without a flush on my cheeks. And while I have been loyal to my go-to Rhode cream blushers of late, this liquid blusher from Hourglass has slowly creeped its way into my everyday look. The dropper is really satisfying to use, dispensing the perfect amount of product. It also blends effortlessly onto cheeks, providing a lived-in wash of colour that delivers an inside-out-esque glow." – Shannon Lawlor, Executive Beauty Editor

4. Nars Laguna Ultimate Face Palette

"Nars's Laguna bronzer has seen me through many a summer, but this year I've upgraded. The Laguna Ultimate Face Palette (available in three versions) has everything you could possibly need to create a complimentary warm bronze make-up look. There are matte, satin, shimmery and even subtle glittery finishes, all house inside a palette with a bloody great mirror. (Which, incidentally, has become one my non-negotiables for compacts and palettes—petition to bring back the mirrored compact please.) I like to cover my eyelid in the dusky pink, then using my fingers I press the rose gold all over, before popping a dot of the gold right in the middle. The satin rust shade looks beautiful on the lash lash line, when paired with a brown mascara. And then of course a mixture of the two Laguna shades on my cheekbones. Forget your passport, this is your summer holiday essential." – Katie Thomas, Senior Beauty Editor

5. Chanel Chance Eau Fraîche Les Dés De Chance

"Did I need to take home four mini soaps that come in at £75 for a set? No. Does anyone need to buy these soaps? Also no. But here's something to know about me: I never turn down Chanel. More specifically, I never turn down anything relating to Chanel Chance Eau Fraîche—it is, after all, up there with my favourite perfumes of all time. It is beautifully green, crisp and sense-clearing, but there is a ribbon of sparkling radiance running throughout that gives it that expensive-smelling, Chanel je ne sais quoi. These scented dice soaps are beyond my wildest silly little beauty dreams. A painfully chic Chanel gimmick? Check. The best Chanel scent ever made? Check. A luxurious bathroom product that should be admired but never touched? Check, check and check." – Shannon Lawlor, Executive Beauty Editor

6. Dolce & Gabbana Blue Jasmine

"With fragrance I know what I really like and I know exactly what I don't like. For me, if there's a white flower somewhere in the top or middle notes, and a woody base to tie it all together I'm all in. Enter: Dolce & Gabbana's new Dolce Blue Jasmine. It's described as a fruity floral, which is not typically my cup of tea, but the top note is fig, which is such a rich and green fruit that it works for me. This scent – with jasmine sambac at the middle and cedarwood at the base – is modern, feminine and a really beautiful summer holiday fragance." – Katie Thomas, Senior Beauty Editor

7. Aesop Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm

"2024 has been the year that I finally started taking my hand and nail care seriously. I have been trimming my cuticles, filing any nail breakages down, applying cuticle oil religiously and, most importantly, slathering on hand cream at every opportunity. And I'm really starting to see the fruits of my labour. I'm insanely picky when it comes to hand creams—any hint of greasiness or feeling of a coating on my skin needs to be washed off immediately. Plus, they need to smell good—as do all of my beauty products if they want to be used more than once. Honestly, it was the cute lilac appearance of this Aesop hand cream that made me take it home, but once I tried it I was hooked. It smells like fresh, comforting, herby goodness and leaves my hands suitably nourished without any upset." – Shannon Lawlor, Executive Beauty Editor

8. Skin Rocks The Antioxidant

"I am incredibly loyal to my SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum. As soon as one bottle finishes, I have about three unopened ones waiting in the wings to take over. It is hands down the best vitamin C serum I've ever tried. However, at £165 it's expensive, so I was really intrigued by the launch of the latest product from Caroline Hirons's Skin Rocks The Antioxidant and its clinical trial results. It promises to reduce the look of wrinkles, protect and defend against free radicals and external aggressors, illuminate and even out skin tone—all for £95 less. My dry skin is very appreciative of the milky, lotion-like texture. My complexion looks brighter, straight after using it. Plus, I even conducted my very own trial - I drank a lot of wine one evening and used this the morning after and it had no trouble waking up my very, very tired and dull-looking skin. Will it replace my beloved SkinCeuticals? Only time will tell, but so far so good." – Katie Thomas, Senior Beauty Editor