As the temperature rises and the days get longer, it’s time to switch up your beauty routine to keep your skin glowing and your look fresh during the summer months. While we get ready for warm days and long nights, our beauty routines are in need of a refresh to ensure we’re staying healthy and glowing no matter what the sunny season brings.
From protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful rays to embracing lightweight makeup that feels good and looks good, here are some essential summer beauty tips to help you look and feel your best all season long. Consider this your definitive road map to healthy-looking skin all season long and, yes, another reminder that every beauty routine starts with SPF.
Summer Beauty 101: Sunscreen Is Your Best Friend
Protecting your skin from the sun should be a top priority always, but especially during the summer. To kick off your summer beauty routine, opt for a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher and apply it generously to all exposed areas of your body, including your face, neck, arms and legs. Remember to reapply every two hours, especially if you’re spending time outdoors or swimming.
Nowadays, there are a variety of sunscreen options available from sticks and sprays to mists, lotions, tints and more. To really amp up your SPF game, create a wardrobe of sunscreen options that fit your daily lives and activities.
Even though it’s our first tip on this list, make sure sunscreen the last step in your skin-care routine. It is also important to note that sunscreen needs to be reapplied every couple of hours, so make sure to pack extra sunscreen for longer summer days outdoors.
Two to Try: For superior sun protection and a nice, all-over glow to serve as the perfect base for under makeup, try Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 40 ($38). For head-to-toe protection that lasts through all your outdoor activities and enhances skin quality with vitamin C, try PLAY Antioxidant Body Mist SPF 50 with Vitamin C ($18).
Summer Skin Care: Lighten Up Your Skin-Care Routine
A solid routine should be applicable to all seasons and all climates, but there are a couple of changes one might consider when transitioning from winter to summer. If you’re not wearing a winter coat, why should your skin? In the summer, just like your wardrobe, your routine may need to be a little more lightweight. The heat and humidity of the warmer season means you can swap out a heavier cleanser in favor of a gentle, foaming option, like UltraCeuticals’ Balancing Gel Cleanser ($44).
Warm weather also brings about a whole slew of skin-care challenges and questions like, “Do I really have to moisturize even if it’s 100 degrees out and my face feels oily?” Spoiler alert, the answer is yes. Despite the weather being hot and humid, you still need to moisturize, just in a lighter form, like with LANEIGE’s Water Bank Hyaluronic Gel Moisturizer ($40). Moisturizers reestablish the stratum corneum, your outermost layer of the skin, which protects from harmful pollutants and chemicals and prevents further irritation or dryness, making it a necessity all year round.
Summer skin care is all about light, hydrating layers and prioritizing sunscreen, regardless of your skin type. You should, however, look at your skin type as a starting point to help address specific skin concerns. Thicker moisturizers can lead to clogged pores, inflammation, and acne, especially if you have acne-prone or oily skin.
To help lighten things, up consider switching to a combination moisturizer and sunscreen during the summer. A lightweight moisturizer with SPF 30 or higher—like Kosas’ beloved DreamBeam SPF 40 ($40) for daily use can offer plenty hydration and protection for most people, as long as you’re applying a generous amount and reapplying every couple of hours, as with a regular sunscreen.
Embrace Minimalism in Your Summer Beauty Routine
There’s something about warmer temperatures that make us want to simplify every aspect of our lives, making summer the perfect time to embrace a more minimalistic approach to beauty. Instead of layering on multiple products, focus on enhancing your natural features with just a few key items. A swipe of bronzer—like that of OGEE’s two-in-one Sculpting Bronzer and Contour Stick ($58), a touch of blush, and a coat of mascara can instantly brighten your complexion and give you a fresh, sun-kissed look.
By following these essential summer beauty tips, you can keep your skin protected, your makeup looking fresh, and your confidence soaring all season long. So embrace the sun, embrace your natural beauty, and enjoy everything that summer has to offer!
Stick to Sunless Tanners
We know enough about the dangers of sun exposure now to know that UV tanning is not the best way to enhance your glow. Instead, skip the skin-damaging sun or, heaven forbid, tanning booth and get your glow the safe way. From sprays to wipes and luxurious mousses like Dolce Glow’s Self Tannins Mouse ($16-$51), self-tanners have come a long way from the old formulas that left you orange.
Bolster Your Body-Care Routine
While we advocate for body care all year long, summertime certainly brings an added focus to our largest and most visible organ—our skin all over. If you are at all familiar with best practices when it comes to facial care, the same “ground rules” apply to the body, so incorporating products like SIDIA’s Body Serum ($52)—packed with skin-loving ingredients like squalene and a lush fragrance profile—is a great way to round out your Summer beauty routine.
