As those long days in the sun wrap up, it's time to shift your focus from protection to recovery. Try one of these 5 products.

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By late summer, your skin has seen it all: Long days in the sun, salt, water, chlorine, sweat and plenty of SPF. As seasons change and we head into fall, now’s the time to shift your focus from protection to recovery, replenishing moisture, calming irritation, and restoring radiance — and all before the harsh winter air sets in. From gentle exfoliants to lightweight hydrators, here are five skin care updates that will help undo the effects of summer without overwhelming your complexion.

It’s not every day you see maple sap water on a list of skin care ingredients, but it feels oh so Canadian — fitting for Graydon, the Canadian skin care brand known for its science-backed formulas made in Canada. This Hydratone Hydrating Exfoliating Essence is the ideal 3-in-1 product to add to your post-summer daily regimen, gently exfoliating, hydrating, and toning the skin. As for the maple sap water — that doubles down on hydration, while also soothing the skin, reducing and redness, and offering protection from premature aging, fine lines and wrinkles.

Graydon Skincare, graydonskincare.ca | $53

Founded by Erin Kleinberg, who also co-created The Coveteur and Métier Creative, Sidia is a fragrance brand that launched in 2020 as a line of caftans and chic loungewear before pivoting to focus on wellness products. Now available at Sephora Canada, as well as its own website, we love the names of each scent, not to mention the scents themselves. The best-selling, vegan, sulphate- and paraben-free Body Exfoliant in “Wired” has rice exfoliant to smooth the skin before niacinamide brightens, rambutan reduces fine lines, and bakuchiol, a plant-based retinol, works its anti-aging magic.

First launched in 2009 by Vancouver’s Sasha Plavsic before she sold a majority stake to the Courtin-Clarins family, Ilia Beauty is one of our country’s greatest beauty business success stories. These days, Plavsic maintains a role in product development, with this summer’s Sun Serum Mineral Sunscreen SPF50 launch — a product she worked on for three years — being a huge hit. Now, in the post-summer period, reach for The Base Face Milk, which moisturizes, reduces redness and strengthens the skin barrier. Best of all, it’s lightweight and can be layered, so as the days get cooler, you can add a thicker cream on top for extra hydration.

This month, Toronto brand Three Ships released two new products, just in time for the back to school period: Take Control Clarifying Serum and Under Control Mattifying Gel Cream. Both are part of its Balancing collection for blemish-prone skin, but Take Control in particular has 1 per cent salicylic acid with 10 per cent azelaic acid, which encourages cell turnover, helps unclog pores, reduces the appearance of scarring and controls excess sebum. It sounds just like what the skin doc ordered after a summer like no other.

Three Ships, threeshipsbeauty.ca | $46

You’ve made it through another season of summer camps, wild temperatures, music festivals and global travel: congratulations! Now, it’s time for a little repair. Saje, the Vancouver brand renowned for its plant-based essential oils, skin care, and diffusers, has put together this handy little Summer SOS kit, with four bestsellers packed into the cutest little mini duffel. From dry, cracked heels and the impending headache of back to school season, to the general effects of a little too much sun, products such as Dermedial Carrot+ Mist, Tingle Feet Foot Balm, Peaceful Warrior Deodorant and Peppermint Halo have you covered.