When it comes to summer makeup, my recent philosophy is keep it light and simple. For many years, I struggled with aggressive, persistent acne (stay tuned for a post about this!), and I tried just about everything under the sun to get rid of it. When none of that worked, I did anything I could to hide it. And that meant makeup– lots and lots of makeup. Ever since I was finally able to achieve clearer skin (I won’t say my skin is perfect, nor will it likely ever be), I’ve been obsessed with finding new ways of doing barely-there makeup looks. And now that we’re transitioning into the summer season with hot weather and surely excessive outdoor time, I figured it’s the perfect time to go light, fresh, and natural with makeup.
I have been obsessing over barely-there, light foundation that covers the less-than-ideal parts of my not-so-perfect skin just enough to smooth it over, but also allows my natural skin to shine through, freckles and all.
My go-to, staple foundation is my Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation. I wear this year round, and it’s great for my oily, imperfect skin. It has awesome coverage and it comes in so many shades, making it easy to find your perfect one. Even though this foundation has pretty full-coverage, if I use a small amount of it and really blend it around, I can achieve a really nice light-coverage look with it, too. I’ve been loving this trick recently, especially because it allows me to use the exact same product for multiple results, saving money!
Despite my die-hard commitment to my Fenty foundation, I recently decided it was time to try an actual light coverage foundation/tinted moisturizer situation to see how this would work for me. I’ve found that most of these types of products tend to be in more natural or satin finishes, which is honestly a nightmare for my skin. Because of this, I’ve always been pretty weary of trying these products, assuming I’d end up a greasy mess two hours in. But this time I was determined to find something that could give me a beautiful light coverage and that would last the day in the sun (with setting powder, of course).
After extensive research, I came across MAC Studio Waterweight SPF 30 Foundation. I’ve been testing it out for a couple of weeks now, and while I can’t yet give a definitive verdict on it, I have been really enjoying it. It has a very liquidy formula, making it easy to blend and to get a very light coverage. It also feels really lightweight on the skin, which is so nice for hot summers– we all know the icky feeling of a heavy face of makeup when you’re outside in the sun: not fun at all. It also has SPF 30 which is a huge bonus for me, because honestly I hate putting sunscreen on my face, and 99% of the time I forget it anyways.
When you’re wearing such a light layer of foundation, it’s even more important to have a nice base to work with– you want the skin that shows through to look as beautiful and healthy as possible. Not only is great skincare important (my summer skincare essentials coming soon– stay tuned), but so is a good primer. I’ve been loving my Smashbox Photo Finish Minimize Pores Primer. As a girl with acne-prone skin, you can bet I have big pores, and I despise them. Of course, there’s no way to completely hide them, but I find that this primer really helps to smooth over them and provides a nice base for my foundation, keeping it from totally sinking into my pores and making them appear even larger.
My other current obsession? Feathery, full brows. I’ve had many stages of brows, most of them extremely cringy now that I know better. I’ve had the dark block brows, thin oops-I-overplucked-them brows, and greasy rub-off-in-the-middle-of-the-day brows. Truly, I’ve seen it all. At this point in my life, I think I’ve finally found the brow that works for me– full, barely plucked, lightly filled, feathery perfection. I find that to achieve this brow, it’s important to have not only a high quality brow pencil, but also a gel to keep those hairs in place throughout the day. I finally invested in Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, and I must say it really lives up to the hype. It is perfect for achieving that feathery, you-know-I-filled-in-my-brows-but-you-can’t-even-tell look. And the perfect topper? Benefit Gimme Brow Brow-Volumizing Fiber Gel. When I say this stuff is truly magical, I mean it. It is the perfect topper to any brow, adding minimal color and holding those brows in place all day. You could honestly just use it on its own if you want a really minimal brow look– it’s great both on its own and paired with a brow pencil.
I truly cannot live my life without a good setting powder, and Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder has been my go-to for years now. I stand by this powder 1000%. It is absolutely perfect for my oily skin, and I love that it has no color and lasts me months before I have to replenish. No powder will ever cure the greasy mess that is my natural skin, but this powder is pretty miraculous. I don’t think that I will ever be able to find a powder to replace this one in my collection. The best part? It’s a perfect powder year round, and its oil-fighting properties work great in sweaty, sticky summer heat.
What’s summer makeup without a golden-bronzed complexion? You don’t have to actually spend time outside to look like you basked on the beach all weekend. My die hard favorite bronzer is Benefit Hoola Bronzer. I use this bronzer year round, but it’s especially perfect for summer when everyone wants to get that perfect glowy, bronzed, spends-8-hours-a-day-at-the-beach look. I love that a little bit goes a long way with this bronzer, so it lasts forever. Plus, I find it to be the absolute perfect color for a bronzer– no ashy, just-rolled-in-dirt faces over here! You can go totally subtle with this bronzer, or you can go all out tanned goddess– it’s up to you!
My final essential summer makeup product? Morphe Continuous Setting Mist. This setting spray is a game changer. Spraying this all over my face is my absolute favorite part of doing my makeup. It feels so nice and refreshing, and the mist is so fine that you know it’s not leaving wet splotches all over your just-finished makeup. The scent is light and barely noticeable. I feel like this product helps all of my makeup to melt together, getting rid of any powdery look left over from my setting powder. Plus, it helps to give the skin a little extra glowy, natural quality that is perfect for summer.
These are my favorite summer makeup items at the moment! At the end of the day, you should do whatever makes you happy with your makeup this summer. You do you, girl! If you’re obsessed with light, natural, glowy makeup this summer, I hope you find some inspiration from this post. If you prefer to rock-the-runway everyday, maybe you’ll get some product ideas from this– most of these are pretty versatile and can be used in all types of makeup looks.
What are your go-to makeup essentials this summer? Anything you love that I left off? Let me know!
