Melissa's Best Summer Beauty Tips
I love to fill you guys in on my most coveted beauty tips, tricks and secrets. Summer, especially here in Arizona, with our extreme heat, presents itself with its own unique set of challenges so I wanted to tell you my favorite ways to go about healing with the hot summer heat and how I personally get through this fun season with grace and style. Let’s get right into it!
EXFOLIATION
You should ALWAYS be exfoliating, but during the summer months it’s absolutely pivotal to ensure that you’re helping your skin slough away any dead skin cells because they are easily accumulated due to sweating and wearing SPF, which can be hard to break down. If you’re looking for that fresh looking glass skin and summer glow, keeping your skin free from build up is key. Make sure you take care of your skin from head-to-toe and tend to your body as well! We all want that soft, smooth and sexy skin so we can feel more confident during the warmer months.
My top two favorite exfoliants are The May Lindstrom Clean Dirt and Ayuna Essence Mask. I keep The Clean Dirt in the shower and use it about two times a week, typically during my hair wash days, to exfoliate not only my face, but my neck and décolleté, back, arms and even underarms for that full body detoxified finish. I feel so silky, clean and soft after doing this and love the results.
Ayuna Essence is an absolute holy grail product of mine and I use this treatment once a week, in the mornings, while I go about my morning rituals, to give my skin that extra dose of gentle resurfacing. You get instantaneous glowing skin and it helps your complexion products go on so smooth. I use it on both my face and neck. There is something so oddly satisfying about rolling away all the dead skin and revealing your brightest, softest complexion. The perfect treatment mask for glass skin all summer long!
HYDRATE
The number one cornerstone to achieving ageless skin is keeping your skin moisturized and hydrated. Utilize either a decadent facial oil and/or moisturizer daily to maintain a supple and nourished complexion all summer long. In terms of a face oil, I tend to mix it up based on what my skin needs, but my top two favorites of the moment are the May Lindstrom Youth Dew or the Agent Nateur holi (oil). Some people love to use both a facial oil and a moisturizer or cream and some like to opt for either/or… you have to decide what works best for your skin type but my motto is the more hydration the better. Personally, I love to use the Ayuna Cream III as a topper to seal everything and create that intensive moisture barrier, especially before bed! I wake up to the softest, most plump complexion.
To achieve a true youthful and glowing complexion, you’re going to need to focus on internal hydration as well and ensure that your body is taking in an adequate amount of water, either from your food sources and of course, drinking a high quality water and even electrolytes as well! Supplements such as the Agent Nateur holi (mane) and holi (radiance) with the marine collagen, MSM and phytoceramides are also going to help elevate the hydration levels of your body which is increasingly important during hot summer months when we are losing a lot of our body’s natural water reserves.
MAKEUP
For makeup, I personally believe that a lighter coverage is best for summer months. There’s something gorgeous about your natural glowing complexion showing through and of course you want to limit the possibility of makeup sliding off your face in the heat and clogging your pores. I have been LOVING the Agent Natuer holi (sun) all over my skin as a base to get that sheer wash of color, plus protection, and then going in with a more full coverage concealer in the places where I need a bit more coverage. My go to concealer is the Jane Iredale Enlighten Plus. It’s also important to set your makeup with a powder to ensure that there is no excess shine and will help heat-proof your complexion, if you will! The new RMS Hydra Setting Powder has been my recent obsession because it gives the most beautiful skin-like finish while getting the job done, removing any excess oil and keeping everything in place for hours on end.
HAIR
During the summer months, my hair tends to get dirtier faster simply due to the extreme heat. I just love the Innersense Refresh Dry Shampoo for in between wash days. It immediately cuts out any unwanted oil from the scalp and hair while giving your entire head of hair this revitalized, clean look and adding some gorgeous volume.
I have been OBSESSED with the new Heretic Dirty Coconut perfume as well. It gives the hair this sheer wash of hydration while making it smell like a decadent tropical vacation… you just cannot go wrong with this added little luxury to your summer beauty routine. Trust me, you will have compliments coming in left and right.
Everyone loves a beachy wave… especially during summer. The Innersense I Create Waves Pink Himalayan Salt Spray is the perfect way to achieve that coveted effortless wave that everyone is after. You just spritz it right into your stands, wet or dry, and you get instant texture and soft, natural waves that make it seem as if you just stepped off the beach in Hawaii, St Tropez, or your beach of choice. I love to wash my hair at night and let it air dry about 65%, spritz in the Innersense Sweet Spirit Leave-In Conditioner and then this wave spray and braid my hair while a little damp. I wake up and unveil the most beautiful summery waves that are heatless and easy!
