I know it’s  hard to believe but summer is almost here! Most people look at summer as a time to have some fun in the sun, but if you’re like me you know summer brings its own unique challenges in the beauty department. Here are MY 5 essential tips to stay flawless throughout the summer!                       

1- Water

Summer will dry out your skin one way or another. The most important rule of summer is to stay hydrated. DRINK WATER! Water has many benefits and makes your skin glow and look more youthful. It is an absolute necessity in the summer to keep your skin looking beautiful!

2-Moisturize

Make sure to use a moisturizer on your face daily. I use almost 2x as much facial moisturizer in the summer as I do in any other season. A hydrating body lotion will also help you feel great throughout the summer! The last thing you want is to look scaly in your summer attire. A hydrating moisturizer will keep your skin soft and looking amazing!

3- Looking Tanned

Being tan is probably the most anticipated thing about summer. If you want your face, neck and chest to look like you just came from an exotic vacation look no further than the makeup aisle. A nice bronzer applied to your high points, your forehead, cheekbones, nose, chin, will give the illusion of an all over bronze glow. Don’t use the bronzer everywhere or go for a deeper shade of foundation though. This will be an obvious tanning fail. In the case of faking a tan, less is more!

4- Self-tanner

That all over tan… I personally like the Jergens Natural Glow moisturizer. In 3 days your skin tone is noticeably more tan! It is also softer and smoother since this is a moisturizing lotion. The only down fall is it does have that sickly sweet self-tanner smell and since you need to use this for 3 days to develop a tan, you’re going to smell like self tanner for a while. I wouldn’t recommend putting any of these products on your face! Only use a self-tanner that specifically says it is for the face like Tarte offers self-tanning face towelettes. This lets your gradually tan your face to ensure you don’t over tan.                        

5- Makeup                     

I have combination skin in the summer. My T-Zone, nose, forehead, chin and under eyes, become extremely oily while the rest of my face is dry. What I do to combat this in summer is first and most importantly apply an oil free moisturizer to my face. This really will hydrate your dry patches without making your oily spots oilier. Next is foundation or coverup. Always go for a product that has some type of SPF in it! I go for a matte liquid foundation. I also suggest a medium coverage pressed powder. Pressed powder holds up incredibly in the summer. They also look very natural. I then use a setting powder in my oil spots and let it sit for 5-10 mins before I brush it away. Next, I like to use all waterproof products for bronzer, eyebrows, eyeliner and mascara. Tarte has an amazing Waterproof bronzer called Park Ave Princess, that holds up through everything from sweating to swimming. A few good ones would be the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and the Maybelline Volume Express Falsies Waterproof mascara. For waterproof eyeliner and brows I only trust Anastasia Beverly Hills. The ABH Waterproof creme colour is super waterproof as is the DipBrow Pomade for your brows!  I have tested these in a lake, the ocean and pools and they have stayed flawless! The color payoff is exquisite on both products! They have a super-rich and vivid color payoff which I love!

Most importantly remember to have fun this summer!