This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Guelph chapter.
It may not be consistently warm and sunny yet, but I have packed away the full coverage foundations and vampy lipsticks for the next several months because I am in summer mode! I don’t usually wear makeup often during the summer, but it’s flawless and glow-y when I do! Or, at least until I sweat it off. Here is my go-to, summer makeup routine.
BASE
- First and foremost, incorporate sunscreen into your summer routine. We should be taking steps to protect our skin from UV rays all year round, but it is especially important during the summer months. This can be a moisturizer with SPF in it, or a separate sunscreen (minimally SPF 15) that you would put on after moisturizer, but before makeup products.
- The most important and distinguishing step in this routine is some sort of a “pearlized” or “illuminating” base! My two personal favourite ways to achieve this are as follows:
- For a more complicated look with better results, use MAC Strobe Cream with some type of pore-filling primer on top. This option will likely work better if you have more oily skin. There are plenty of drugstore and high-end options for these types of primer.
- You can find an illuminating primer instead! A glow-y primer will be easier to use if you have normal or dry skin, but this Benefit primer works great for oily skin!
- Apply your foundation, concealer (whatever it may be) as you would usually do.
- It is super important to set your base in the summer! Makeup really shouldn’t be “sweat-proof” but using a translucent powder once you’ve used any liquid or cream products on the face is very important to keep things from smudging!
- Another crucial player in order to achieve this look is a radiant bronzer (instead of a matte one). It adds dimension and warmth to the face, and that small amount of shimmer will add to your glow!
- In the summer, I love Sun Bunny by Too Faced. I apply it lightly over my forehead, and in the hollows of my cheeks. TIP: Beauty Bakerie also has excellent face products for darker complexions – like the Coffee & Cocoa palette
- Finally, highlighter. It’s beautiful, sparkly and honestly, sometimes, that’s all I choose to put on my face on some days. There are plenty of blinding highlight options now available at all price points. In the summer when I have more colour in my complexion, I try to find one with pale gold or peachy-gold shimmer. But, this is totally up to your personal preference as there are tons of highlight palettes on the market, so if you can’t just choose one – you don’t have to!
- TIP: For this look, apply your highlight with a damp makeup sponge, or dab it on with your fingers. It blends in with the rest of your base more nicely and looks less harsh, while still delivering on the glam. And, if you apply more than you’re comfortable with, you can always tone it down and go back over top with your brush or sponge that has leftover face makeup on it.
- Placement: Apply on the high point of your cheekbones, and temples (creates a C shaped glow), as well as on the bridge and tip of the nose. If you have normal or dry skin, make sure to add a small amount on your chin and above the arch of your eyebrows. Oily friends… I’d stay away from those extra spots. If your collarbones are visible in whatever you’re wearing, pop some highlighter on them too.
- And of course, don’t forget to lock it all in place with setting spray. Thankfully, this is another product that has recently become more available at different price points. NYX, L’Oreal, and Urban Decay all have setting sprays that I really like.
EYES
- Use a fluffy blending brush to blend whatever bronzer you used on your face into the crease of your eyelid for added definition. I only use a small amount for this step as this makeup look is not necessarily about the eyeshadow – it’s about being glow-y and radiant.
- Use the same highlighter that you previously applied on your face for this step. Apply it under the brown and in the inner corner (tear duct) of your eye to truly make them stand out. You can be as generous with this glow as you want. I personally love a strong brow bone highlight.
- OPTIONAL STEP: To make your eyes look big and bright, you can use a cream or beige coloured eyeliner pencil on your bottom waterline. The placement of the highlighter around your eye has this effect as well, but this step allows you to go the extra mile. Pretty Vulgar has my favourite pencil for this, but any eye pencil brand should have a similar colour that you can use.
Finally, in the summer, I like to use waterproof mascara. It makes my life easier because I don’t need to worry about any smudging that might occur otherwise! My two all-time favourite mascaras are Covergirl Clump Crusher and L’Oreal Lash Paradise!
Throw on some gloss, grab your shades, and rock it!