Summer Do's and Don'ts

This one is for my friend Steph...albeit a little late for summer do's and don'ts but better late than never!

Photo: Koh Tao, Thailand

Do's

Skincare  |  Protect & Prep to Bare
*Wear sunscreen (hope this is obvious by now)
*Try St. Tropez self tanner (how gorgeous are the news ads with Kate Moss?)
*Exfoliate those dead skin cells for smooth legs and arms
*Use Neutrogena's Clean and Clear Body Scrub for clear skin (no bacne!)
*Switch to a lighter moisturizer and cream foundation to stave off the hottest, muggiest days (I usually drop the additional layer of moisturizer under my BB cream as well as the foundation I mix in with my BB cream)
*For God's Sake, PLEASE get your self a pedicure.  Stat.  I've had a polish on my toes since 5th grade - year round - it's all in the details!  Go bright or go home.  It's not the time for dark colors.

Makeup  |  Keep it Simple & Experiment With Color
*Use a waterproof mascara.  Love any mascara by Lancome (#1 for 15 yrs in luxury beauty!), especially their new Hypnose Star 24H Waterproof
*Highly recommend Stila's Waterproof Eyeliner, which will stay on after hours in the water.
*Experiment with blue, teal, and purple eye shadow hues.  Lancome makes great palettes in lots of fun colors.  I have several because it's all you need to make a smoky night eye or subtle day eye.  Caveat: too much color on people with brown eyes can look a little clownish (recommend sticking with dark purples, browns and bronzes).
*Experiment with bright pink or coral lips.  Pick to match your skin tone.  MAC always has tons of fun colors.
*Bronzer!  Make sure not to pick a shade that looks too "muddy" with your skin tone.  I like one with a little shimmer.

Stila's Great Baked Cheek Duo:

Don'ts

Skincare:
*It's not the season to repair your skin with serums and other treatments because you will undoubtably get some sun exposure which will counteract your products.
*Pancake face!  Many people wear the same foundation year-round without realizing that their skin color may become a shade darker.  Check in natural light to see if you need a new shade.
*Don't pick your face or bug bites, etc!
*Don't forget to cover any recent scars with sunscreen.  To fade scars, use Mederma.

Makeup:
*Don't overload.  If you have a bright lip or eyes, make the other one neutral.
*Don't wear body sparkles.  It's too 90's.
*Don't end up with orangey streaks from self-tanner (follow my other post on how to best use a self-tanner).
*Don't wear too much makeup - summer is all about showing off your natural beauty!

Mary Poppin's Makeup Bag

I had a friend ask me to write about what I pack in my makeup bag that I always tote around wherever I go.  Needless to say, if I ever need a touch up (or more often, one of my friends asks for something knowing I will have it), I am prepared.  Magically, all of the below fits into the bag below!

For the hair:
*Brush (I recommend this Mason Pearson Brush which I've used all my life - never breaks your hair)
*Small comb for teasing late-afternoon flatness
*Shu Uemura Volume Maker (Shu Magic)
*Extra hair-tie

For the skin:
*Powder
*Small concealer stick for touch ups (I like Bobbi Brown)
*Travel size tube of sunscreen to ensure you never get caught with a burn (I recommend any Neutrogena products)
*Small bronzer (I like to use samples I get from the makeup counter...I'm currently using Lancome's)
*Small blush (also currently using a Lancome sample)
*Brush for bronzer and blush

For the eyes:
*Sample size mascara for day-to-evening touch ups
*An eyeshadow for touch-ups that will go with any look (recommend Nude Beach by Bare Minerals)
*Plum/ purple colored eye liner (again, goes with most outfits).  I usually take ones from my makeup bag that are almost finished so that they're smaller.  Love the color of this Clinique Eyeliner.
*Eye shadow brush
*Afternoon pick-me-up eye perk (recommend Vichy's Anti-Fatigue Eye-Stick)

General health and wellness:
*Travel size multi-purpose wipes
*Hand sanitizer
*Hand cream (I used to work for this company in high school and still think the product is amazing - try Olivina's Fig Hand Cream)
*Travel size deodorant
*Travel size tube of Advil
*Extra feminine supplies
*Immodium
*Band-aids for when you've been pounding the pavement in heels too long
*Travel size perfume (love the small Kai Rollerbar)
*Extra set of contact lenses
*Eye drops
*Small nail file
*Small flashlight (you never know)
*Finally, I keep a mini swiss army knife on my keychain and it has come in handy SO many times.

Can you believe all of that fits in one small bag?!