This post is sponsored by Dove® ClearToneâ„¢ Deodorant — designed to visibly reduce underarm dark marks and even skin tone.
Spring’s in full swing, and I’m lovin’ almost everything about it. Love the gorgeous green hills, the wildflowers springing up everywhere I turn, the sunny skies, sunsets and longer days, but ah! — that’s not all spring brings. It also brings some seasonal — pardon me — ah-choo! — challenges.
Challenges like…
1. Smudgy eyes
Around this same time every year I develop an inconvenient allergy to nature — pretty much all of it, judging by my watery eyes, itchy throat and incessant sneezing.
Zyrtec usually saves the day, but when it doesn’t, watery eyes often leave me with smudgy eye makeup.
Sure, I could skip wearing eye makeup altogether in spring, but where’s the fun in that? 🙂
When my eyes turn to “Aye!” I turn to these time-tested eye makeup-saving tricks…
First, before I apply my makeup, I prime everything — and I mean everything — to lock it down. I apply primer on my lids, in my brows (helps the brow powder stay put), along my lower lash lines and even beneath my eyes. Then, I follow pretty much my regular makeup routine but using long-wearing and/or waterproof eyeshadows, liner and mascara.
2. Fading foundation…
I like these longer days, but the extra sunshine keeps me going from 6 in the morning till 9 at night. My foundation’s gotta last, so again I turn to primer.
Here’s a trick to help your foundation last a little longer: after applying foundation primer, wait 10-15 minutes before blotting with a tissue and applying your foundation.
I’m not exactly sure why, but the extra time seems to help the primer do its thing. My foundation lasts longer before fading, and I find I even use less of it, too.
3. When it comes to hair, wind blows
It’s getting gusty out here in Northern California, and when I wear my shoulder-length hair down, it usually ends up in my gloss. On really windy days, I like headbands, low ponytails and braids.
And if you also suffer from allergies (I feel your pain!), mine don’t seem to bother me as much at night when I wash my hair before bed.
Guess it gets rid of the pollen and other stuff hanging out in my coif.
4. Dark underarms are the pits
Every spring tanks, tube tops and sleeveless shirts burst from closets worldwide (well, across the Northern Hemisphere), freeing millions of arms from their long-sleeved oppressors!
Don’t let dark underarms hold you back. They’re usually caused by a buildup of dead skin cells and/or thicker hair than elsewhere on your arms. Exfoliating can help to lighten the area, as can waxing or plucking (instead of shaving), as both remove hair below the skin’s surface, making it less visible, and your underarms appear less dark.
5. Bah! Blemishes!
As the mercury rises, and my skin shifts into acne-prone overdrive, I switch from the heavy duty moisturizers I wore in winter to lightweight, oil-free moisturizers and sunscreens. I also add a face wash, toner and gels or creams with pimple fighting properties and ingredients like salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide.
Now, armed with these beauty bugbear-defeating tips, go forth and spring! 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
#3…. every. single. day. for me…! What works for me is tying my hair up, or switching to “glossy” or sheen lipstick that give that lipgloss look without actually being lipgloss.
xx Renee
Hi Renee,
Great idea! A lip tint would work too — adds color to the lips without any stickiness. 🙂
How’s your day going? Good I hope!
Mosquito bites – thats my biggest issue these days. Lil bugs like to make a meal out of me. :-/
Ugh mosquito bites! I find that instead of using antihistamine lotion (since I”m mildly allergic so it gets swelled up), I use a product like IcyHot to dull the area, and then by the time it wears off, it’s no longer itchy and has started to gone down by itself since I didn’t irritate it by scratching my skin and causing micro-tears!
Oh, that’s something I haven’t tried before! I’ll have to remember to give that tric a go next time I get a bug bite. Thanks, Christina!
Ive been using ice cubes to numb the itch but youre right, an icy hot pack will totally work.
The bugs like my blood bec I eat too much chocolate. LOL!
Hi Nina,
Me too. 🙁 My bites get huge! They’re like the size of a baseball and are all red and warm. Do you wear any type of bug spray when you’re out and about?
I have a purse sized bug spray that I take with me everywhere. 🙂 Sometimes, though, ill miss a spot and guaranteed, ill get a bite. Mine get all red and bumpy-ish and itchyyyy!!!
