Now that we’re sweating in summer’s hot-and-heavy embrace (it sure has been hot here lately), I’ve been wondering about your makeup.
Actually…I’m always wondering about your makeup, but I needed a lead this morning. 🙂
When it’s hot like this and all of the plants on my deck garden are wilting, I take a more minimalist approach to my makeup (well, minimalist for me, haha).
Here are my top five favorite makeup minimalist products right meow…
- MAC Face & Body Foundation — Like Tabs when he’s sleeping on the bed, the lightweight formula absolutely refuses to move, even when I get really sweaty. To sweat it’s like, “What!? Is that all you got!?”
- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural — LOVE this, whether on its own or layered on top of Face & Body, and dang if it doesn’t look like real skin (it isn’t overly powdery).
- Guerlain Cils D’Enfer Waterproof — Curl hold like WHOA! — and a single layer turns my wimpy Bruce Banner lashes into volumized Hulk-caliber lashes.
- Chanel Malice Blush — Easy, effortless and awesome with peach, pink or coral lip colors. Great staying power, too.
Yeah, I’m rather obsessed with this at the moment!
- Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray — Even when I’m not wearing much makeup, I still want the makeup I am wearing to stay in place, and this spray locks it down.
How about you? What are your top five summer makeup must-haves right now?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The products that I depend on right now are:
1. The Body Shop Vitamin C Daily Moisturizer
2. Chanel Cheeky
3. Chanel Les Beiges 02(beautiful subtle bronzing)
4. Armani Prive Rose Alexandrie (light but tenacious, lasts all day)
5. Maybelline Color Tattoo in Cool Caramel (I’ve had this for a while but only recently fell in L.O.V.E. I’m hoping that my infatuation runs its course before the shadow runs out since it’s LE)
1- smashbox primer.
2- dewey foundation.
3- Bobbi brown bronzing powder.
4- Mac lipstick in Mehr
5- YSL shocking mascara
I’m late to get on board the MAC F&B train but I’m so there now! 🙂
1. Cover FX Mineral Pressed Foundation. On really hot days I really need a matte foundation to keep me looking fresh for a long time.
2. YSL Touche Eclat. To highlight all the things!
3. Guerlain Terracotta Sun Celebration Bronzer. This bronzer is INTENSE so I can look bronzed and skip blush too.
4. YSL Glossy Stain in 105 Corail Hold Up. Coral, glossy, and long-wearing. Oh yeah!
5. Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. But it’s not really better than sex… ha!
Kisses to my nephew!
1. As I said yesterday, Dr. Jart’s premium BB cream is a savior. SPF 45 will keep premature aging away. It has great coverage without being heavy. If I don’t need the SPF, I like Dr. Jart’s black label detox BB cream. It’s a little lighter but with great coverage that lasts and feels great on the skin. If you prefer to use your own SPF, I’d go with the latter.
2. Sephora Microsmooth Baked sculpting trio in Sweet. I only use bronzer during the summer and this is a great value product. I’d probably pick something else if I was using a bronzer full-time but this trip has a nice pink highlighter for my pink undertones! It’s also travel-friendly in that I have three products in one compact. Easy peasy.
3. Bite Beauty’s BB for lips: Another all-in-one product. I use Tawny during the day and Dolce when I want a bold lip. Dolce is pretty sexy! I’d like to see it with SPF 30 and it would make it a better summer product, but it’s great having a lip product with skincare-esque ingredients. I’m also looking at Perricone’s No Lipstick Lipstick but haven’t purchased yet.
4. Bare Minerals Mineral Veil: tried and true product for me. I really like a dewy finish to my makeup, but the summer weather means I’ll eventually look greasy. A setting, mattifying product is crucial. Which brings me to…
5. MAC’s HD micro perfecting primer in 0 Neutral: I started using primer this summer since I seemed to be doing a lot more activities (and more sweating) and I’ve found that my makeup stays fresher for longer with a primer (surprise surprise!). I love that it’s a very light gel and it doesn’t feel like I’m putting yet another layer on my face.
1. Benefit Rockateur. The absolute perfect subtle summer blush, so glowy!
2. Wet’n’Wild Fergie BB cream– not really a BB cream but a good tinted moisturizer that doesn’t run too orange on me. Mixed with concealer to boost the coverage and Becca Shimmering Skin perfector it is to DIE for. It’s a little shiny though so a mattifying powder on top is good.
