1. Hydrate! Skin dehydration during the summer makes our skin vulnerable to sun allergies, wrinkling, dry skin, tanning and dark patches. Yikes! The best thing you can do for your skin (and your health) in these steamy summer months is also one of the hardest to keep up with: Drink water!!!! According to recent studies, you should be drinking half of your weight in ounces of water. So if you weigh 120 lbs., you should be taking in 60 fluid oz. of water daily.
Tip: Crystal Light makes yummy 'to go' packets to make boring old H20 flavored! Go green! Buy a reusable water bottle to fill up daily (or until you reach your daily water goal).
2. Exfoliate. The summer sun is famous for drying out our skin. This means tons of extra dead skin cells just laying around. Eck. Fortunately, this is an easy fix. Want an awesome at-home exfoliating scrub? Rub a cut lemon dipped into a half-teaspoon of sugar all over your skin. You won't believe how soft and fresh your skin feels when you're done! Repeat once a week.
3. Get a massage! You're going to love us for this one. Body massage enhances the natural detoxification process by enhancing blood circulation and stimulating the lymphatic system. This helps the body to retain the necessary moisture and also keep it healthy. Translation? It increases blood flow, which makes your skin glow and hold on to the water you're drinking! Yup. You're welcome.
4. Protect. Another thing that sounds easy, yet is somehow impossibly hard to remember to do? Use an SPF! Sunscreens protect skin from losing it's moisture and from those harsh UV rays. An easy way to remember? Use a tinted moisturizer or foundation with a built in SPF!
Tip: SPF is NOT a good idea for your wedding day. Titanium Dioxide (often found in products containing SPF) reflects the flash in photos, giving your foundation a not-so-appealing "geisha" effect.
5. Prep & Prime. Use an oil free primer (we love NARS Oil-Free Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer) underneath your foundation. This will hold product in place without creating a "cakey" feeling. Also, be sure to prime the eye to prevent creasing (MAC Paintpot in "Soft Ochre" is a favorite of ours).
6. Waterproofing. This is crucial when spending time at the beach or pool! Waterproof mascaras and eye liners are the best way to fight off unwanted 'raccoon eyes' caused by humidity in the summer air. Just be sure to have a good make-up remover on hand. This stuff doesn't budge!
Tip: Good rule of thumb: If you use a cream, set it with a powder. Period. This holds the cream in place and keeps color bleeding at bay.
7. Keep the lips simple! Keep your lips light and let your natural color shine! Heavy matte lipsticks can be a bit much in the August heat. Skip the lipstick, or simply use a frost or luster finish. Work that natural pout with a flavored balm, or high shine gloss. Your summer fling will thank you ;)
8. Highlight. One of the benefits of the heat? A beautiful summer 'glow'. Fear not oily ladies! A little access oil isn't always a bad thing. Ever heard the rumor that people with oily skin tend to age better? This is because the oily skin barrier is thicker than drier skin, which helps in resisting outside elements, i.e. free radicals, weather, pollution etc. However, if you'd like a little more control over your own personal 'glow', use a little shimmer to highlight the places where the light would naturally hit your face. (See above)
9. Bronze. While we always recommend having a summer shade and winter shade of foundation in your make-up bag, it isn't completely necessary- especially on a budget. Mix your foundation with a little moisturizer (again, be aware of using moisturizers with SPF. They will lighten the foundation color even more) to thin out the consistency of the product (the thinner the coverage, the less opaque the color, i.e. it doesn't have to match perfectly). Apply the highlight (see above) and then use your bronzer to softly darken the areas of your skin that would be naturally sun-kissed.
Tip: Make a fish face. I know it's silly. Just do it. See where the natural hollows of your skin are? That's where the bronzer color should go! The idea is to create shadow to recede light which gives the illusion that you are... (wait for it...) THINNER! ;)
10. Consider lash extensions. Hear us out. Yes, it's definitely an investment. But just think: a gorgeous dramatic eye with no mascara, and no liner! You can skip the risk of summer smudging all together! (If you're in the DC area, e-mail us for our amazing lash lady!) The lashes are applied individually (as in- every single hair applied to your lash line one by one) for longer, fuller looking lashes. They last (give or take) about a month before touch-ups need to be made. Yes, please!
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