SUMMER TIPS

During hot summer months, we field phone calls and questions on a daily basis about how to look fresh and summery all day long. It’s tricky to look vibrant hour after hour in the heat, when your face and your hair feel like they’re wilting from the get go. Dashing around from work to appointments to dinners, as so many of us tend to do on long summer days, is good for a case of runny, smeared makeup, which is frustrating if you’re heading somewhere important. And then there are those times when you just want to look carefree and sun-kissed on a balmy afternoon—which is difficult when you feel like foundation is dripping down your jaw line and the glare is washing you out. Read on for suggestions to look cool, calm, and collected under the sun—even when you’re feeling the heat.

• Use a quality sun block after your moisturizer, and before applying foundation. Protecting your skin from sun exposure is your best bet to hedge premature aging, and even more important, to diminish the odds of skin cancer.

• Avoid using heavy foundation. If you normally wear a liquid foundation, think of switching to a high-quality mineral powder foundation, which wears all day without touch-ups. Mineral Powder makeup is as light as air and never smothers your skin.

• If you want to brighten your eye makeup for summer, lay a base with your neutral shades and just wash a brighter shade right on top. This is a foolproof way to ensure that even with the addition of more color, people will still see your eyes and not your eye makeup.

• Bronzer can give you that elusive “kissed by the sun” look, if you choose the right shade and formula and apply it correctly. We suggest powder for oily skin, and gels or liquids for dryer skin. Use care in choosing the shade: If you have pale or fair skin, try a light to medium shade. Only the true olive-toned person should go for darker shades. No matter which formula you choose, apply bronzer under your chin, on your neck, and at the décolleté. Then give a soft wash of bronzer to the perimeter of your face, being careful to blend well.

• Keep your blusher fresh and natural, but add bright and uplifting colors. Pink is always good for a pop. Remember the no-fail Simply Moore method for applying blush: Simply smile in the mirror and apply your blusher to the apples of your cheeks. For extra dimension, apply a paler shade of blush first, using a sweeping motion from the apple of your cheek to the hairline; then add the brighter shade to the apples of your cheek.

• Summer color can be about sheer and subtle or bright and vibrant—it’s up to you. Try some of the sheer lipsticks that are available or try using gloss, if you don’t already. Candy colored sheers and glosses are really fun and can enhance your summer look.

• Whether bright or sheer, summer is all about shimmer. Shimmery highlighting powders are very fun. They come in several shades, from pink to gold. Use shimmer powder on the tops of your cheekbones, around your eye area, and on your collar bone to catch the sunlight or the moonlight. In addition to adding a romantic glow, they also reduce the appearance of fine lines!

As always, keep it simple, stay cool, and remember: “Less is Moore!”