3. CK One mascara. I got it as the free birthday present from Ulta and I loooove it, never smudges or flakes.
4. Naked 3 palette, just got it yesterday! It looks so lovely with my coloring and I’m obsessed with rose gold anything.
5. Colorful nail polish! Any color. Sparkles. Metallics. Anything goes. I’ve seen a lot of people go “this would be a nice summer pedicure color” to a bottle of bright polish, but who says you can’t use em for manicures too?
Top 5 Summer Beauty Essentials:
1). BB or CC cream. Right now I am loving L’Oreal Visible Lift CC cream and Physician’s Formula CC cream. L’Oreal adjusts to your skin tone similar to the way the Almay foundations/BB creams work.
2). Quick, easy shadows that last all day and don’t crease. Love the UD Shadow sticks in neutral or flattering colors (I have Midnight Cowboy and Morphine); NYX shadow sticks in rose gold, yellow diamond and an amber one; and UD Naked 3 or Electric (for more elaborate looks). I use either UD or NYX primer all the time to help shadow stick to my oily lids. As long as I have the primer and good shadows, I can use just about any liner.
3). My trademark NARS Orgasm blush, in either powder or Multiple form.
4). Bronzer. Right now I’m loving Physician’s Formula! It’s good for quick and easy contouring and brings more life to a summer tan.
5). UD All Nighter or Chill setting sprays – both are great, and really help keep my makeup looking fresh on humid, sticky days.
As for the hair, it’s pretty long right now (about mid-back/bra strap length), and I’m a big fan of hair oils because I have just enough thickness and wave that it gets wild in the summer. Right now I’m loving just regular grocery store coconut oil (good for masks and keeping hair healthy), and drugstore oil products like Organix and Garnier. Dirty hair works best in the summer, as well as a lot of braids and buns!
how can i stop following this blog? it doesn’t seem like you’re giving me the option so i don’t know how to do it
1. NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer (although I use this all year long!)
2. Armani Liquid Summer bronzer (mixed in with my tinted moisturizer)
3. Chanel Malice or Innocence blush (thanks Karen for your helpful posts on both of these, it led me to purchase both!)
4. Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayons (love this liner)
5. Sheer lipsticks (Bobbi Brown Sheer Lipsticks, Burberry Lip Mists, or Chanel Rouge Coco Shines) or lipgloss (Glossimers)
In the hot and icky humid South, the game is to find products that don’t melt off in an hour. Or is that just me?
1) Estee Lauder Double Wear Light–I’m on the hunt for a sweat-proof foundation, and this stuff LASTS and doesn’t let my oily skin take it over.
2) Nars Torrid blush and Laguna Bronzer–a pale girl must have a bit of color.
3) Laura Mericer Caviar Shadow Sticks–primed with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, these suckers don’t budge for hours and hours, and they’re so easy to swipe on and blend.
4) Skindinavia sprays–was testing out a dewier Shiseido foundation with this, and it keeps the face looking pleasantly fresh, not oil slick-y.
5) Hurraw SPF 15 lip balm–I’ve worn SPF on my face since college, but it just now occurred to me that I might need to protect my lips, especially when I’m outside for longer than 5 minutes. It’s a nice, non-sticky balm, works well when lips are already stained with color.
1. Benefit face moisturizer
2. Mac false lashes waterproof mascara
3. Dior nude skin foundation (wowza!!)
4. Mac mineralized skin finish natural
5. Tarte tipsy blush
6. Dior lip glow. (Omg!!)
Ahhh, just five?! Too hard! If I HAD to…
1. MUFE Mat Velvet Plus in 25
2. UD All Nighter setting spray
3. Tarte liquid lash multiplying eyeliner
4. Diorshow Blackout waterproof mascara
5. Bare Minerals all over face color
1. Clinique CC cream – sheer coverage with SPF
2. MAC huggable lipstick
3. Makeup forever HD finishing powder, or any kind of loose powder
4. Narcissist cheek palette, bronzer/blush/highlighter in one!
5. Blotting sheets – right now I’m using Salma Hayek Nuance because I got them on clearance at CVS!
For me …
1 Clinique Super Defense
2 Garnier’s BB cream FPS 50
3 Lancôme star Bronzer Golden Riviera
4 NARS Orgasm
6 Black mascara (Maybelline, Estée Lauder or Bobbi Brown…but “volumizating” one !)
and 6, if you’re ok ;-), a bright lipstick !!!! Defiant Coral by Estee Lauder, Darling by Dior, Guava by BB…
1. IT Cosmetics CC+ cream in Light — SPF 50+ from mineral sunscreens only, perfect protection.
2. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light — makes my over-50 skin look like it’s not over 50 — with IT’s CC cream, it creates a beautiful glow.
3. Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel in Espresso — gotta tame those brows into shape while covering the grays.
4. Inglot Eyeliner Gel in 83, a deep blue-purple — this stuff seriously. Does. Not. Budge.
5. Whatever mascara I use gets topped with Anastasia’s Lash Genius, which totally prevents any smudging or other mess, which are inevitable on my oily skin otherwise, even with waterproof mascara formulas.
Also essential: an easy, sheer, blue- or orange-based pink lip color, something like Laura Mercier’s gel lip color in Heartbreaker or Make Up Forever Rouge Artist Natural in 27, 34, or 35, or Lipstick Queen in Jeans Queen. It would be even better if these had SPF, too.
Cheek color is a good idea over the CC cream, which offers at least medium coverage — loving NARS Paloma bronzer and highlighter at the moment, also love using the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette colors Radiant Light and Incandescent when I want golden rather than pink-based bronzer and highlighter; either of those is fine without blush, but if I do want to add blush, Too Faced Sweethearts blush in Candy Glow is a foolproof blush on me, with both warm and cool tones, not too much shimmer, and is practically impossible to over-apply.
If I want to wear eye shadow, a base coat of MAC Paint Pot in Painterly makes it crease-proof even in the heat. LORAC shadows especially stay beautiful through the heat all day long. For a simpler eye look, a light application of Make Up Forever Aqua Cream in 11, a bright gold, or NARS Eye Paint in Interstellar, a bright silver, will also last through heat, humidity, sweat, whatever I throw at them.
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer makes my CC cream go on extra-smooth, last extra-long, and adds even more mineral SPF.
With this routine, I never need a makeup setting spray, even though I spend part of my workday in steamy bathrooms helping elders with dementia get showered, and walk up to four miles in the heat and humidity to and from work. The only thing I need to re-apply during the day is powder (once) and lip color (whenever I eat).
1. Sonia Kashuk All Covered Up Concealor – for under eyes, spots, and red areas
2. Elf Essentials Bronzer (no longer making it, so I’m clinging to the last bit of it)
3. Cream blush or lipstick
4. Black Mascara
5. Lip gloss
6… a random eye palette I found at Ross comprised of golds, nudes, rose golds, and chocolate colors.
Hmm. This is kind of hard lol
1. Jack Black lip balm
2. Makeup Forever Pro Finish powder
3. MAC Magnetic Appeal highlight
4. MAC Fix+ spray
5. NARS Line & Pore Perfector
Karen, not sure you got to check out a limited edition chanel blush a couple of months ago….called canaille. Its a great bronzy shade. I think u will love. I am an NC 42 as well. Its awesome!
I am also currently using items 1,2 & 4! I looooove Malice! 2 more items I’m loving now are makeup forever’s aqua liner & aqua brow. Then I’ll just grab whatever lip balm or lipstick that I feel like wearing (rouge coco shine in liberte most of the time!) 🙂
1. Skinceuticals Physical Fusion SPF 50+ with universal tint. Not exactly makeup, but the universal tint and having relatively good skin = no foundation necessary! It’s great because it evens out the redness and lets the freckles shine through. It’s quite dark on me (keep in mind I’m hella pale), but the undertone is very neutral (the La Roche Posay tinted sunscreen is kind of a weird tone) and it’s sheer, so it looks very natural. I’m out of this right now, haven’t had time to stop by Blue Mercury!
2. Chanel Inimitable Intense mascara – this is a must-have all year. No other mascara compares for me (although I like Le Volume de Chanel too!) Sometimes I add a waterproof topcoat if I’m doing something with water.
