Beauty,
Beauty Review,
Clarisonic,
Estee Lauder,
Jergens,
Josie Maran,
Laura Mercier,
MAC Makeup,
Smith's,
St Tropez,
summer beauty
What's in my Summer Beauty Toolkit
5/10/2012
(I would say medicine cabinet, but our house doesn't actually have any)
Regardless of what you have in your house, if you are anything like me, you change up your beauty routine seasonally to account for weather changes. Here are some of my favorite summer beauty products.
1) Exfoliate - A good skin foundation can make or break your beauty products. Exfoliation is the key to maximizing the effectiveness of your other products. I love the Clarisonic Mia because I'm able to use my usual facewash and exfoliate all at once. If you don't want to spring for the Clarisonic (which is worth it's weight in gold), I would definitely recommend an exfoliating scrub (St. Ive's Apricot is my fave).
2) Sunscreen - Use it often and liberally. There's a lot of changes going on right now in the sunscreen realm with the FDA stepping in to ensure the quality of the products, as well as that the labels are written in a less confusing manner. Regardless, I would recommend Josie Maran's line. Ah.may.zing.
3) Moisturizer - Ole Henricksen for my face and Jergen's Natural Glow for my body. I try not to use a moisturizer on my face that has any sunscreen in it anymore because the sunscreen can break down as it ages and mess with the balance of things. And Jergen's has been my go-to for years for the rest of my body. I love the subtle tan it gives you without an orange glow.
4) Self Tanner - When I really want to step up my tanning game, I jump all in with St Tropez's foaming self-tanner. It's hands down the best. Just don't forget to wear gloves when you apply or wash your hands well after it's application or you'll have weirdly tanned palms. Other recommendations for making your self tanner stick: showers a few hours after you apply and before you go to bed dust yourself with baby powder to avoid rub off on your sheets.
5) BB Cream or Tinted Moisturizer - I find that Estee Lauder's BB Cream has a bit more coverage than Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer (Oil Free) so depending upon what I'm doing, I alternate between these two products. I actually love them both; it's very hard to choose a favorite.
6) Lip Balm - I'm obsessed with Smith's Strawberry Lip Balm at the moment. The smell reminds me of strawberry shortcake and it has a great finish that allows me to be mildly OK with not apply gloss or lip stick.
7) Lipstick - I'm loving brights right now in lipsticks. Currently I'm obsessed with MAC's Girl About Town. It is such a flattering bight pink and is a great color. MAC makes an excellent lipstick and their pigment is the best.
8) Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - This is a product that my mother has used for decades that I dismissed as 'older people products', but as I am aging and as this triple punch face serum has gained chatter in the blog-o-sphere, I decided to give it a try. It's a bit pricey, but amazingly worth it. My face heals so much faster when I use it and I wake up looking like a whole new person. Given the amount of craziness that your face is exposed to over the summer (and year round for that matter), it's definitely worth investing in.
6) Lip Balm - I'm obsessed with Smith's Strawberry Lip Balm at the moment. The smell reminds me of strawberry shortcake and it has a great finish that allows me to be mildly OK with not apply gloss or lip stick.
7) Lipstick - I'm loving brights right now in lipsticks. Currently I'm obsessed with MAC's Girl About Town. It is such a flattering bight pink and is a great color. MAC makes an excellent lipstick and their pigment is the best.
8) Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - This is a product that my mother has used for decades that I dismissed as 'older people products', but as I am aging and as this triple punch face serum has gained chatter in the blog-o-sphere, I decided to give it a try. It's a bit pricey, but amazingly worth it. My face heals so much faster when I use it and I wake up looking like a whole new person. Given the amount of craziness that your face is exposed to over the summer (and year round for that matter), it's definitely worth investing in.
So what are your summer beauty go-tos?
Earlier this year, I wrote a review on the benefits of the Clarisonic Mia. Last week I was stoked (and slightly jealous) that Clarisonic dropped the price of their best-seller from $150 to $119. So here's my PSA for the week: Run-do not walk-to your closest store and pick one of these up. Immediately.
I've been hearing about this product for the better part of a year now. Celebrities fawn over it and the reviews on-line are all raves on what a fabulous item it is. So, I finally caved. I've been frustrated recently with my skin (the winter really takes a toll on it) and in a moment of weakness (and the promise of 20% off), I bit the bullet and just ordered it.
The Mia is marketed as the travel size version of its big sister, the Clarisonic Skincare Brush. Clarisonic promises that the brush removes makeup six times better than traditional methods; clears pore and reduces the appearance of pore size; and cleanses thoroughly so that your skincare products are absorbed better.
I've been using it for a little over a week now and I honestly have NO idea how I lived without it. It leaves my skin super clean, smooth, and radiant. The Mia is light weight and super easy to use with a built-in timer so that you can use it with little thought involved. Also the charging system is pretty interesting and allows for you to use the brush in the shower with you. The cleaning heads are disposable and require you to switch them out about every 3 months, with intermittent cleanings between brush head changes. While Clarisonic recommends you use their cleanser with the system, you can continue to use your current skin care regime-which is an added bonus.
Typically, I'm a pretty hard sell on beauty products, especially those in this price point. However, I would highly recommend this product to anyone who is considering purchasing it. It is well worth it!
The Mia is marketed as the travel size version of its big sister, the Clarisonic Skincare Brush. Clarisonic promises that the brush removes makeup six times better than traditional methods; clears pore and reduces the appearance of pore size; and cleanses thoroughly so that your skincare products are absorbed better.
I've been using it for a little over a week now and I honestly have NO idea how I lived without it. It leaves my skin super clean, smooth, and radiant. The Mia is light weight and super easy to use with a built-in timer so that you can use it with little thought involved. Also the charging system is pretty interesting and allows for you to use the brush in the shower with you. The cleaning heads are disposable and require you to switch them out about every 3 months, with intermittent cleanings between brush head changes. While Clarisonic recommends you use their cleanser with the system, you can continue to use your current skin care regime-which is an added bonus.
Typically, I'm a pretty hard sell on beauty products, especially those in this price point. However, I would highly recommend this product to anyone who is considering purchasing it. It is well worth it!
