10 cooling beauty products

10 cooling beauty products to beat the heat

"Lady, you're hot. Your Scoville rating must be through the roof," has to be the worst pick-up line ever uttered, but it seems to ring true (as in literally) in these current temps. We're practically living in a furnace.

So you're hot and bothered, but life dictates you can't just sit by the pool all day?

Take your head out of the freezer and turn to these products to cut through the heat and stickiness - and provide your sweat-slicked skin some refreshing reprieve.

Look out for classically cooling ingredients such as cucumber, peppermint, aloe and yoghurt. Then toss them in your fridge and they'll feel better than a chill shower on a hot, hot day when applied to your skin and body. (The frostiness also constricts blood vessels, helping to decrease redness and swelling!) Cooler than cool? Ice cold, baby.

First things first, don't get burnt! But doozies happen and when they do, cocoon your flushed face in a cooling layer of Korres Yoghurt After-Sun Cooling Gel. The formula is light  not suffocating  but the effect is long lasting.

Don't you just love beauty treatments that let you sit and marinate while they do their good work? Take cucumbers and frozen teabags to the next level with Dr. Jart+ Soothing Hydra Solution Deep Hydration Sheet Masks. Keep in the fridge and it will feel like being patted down with a tea towel-wrapped ice when you place it on your face.

You can't be too careful when it comes to sun protection. Even tinted car windows let in harmful UVA rays, so slather on the non-greasy, water-like La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Ultra-Light. By all accounts, it's lightweight and won't make you break out like a teenager in heat.

Don't want to leave the house out of fear of melting? Get through the dog days of summer with Kiehl's Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion, which feels as cool as the underside of your pillow against the skin. This toner also works as a post-shave treatment.

Too much sun, sand and boozy debauchery? There's nothing like this brightening and smoothing scrub to slough away the evidence. Bliss Super Minty Soap'n Scrub happens to be editor-approved, with a minty kick that's sure to wake you up in the shower.

Pamper your sun-drenched skin with a spritz or two of Avene Thermal Spring Water. Keep in your beach and gym bags to calm down stressed-out, flushed and ruddy cheeks. This one also gives you a nice glow after makeup.

To get visibly luminous skin and just the right amount of coverage, stick to a lightweight powder foundation that won't migrate south as the day goes on, then set with a makeup spray. Urban Decay's Chill Cooling & Hydrating Make Up Setting Spray is bolstered with aloe and cucumber and seems like it was made for the New York subway platform in the middle of July.

Your feet may be smooth and sandal-ready from many a barefoot walk on the sand, but you can spoil them still with The Body Shop's Peppermint Smoothing Pumice Foot Scrub. The scrub itself smells refreshingly sweet and herby, and leaves your toes cold and tingly.

Since balmy temps have a knack for making you feel swollen and puffy, swipe on someBoscia Super-Cool De-Puffing Eye Balm and you'll look instantly more rested. Like two ice-cold spoons fresh from the freezer.

Avoid ingredients such as menthol, camphor and phenol that will give your lips a cool burst, but ultimately dry them out. Burt's Bees Lip Balm, containing beeswax, coconut and peppermint oil, is a much better, hydrating option.