Beauty – Summer’s Hit List

Each Summer, I relocate to the South of France for a month and while I am there, my beauty routine changes dramatically. Firstly, I have to think about the weather, which is wildly different from the London weather I am accustomed to and then of course, I don’t have to think about make-up quite as much. So while my make-up habits become simpler, my skin and haircare take priority. If you want to know what I use for sun protection you can have a look at last summer’s beauty post.

Summer beauty is all about moisturising, both skin and hair (I wrote about moisturising here before) to avoid nasty ass crocodile skin and hay-like hair in September. You can’t expose yourself to sunlight for a month and get chlorine or salt water on your hair everyday and THEN try and repair the damage. Instead you have to do damage control throughout the Summer. That means showering in the evening to get rid of suncream residue (which blocks your pores like no other) and putting some deep conditioning treatments in your hair at least twice weekly (at least on the ends). Because I have naturally dry hair, which also is chemically treated on the ends (ombré), I need to take extra care of it. After the shower, moisturise, moisturise and moisturise some more.

When it comes to make-up, I tend to avoid it during the day (mascara aside). If I go out in the evening, what I really want is to look healthy and to enhance my tan. Of course, my usual make-up is rendered useless when I am tanned as I pretty much go from whiter than white to golden brown. Ditch your foundation and replace it with Bourjois Bronzing Primer (one shade fits all)! I love this product as it can either be used as is (just make sure you blend it very well) or mixed with a drop of your usual foundation for a slightly more subtle effect. Instead of my usual pressed powder and blusher, I just use a bit of Guerlain Terracotta on my cheekbones, nose, forehead and chin (I buy the “blonde” version as it is lighter and more suited to my skin tone). Add to this a bit of mascara for extra bushy eyelashes and you are ready to go!

For the Summer months (and Spring actually) I also like a lighter fragrance. On my last trip to Los Angeles, I bought this Ineke perfume “Balmy Days & Sundays” full of green florals with a musky base. Perfect.

Traduction – Quelques conseils pour sublimer votre bronzage et prendre soin de votre peau cet été.

Summer Beauty Shopping List

Guerlain Terracotta