Those Summer Essentials

Now that it’s officially June, and holidays are approaching, I spent some time going through my make up and cosmetics to gather my summer essentials. Summer cosmetics are massively different to winter cosmetics. I never really wear eye shadow in summer, I swap my red lipsticks for pinks and corals and I try to wear a much lighter coverage foundation. I actually have rosacea which is where my cheeks and nose are constantly red and flushed looking. It’s very frustrating as I don’t like wearing full coverage foundation as it feels heavy, but I also don’t like walking around with a big red face! It’s a balancing act but I have found some cosmetics which help me a lot.

So here’s the overview of all my summer essentials. Some of these I use all year round, like the primer and some of the lipsticks. But a lot of these products are reserved for summertime.

Starting with skincare. Wearing SPF is so important. I wear it every single day. It’s really not worth getting burnt or aging your skin. I’m quite fair so I wear a higher factor than 15 when I’m abroad. But 15 is fine for nice days in Ireland. I only wear Piz Buin because it’s great for my sensitive skin. I love these factored oils because I feel they sink into my skin really well and are light to wear. Another oil I love to wear is Nuxe Multi Purpose Dry Oil with the gold flecks. I bought this last year and there’s still loads left. This oil gives a lovely sheen to your skin and looks great for a night out over tanned skin. MAC Face and Body is a great product to have handy. You can use it all over your body to even out skin tone. I tend not to really use it on my face as there’s very little coverage. Chanel’s Hydramax Tinted Moisturiser is another great product to have. Again, it’s quite light coverage wise, but I do like to wear it with some concealer for days when I don’t want to wear foundation.

Mac’s Prep and Prime primer is lovely on the skin. I find it helps my make up to last longer. I wouldn’t generally wear it during the day, but it’s great for making your make up last longer at night. Now I know I told you guys about my rosacea and so using blusher seems counter productive – why get rid of colour just to put it back on? But these are light pinky tones, which look great on tanned skin, where as my rosacea is reddish which just makes me look like I’ve just come back from the gym. Not a good look. I’ve had this Nars creamy blush called Orgasm for ages. It has a light simmer, nothing too intense, and blends into skin so well. This Proenza Schouler for MAC blusher in Ocean City is a new favourite – here’s a photo of the colour – again it has a lovely pinky colour and is easy to apply.

Next we have my favourite eye/eyebrow products. This Colossal Volum’ Express mascara from Maybelline does exactly what it says it will. Great for adding length and volume to lashes, I find it lasts for ages and looks great once you’ve curled your eyelashes. Obviously, for summer I get it in waterproof because no one wants to be walking around with panda eyes. I have been using Rimmel liquid liner since I was about 15. This stuff is the best. Obviously in waterproof again because you know, panda eyes.

I’ve just recently got into the eyebrow game. Such a late comer I know. I think my fear of being too heavy handed with product and coming out looking like I had drawn permanent marker on my face stopped me from trying it out. However after a lengthy nervous chat with one of the lovely MAC girls who made me try the product myself so she could correct me, I took the plunge. These two products are great. I bought the eyebrow pencil in Fling as it has a nice colour only a little darker than my hair colour. One thing I will say is it took me a full day to work out how to twist the product up. Felt pretty stupid once I managed it. The second product is Brow Set. This clear product basically brushes into your brows to keep them in place. Perfect for when you’re on the beach.

If you know me, then you’ll know that I have developed a serious lipstick obsession over the last 3 years. They are a major weakness of mine. I mostly wear MAC but have a couple from Topshop and Rimmel too. These four however, are my summer favourites. Working from left to right, the first lipstick is actually my sisters and I honestly don’t know why she doesn’t wear it more. It’s Mineralize Rich Style Surge and has a lovely creamy texture. I love the coral colour – it’s a perfect summer lipstick. You can see that the middle two lipsticks are used a lot! The first one is Matte Party Parrot which is this amazing punchy pink colour. Every time I wear it, I’m stopped and asked about it. It’s a great summer colour. The next colous is Tart and Trendy and it has the Lustre finish. I wore this to death in Vegas last year. It looks awesome with a tan and photographs really well. The last lipstick is from the Rihanna collection and its Pleasure Bomb in Matte. It’s a deeper colour than Party Parrot and looks great against a darker outfit. Unfortunately Party Parrot, Tart and Trendy and Pleasure Bomb are all limited editions so I don’t have any links for you guys. There are similar shades however so if you go into a Mac store or online, you should be able to find similar lipsticks.

I generally don’t do much with my hair. It’s my natural colour and I’ve never dyed it, apart from a little pink at the ends two summers ago. I have a straightener that I’ve used maybe five times in the last four years. I tend to curl my hair more but in the summer I’m not really bothered. The only product I use in my hair is Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray. This stuff is amazing. Perfect for when I’m feeling lazy. I put this in after I’ve washed my hair when its semi-dry. It adds great texture and perfect beachy waves. You definitely need some of this in your life.

I love wearing bright nail varnish in the summer. They look so great against a tan. These two are favourites of mine. Both Nails Inc, the pink one is called St James Park and the neon Orange is called Portobello. I find the easiest way to update your look to be more summery is bright nail varnish and a bright lip. So simple, but so effective.