Hot ~and sweaty~ Girl Summer

For anyone who was hoping for a simple summer beauty routine, you came to the wrong place. To live in the south means scorching summers and lots of sweat. The easiest solution to maintaining a fresh face for the day would be to forego makeup completely, but that’s not the world we/I live in. My summer look consists of quite a few products, all of which are pretty necessary to ensure coverage for my whole work (or weekend) day.

The Whole Deal

Unsurprisingly, I remain a brand loyalist when it comes to my summer makeup. I add in a few products to maintain mostly creams, but most products are MAC and Glossier. I didn’t include any pure skincare products but I can say I continue my same serums, balms and moisturizers throughout summer. The tinted moisturizer with SPF takes the place of my LRP moisturizer during the daytime.

Yes, my Warby Parker sunglasses and gold hoops are summer beauty staples as well!

The Face

My summer look ends up pretty full coverage, or at least strategically full coverage for bags and breakouts. I’ve recently adopted the BareMinerals Complexion Rescue tinted hydrating gel cream with SPF and it’s the first tinted moisturizer I’ve ever used. It gives me a dewy finish and provides more coverage than Glossier’s skin tint. According to the Skin Deep Database, BareMinerals has a generally good outlook. I used to use very minimal coverage concealers only to have pilling and cracking under my eyes. I gave in and tried Tarte’s Shape Tape concealer, applied with a moist beauty sponge, and finally saw a difference in how smooth my under-eyes could be. Tarte typically touts itself as clean beauty, but the fragrance and some other ingredients might cause allergic reactions or toxicity.

For blush and highlight, I opt for cream-based products from Glossier (Cloud Paint in Puff and Haloscope in Quartz). These products applied over tinted moisturizer lay well. I’d warn about layering over powders. I try to stay away from powders but utilize my typical Studio Fix pressed powder and bronzer from MAC as needed; the bronzer works great as an eye crease contour and assists in a monochromatic look.

To make sure everything stays in the same place all day, I opt for my MAC Fix + in lavender. A MAC employee once advised to put this in the fridge for a cooling mist and it’s a great idea. I have tried other setting sprays but really haven’t found anything that works as well for me. I welcome suggestions, as Fix + can be quite pricey (even for travel bottles).

Fresh, simple skin for a drink with friends.

The Fun

More makeup in the summer typically makes skin look heavy and older, so I like to keep my accents and colors as minimal as possible. I love a simple copper liner on my top lash line like Glossier’s Colorslide in Pretty Penny. For my lashes, I go for Benefit’s BADgal BANG mascara. It’s not waterproof but has major staying power (box says 36 hours, if I didn’t remove it myself I’d believe it). The mascara comes off fine with my typical cleansing routine, but doesn’t run at the gym or pool. It also does fine on the Skin Deep database, only with concerns related to preservatives.

For lips, I always opt for a Balm Dot Com by Glossier in coconut, mint or rose. If I’m outside, I must use a lip product with SPF; beware, BDC can cause sunburnt lips if left on solo right before you get into the sun. I don’t typically wear color on my lips, but I love Glossier’s Lip Vinyl in Casino for the summer. It lasts through a few drinks as well as snacking, doesn’t smudge, and acts like more of a stain.

My skin (and lips) stayed fresh after a few hours at a warm cidery and bluebonnet picking. As mentioned, I prefer my lips to have a stain as opposed to a thicker sheen.

The Body

I’ve been using Everyday Oil when I get out of the shower to rehydrate my skin before I go to sleep. I use their Mainstay blend of coconut, olive, jojoba, castor and argan oil with palo santo, lavender, geranium and clary sage essential oils. The scent doesn’t stick around for very long, but I love how my skin feels afterwards. A little oil goes a long way.

The Final Thoughts

I don’t carry any makeup products with me when I’m on the go (besides lip balm and sunscreen if I’m going to be outside) so I consider a summer look successful when it doesn’t require touch ups. Is my summer makeup routine drastically different than the winter? No, not at all. It’s all about a dewy base and accents where they matter!