Summer Beauty: Makeup by the Pool or Beach

This post is part of my Summer Beauty Tips Series, a collection of posts for the summer season. You can read the rest of the series here.

There is probably nothing worse than seeing a woman trying so hard to touch up her makeup by the pool or beach! Thanks to the humidity, the sun, the water, and your sweat, makeup can just slide off and make a big mess on your face.

The very best thing while swimming or hanging by the beach is probably to just skip it all except sunscreen, but for those who want to do up certain parts of your face, here’s what I recommend:

• Face. Keep it simple. Apply sunscreen, and if you must, a tinted moisturizer (I like this one). Skip the foundation completely, as it can just be a mess with the hot, humid sun and the water. Foundation can end up running, caking, peeling – not very nice. The very best is to try to avoid anything on your face at all.
• Cheeks. Although, once again, I would recommend probably not putting anything on your cheeks at all. However, if you feel you must, skip the contouring techniques and opt for a soft, natural color. Oh, and mineral or organic powder blushes are probably the best, as it won’t clog the pores in that hot sun!
• Eyes. I personally cannot live without eyeliner, so it’s my must. Must! However, you should probably only put it along the top lash line to keep it from looking too over done and keeping smudging to a minimal, and a waterproof formula is the best. (M.A.C. Liquidlast should do the trick.) I cannot stress how bad it looks having black mascara running down your face after a quick dip in the pool, so try to skip mascara altogether. For eyeshadow, try light, shimmery shades.
• Brows. Try a clear brow gel to keep any hairs in place. Or, if your brows need more definition, try out other brow products. Just be careful that in the humidity, it will tend to melt off, so powder is probably the best option.
• Lips. Lipbalm with at least SPF 15 is a must. The skin on your lips are much thinner and need extra protection! If you want color on your lips, make sure the lipbalm with the sunscreen is underneath any lip stick or lip gloss, and reapply that sunscreen every hour at the latest! I would recommend trying to find a tinted lip balm with SPF, so you get it all in one – Lip stick tends to flake even faster thanks to the hot weather, and lipgloss can look “greasy” very fast.

I hope some of my tips have helped! What do you normally wear at the pool or beach? Also, how good does that beach look?! I need a holiday. :)

Image: adpowers