With warm weather right around the corner, I wanted to round up some of my most loved and most used beauty products for achieving a bronzed, dewy (and protected!) glow during the summer months!
SPF
I am the worst when it comes to SPF. I know, I know. It’s TERRIBLE to be outside with SPF, especially during the summer when the sun’s rays are the strongest. I’m guilty of laying out to tan with little to no SPF on at all, and anyone who knows me has received a sunburn selfie on snapchat a time or two. As much as I hate to admit it, I have light, Irish skin that does burn really easily, especially earlier in the season. I know all those years of skipping sunscreen during 8-hour lifeguard shifts are going to catch up with me soon enough. In the meantime, my goal is to be better about my SPF application.
I picked this up before my trip to Hilton Head in April and I love it. As a Sol de Janeiro fan, I knew the product would be top-notch and have that same incredible smell as the Brazilian Bum Bum Cream. I like to use this stick on my lips because my lips tend to get burnt very easily after long hours in the sun. It feels just like a normal lip balm, and I love that I can use it on the rest of my face as well.
This retails at Sephora for $26.
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunscreen Body Mist
During my five-year stint as a lifeguard, I discovered that I had an allergy to a lot of the sunscreens on the market. After some trial and error, I realized that I was allergic to PABA – an ingredient found in many formulas. Neutrogena is fail-safe for me. My skin doesn’t have any negative reactions to it, and it’s one of the most lightweight and comfortable formulas I’ve tried. Try using this in place of a body oil on your legs, too, for a nice sheen and sun protection.
Body
Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream
Brazilian Bum Bum cream. Enough said. Do yourself a favor and just get it. Everyone who’s tried it loves it. It smells incredible and has a hint of shimmer in it to make your body look flawless in the summer. It’s a pricy product, but I think it’s 100% worth it. If you’re on the fence, try out a travel size or the mini size first.
Paula’s Choice Skin Revealing Body Lotion
Summer means shaving your legs more often (unless you’re embracing the hair, in which case, kudos to you!), which often leads to uncomfortable and unsightly bumps on the back and side of your thighs. I just started getting these about a month ago after previously having smooth skin, and in a bit of a panic ordered this 10% AHA body lotion from Paula’s Choice that also includes glycolic acid and antioxidants. In just using it a few times a week, the bumps have greatly diminished and left me with smoother skin.
I like to consider myself a seasoned professional when it comes to self tanning. I’ve used tanning mousse for years – read my blog post about my favorite picks. I recommend the St. Tropez range of mousses, and I find myself reaching for the express formula most frequently to get the job done quickly. I’ve recently been loving the gradual tanning lotion in the watermelon scent. It’s perfect to give my legs a bit of a glow without worrying about that horrible smell that reminds you of slathering Jergens all over your body in high school. Check out my self tanning guide for more.
Makeup
Chanel Les Beiges Eau de Teint Water Fresh Tint
This was another one of last month’s purchases from Chanel’s new Les Beiges collection. Not only is this product gorgeous to look at, but it gives you gorgeous skin as well. This is a lightweight face tint, and it has pigment suspended in water that mix together as you dispense the product and rub it in with your hands or a brush. It doesn’t offer a lot of coverage, but it’s enough to even out your skin tone and give you a beautiful, dewy finish.
Glossier Cloud PaintGlossier’s Cloud Paint blushes are my favorite blushes for warm weather. They are super lightweight, liquid-y, and blend seamlessly into the skin using your fingers. My favorite is puff, but beam looks beautiful on tanned skin. I like that these don’t cover up whatever tan or freckles that I do have. These retail for $18 but they last FOREVER.
Kopari Lip Glossy in Birthday Suit
I purchased the Kopari Lip Glossy during the Sephora sale and – despite my rather large lip product collection – I don’t regret it one bit. The suggestion came from one of my favorite influencers, Maggie MacDonald. It’s described as a “lip treatment,” and I wouldn’t categorize it specifically as a gloss or as a balm. It’s sort of a hybrid of the two. It combines hydration with a lovely, non-sticky gloss. Birthday Suit is a beautiful shimmery nude color that just makes your lips look a bit more alive. At only $13, its one of the more affordable options at Sephora, too.
BECCA Skin Love Glow Glaze Stick
I picked this up on a whim when I was looking for a highlighter that would be easy to apply, relatively natural, and look good even when I’m not wearing any foundation (which is most days). While the formula is a bit sticky, this stick highlighter offers a super dewy, almost reflective glow that looks real rather than looking like there’s highlighter caked on your face. I tap it on with my fingers if I’m applying it over makeup, but otherwise just swipe it right on the skin before blending it out. I don’t find that this has much of a tint to it (although it looks champagne-colored in the bullet), but rather a transparent glow.
GrandeLASH MD Lash Enhancing Serum
You guys, this stuff WORKS. After using it every night for about four weeks, I suddenly noticed my eyelashes were CRAZY long (and I’m cursing myself for never taking a before photo). So many people were commenting on my lashes and wondering if I had gotten eyelash extensions, which I’ve yet to try. Since summer is all about minimal makeup, help your eyes pop without all the heavy makeup by lengthening your lashes! That way, all you need is a quick swipe of mascara (or even a lash tint) and you’re ready to head out the door.
Other things to pick up:
• A good waterproof mascara – if you’re like me and have stick-straight lashes, you’ll still want some mascara on even if you’re just running errands or at the beach. Any waterproof formula from the drugstore is good for this, but I really like L’Oreal’s Voluminous in the waterproof formula, or the Maybelline Total Temptation in the waterproof formula.
• Bronzer! Hoola bronzer by Benefit is great, but a good drugstore option is the Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer.
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