Yes, my dark underarms are the. bane. of my existence. (Well, they were– now that I know other people have them, too, I don’t feel so bad.) Waxing and tweezing there hurts too much, so I have decided to just live with them for now.
Hi Sandy,
I can’t wax that area either (hurts too much). Have you considered an exfoliator? Either one that you can rub on the skin or an exfoliating lotion?
Another amazing tip for preventing raccoon eyes is to apply eyeliner (waterproof obviously and preferably gel over pencil) then go over the eyeliner with a long-lasting black eyeshadow. This will prevent any oil or water from fading out the eyeliner… instead, it will go over the eyeshadow.
So many good tips. I have to agree with Nina about the mosquitoes, though. Oh, and the week of June Bugs. I know they’re harmless, but they creep me the heck out! 🙂
Hi Kim,
Boo to mosquito bites. Do you use a bug spray when you go out? Or do ya just chance it?
Oh, I have to douse myself in the stuff (usually Off) or I get eaten alive. One of the boys is the same way. The other is like the Hubs – they’re never bitten!
Love the post.. its really helpful for us (Indians) where sweaty and windy weather stays almost half of the year !!
Hi Shalini,
Glad you found it helpful!
My eyes are always the first tell-tale sign that my allergies are going to start bothering me. I’m lucky though it usually happens at the end of the day! I have these weird terrigiums (sp) that dry my eyes out pretty bad, so by the end of the day I’m ready to remove everything and put in the special drops. If my eyes are itchy at work, I’ll use drops and pray my liner and mascara aren’t running! I should, but always forget concealer underneath my eyes so priming probably won’t happen 😉 I’m always in a hurry even though I put on a full face of makeup lol
Hi Maria,
For me it’s my throat. The moment it starts feeling itchy I know that I’m in for an allergy attack.
Have you considered switching to a waterproof mascara during allergy season?
I am having the worst allergies this year! Thankfully I have found a miracle worker for my watery itchy eyes. Normally I’d just get Visine or some other sort of eye drops but they weren’t working. Then I was looking in the allergy pill aisle at the drugstore (not with the eyedrops, the aisle where you would get Claritin, Zyrtec, etc) and found these AWESOME eye drops from Baush and Lomb called Alaway. They are actually antihistamine eye drops. Normally eye drops contain some sort of lubricant and maybe a redness reducer. These actually have the antihistamine in them to fight allergies. They are AWESOME. I realize I sound like an infomercial but seriously, if you have itchy eyes and your mascara is always running, definitely try this sucker out!
Hi Courtney,
Thanks for this. I’ll look for it next time I’m at the drugstore!
Beware of Revlon’s Primer and Photo Finish. They do not contain a sunscreen. I contacted Revlon and they don’t care!
Thanks Karen for the primer tip! I find that my skin is still too dry to switch completely to lotions but too oily for my usual creams, so having my primer in there as an extra moisturizing step is useful too, for those of us in the in-between stage!
Hi Christina,
You’re welcome. If you need any primer recs let me know! 🙂
Hope you’re having a great day so far. Anything new to report?
Great tips! I have found a good retinol treatment works very well for preventing zits and getting rid of acne scars. I use CVS brand retinol perfecting and brightening serum, and I’m about to try Neutrogena’s retinol serum. For face lotion, I’ve stuck by Aveeno Positively Radiant in SPF 15 for years – it hydrates well but won’t clog my pores. I’ve noticed the drugstores have had some good primers lately – Almay’s coming out with one that’s a color corrector, and I just started using Cover Girl + Olay’s primer and I like it so far. As far as Eye primers, UD in Sin has been my staple for a few years now. Even the eyeshadows that are most likely to fade out stay on with this primer for me.
For waxing, if you happen to have roses, you can make your own rose water to soothe your skin after waxing (I don’t wax anymore because letting my hair grow out enough to have to wax grosses me out, haha).
The tip about waiting to apply foundation over your primer is interesting! I’m going to give it a try tomorrow morning and see if it helps 🙂
Urgh my foundation hates me in Spring/Summer but in Autumn/Winter it looks so much nicer. I’m still playing around with primers and oil-free moisturizers, trying to find out what works best.
As for smudgy eyes, I noticed setting my pencil liner with transparent powder makes a big difference. I prime and line my eyes then I clean up the edges and apply concealer. When I’m setting my concealer with transparent powder, I also brush some gently along the liner’s line.
(Way too many ‘lines’ in that paragraph!)