3. This Smashbox brow gel I have in auburn – it’s discontinued, I believe, comes in a jar like the MAC Fluidlines for brows. Stays on. It looks a little orangey initially, but looks very light when blended out.
4. Cheek stain or liquid blush! I have a couple I alternate between – Tarte in Exposed, the new Rimmel liquid blush and shimmers (so good, price is great!), or Becca Beach Tints.
5. Chanel Stylo Waterproof eyeliners. Love these. I need a new Khaki Precieux, I just got some olivey-toned tortoise glasses, and together they would look fab.
My Top 5 Summer Essentials:
1. Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black. Smooth, creamy, easy to apply, doesn’t smudge, and lasts all day 🙂
2. NARS Light-Reflecting Loose Translucent Powder. Keeps my makeup looking fresh & in place all day long without getting cakey/too powdery.
3. Maybelline Lash Stiletto Waterproof Mascara. Defines, lengethens, and seperates my lashes as well as making any mascara I wear underneath it super waterproof. No smudging/fading whatsoever!
4. Benefit Watts Up. It gives me SUCH a beautiful summer glow that really lasts throughout the day and makes me look radiant from within.
5. Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towlettes. Removes 100% of makeup at the end of the day without leaving my face feeling sticky/dry. It actually moisturizes and cleanses my skin a little bit.
1) herbivore purify serum… I never ever want to be without this! This company has some amazing products!!!
2) josie maran moisturizer SPF 47 – it’s awesome bc it doubles as a primer
3) bobbi brown skin foundation stick
4) Clinique cheek pop blush – berry or peach
5) too faced chocolate palette
6) Mally shimmer shape and go kit in deeper ( sorry, I couldnt choose just 5)
HAI Kare Bears!
1. A light base: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua and NARS PRTM have been staples.
2. Gimme brows: I can’t decide if I like the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade over the Brow Wiz pencils; they’re both pretty epic and make filling in brows fun and easy. 2 words I would have never used to describe the process before encountering these products!
3. Lip gloss: It brings all the boys to the yard and adds a pop of color without any heaviness. Plus, it won’t melt in your purse like a lipstick. R.I.P. MAC Modesty Tube #1. R.I.P.
4. Lush lashes: Maybelline Pumped Up! Mascara is pretty fantabs at drawing out longer lashes and thickening the fringe overall without any melting or flaking in the humidity.
5. Good Scents: I’ve been loving the Elizabeth and James Nirvana White as well as fun body splashes from B&BW like the classic Cucumber Melon. As long as it’s light, it just feels so summery!
1. Dr. Jart+ waterfuse BB cream (most BB creams have the wrong undertone or are too dark for me- this one is purrfect)
2. L’oreal waterproof butterfly mascara
3. Smashbox always sharp waterproof liner
4. Tarte maracuja concealer (though I’m on the hunt for a different one- I’m not a huge fan of the “dewy” finish… thinking of trying NARS next)
5. Pixi “unique pink” balm and the new Revlon moisture stain lippies!
I’ve been wanting a Chanel blush for awhile and Malice is on the top of a very short list of colors I’m considering. Great picks Karen!
My current top 5 products are for winter 😉
1. YSL compact powder foundation
2. Clinique Peach Pop Blush
3. Any Urban Decay eyeliner (it was Uzi yesterday)
4. Whichever mascara I have to hand (currently a Spehora one)
5. Any lipstick I feel like (but I had Guerlain Nahema on today!)
Actually, it’s pretty much the same for summer anyway, LOL!
1. Tarte Tinted Moisturizer
2. Malice! Also, majorly obsessed – I may never use another blush again. 🙂
3. Chanel Le Volume (though I’m still not 100% sold on it over Faux Cils)
4. NARS Pro Prime
5. UD Whiskey
If I was allowed to list 6, I’d include Anastasia Brow Wiz. I don’t love it but my brows need daily filling!
1 & 2 – Custom mix of Shiseido SPF 50 cream with MUFE Mat Velvet foundation (perfect high spf protection with mattifying/stay all day coverage)
3 – Nars e/s primer – this has proven itself this summer – no creasing or fading even on the most sweltering days
4 – MUFE Aqua Matic crayons – such great neutrals AND brights!
5 – By Terry Touche Veloutee – flawless under eye coverage that lasts