Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.discoverbeautywithin.com/.
In junior high, my friends and I would line up by the sink in the girls room and share our blushes and eyeshadows and lipsticks, spending an inordinate amount of time primping and preening. For what purpose I’m not sure. It’s not like junior high boys, most of them towering a few inches beneath us, were worth impressing. I guess we were impressing one another with whoever had the most makeup savvy or beauty tools. By the way, 12-year-old self? Sharing lipstick and eye makeup tools is totes unsanitary, kid.
Fast-forward a few decades and I can’t be bothered to primp and preen. I like the way I look au naturel (with the exception of my raccoon eyes), so I often go for the bare-faced look that most seem to save for summertime at the beach. Care to look like this?
Ha. Just imagine me sipping pina coladas while surrounded by the warm glow of sunset instead of in this really crappy bathroom lighting, OK? Here’s how it’s done. First, moisturize. Now, this is a step I’m not really familiar with because I skip it more than I should, but my mom swore by Oil of Olay, and she was a gorgeous lady. She also glistened instead of sweating like a hog, so this is what I actually do: apply lotion at night, powder with SPF during the day. Powder helps soak up the perspiration. But before I put on the powder I cover up my raccoon eyes with some under-eye concealer.
Now, my favorite part. BRONZER. Bronzify, friends. Don’t forget your decollage, lest you look like you sunned yourself wearing a nun’s habit.
To finish up, add some nude or coral lip gloss and a little bit of shimmery gold eyeshadow, and you’re golden. Literally. You will shine and shimmer in the summer breeze, and the song “Summer Breeze” will actually start playing in your presence! Summer breeze, makes me feel fine.
Ahem.
Best part is, this simple and light look only takes five minutes. Ten minutes if you have a little helper who is getting into everything atop your sink.
The minimalist look is timeless and trendy, but there is one very trendy idea I’d like to play with this summer: bright lips. This coral shade looks practically neon to me, but I am willing to give it a try (even if I did have the same color of bike shorts in 1990). I also like the idea of a lipstick called Fuschia Fusion, maybe because I love alliteration. What do you think? Do you have any go-to looks you’d like to share? Maybe you’d like to pass me your lipstick in our virtual girls room?
