Beat The Heat! How To Keep Your Makeup From Melting in The Summer!

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Happy Friday, beauties!!!

It's been a while since my last post. I'm so sorry I've been slacking, but I will make up for it this upcoming week with a few different reviews of skincare and makeup products. Be on the lookout next week via my Instagram, Twitter, or the blog itself for my new posts! :)

Now that summer is almost here (9 days away, YAY) the weather has been getting hotter and hotter, and more recently, more and more humid. Humid weather is just a pain in the bum for so many reasons. It makes my hair frizz, and it makes my makeup melt. Even the most high end products are victims of hot/humid weather... unless you take the proper precautions! That's why today's post is all about some of my tips for keeping your makeup from melting, creasing, smudging, and running, in these hot, sweaty summer months!

My number one tip for surviving the summer months: Keep it natural. Try to rock your natural beauty as much as possible in the summertime. Let your natural beauty shine through. You can do this while still looking beautiful, and making sure your precious skin is protected! If you're going to be outside in the sun, you want to make sure to apply SPF to your face. I hate applying regular sunscreen to my face. It's greasy, oily, white, gross... yuck! I don't mind it on the rest of my body, but I want something a little more gentle for my face, while still receiving all the safety benefits and coverage.

• My go-to product: Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47. This is essentially a hydrating, fast-absorbing, non-greasy, Argan Oil-infused, all natural moisturizer and sunscreen in one! You can skip your usual moisturizer (my daily moisturizer is Argan Oil anyway, so I'm not so far off) and apply this amazing product instead. It absorbs right into the skin, giving you a hydrated/dewy glow, and it has SPF 47. Does it get any better? It doesn't smell, it's all natural, it's not greasy, it goes on in a breeze, it has the all-natural skincare benefits of Argan Oil and Green Tea, and it protects you. What more do I have to say? It's perfect for all skin types, including sensitive skin, and it doesn't leave any irritation like a regular sunscreen would.  Texture-smoothing, skin-nourishing, radiance-boosting GOODNESS IN A BOTTLE.

 Less is more. The more layers of makeup you apply, the more at risk you are for your makeup to start melting throughout the day. If you really must apply some sort of coverage to your face, whether it be to even out your skin tone, or camouflage blemishes, I would suggest using a tinted moisturizer or a BB Cream. If you're going to be out in the sun, coverage with an SPF is a must.

• My go-to product: bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream with SPF 30. I LOVE this product!!! You can skip your moisturizer for the day (less chance of melting), as well as getting sheer coverage. It evens out your skin tone, without feeling like you have any product on your skin. This product simply makes you look naturally beautiful. The Complexion Rescue is perfect for all skin types! 

If you insist on wearing a foundation, it's so important that you PRIME. 

I cannot stress the importance of priming your skin before foundation, ESPECIALLY in the summer months. If you don't use a primer on your skin, I can almost guarantee you will be creasing, smudging, and melting within the first hour of being outside. I recommend staying away from liquid foundations if you're going to be outside. They're liquid foundations. They can melt off in an instance. Stick with a powder foundation. Regardless, primer is a necessity. But, make sure you're using the right primer. You want a primer that's bulletproof, mattifying, long-lasting, smoothing, translucent, and not greasy. 

• My go-to products: Benefit Cosmetics Porefessional or Mally Beauty Perfect Prep Poreless Primer. I've talked about my love for the Mally Beauty Perfect Prep Poreless Primer on my page before. It's a go-to, must-have primer for me. I use it daily. It's everything I said a primer should be above. The Benefit Porefessional is another favorite of mine. It keeps you matte and bulletproof throughout the day. Sometimes, if I want double-duty priming, I'll use both of these primers at once! Put that foundation on lockdown.

 

Wear a waterproof mascara! 

If you're out in the summer heat, you sweat. It's natural, ladies and gents. This can cause your mascara to smudge underneath your eyes. We don't want to get the I-Just-Got-Punched-In-The-Face look or raccoon eyes, so it's important to make your lashes bulletproof against sweat! 

My go-to product: Tarte Cosmetics Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara. This mascara is amazing! It's totally bulletproof thanks to its waterproof properties, so it won't smudge around your eye area. Along with it being waterproof, it's also volumizing, lengthening, curling, and conditioning. It doesn't clump ( a pet peeve of mine) and I've never experienced any fall out. Definitely my top pick for the summer months, and all year round, really! 

Set your eyes! If you want to wear eyeshadows and/or eyeliners while in the summer heat, it's important to mattify your eyelids so they don't crease, sweat, and smudge throughout the day! Our eyelids are one of the most oily parts of the face, therefore, we have to set them properly so our beautiful eyeshadows don't start melting off. I'm not a total fan of eye primers, I use them every once in a blue moon. I feel as though most of them are a little too greasy and don't totally set the eyelids properly. That's why I have my own method of priming and setting my eyes. 

• My go-to Product: bareMinerals Mineral Veil. Normally, I take a concealer, and I use that to prep my eyes. As you all know from my On-The-Go Makeup bag post, I use the CoverGirl Ready Set Gorgeous Concealer on most days. I use this to even out my eyelids, brighten them, hide any redness/veins, and lay down a base for my shadow. After concealing my lids, I take a brush and I tap on a little Mineral Veil over them, and my eyelids are set for the rest of the day. I put on my shadows, do my thing, and my eyeshadow (no matter what the brand) does NOT MOVE. Totally matte, totally bulletproof. I do this every single day. 

Set Your Makeup! If you don't want to keep it natural,  you want more coverage than just a tinted moisturizer or a BB Cream, and you're looking to do a full face of makeup- blush, contour, and all... then just like priming, it's incredibly important to set your makeup. Setting your makeup will help your foundation to settle into your skin and lay properly, as well as keeping it all from moving and melting off. I usually go for a dewy finish, but for the sake of today's post, we'll talk about keeping it matte for all the girls who don't want any extra shine in the summer months. 

• My go-to product: Nyx Cosmetics Matte Finishing Spray. This long-lasting, durable setting spray will keep your makeup in place, and keep you from getting extra shine throughout the day. For those of you (like myself) who enjoy the dewy look more, than I'd go with the Nyx Dewy Finishing Spray. It does the same as the matte, except it doesn't make you look matte, lol!

There you have it, peeps! These are a few of my makeup tips for surviving the summer heat and still looking fierce and beautiful! Try to rock your natural beauty throughout the summer months, but if you still feel like being a glam diva, you can do it without worrying about looking like a greased chicken! 

I love you all, and I will be back next week with some more fun posts!

Stay beautiful,

Christina Bracco

xoxoxoxo

For PR inquiries, questions, comments, suggestions, please email: Christina.f.b@aol.com or please fill out the Contact Form in the sidebar. Thank you. 

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Beauty Haul: Sephora, QVC, Kiko, NYX, Urban Decay, Makeup Forever, Josie Maran, Coastal Scents!

Welcome back, beauties!

Today's post is all about a mini haul that I did over the weekend.

Though, I'm not sure what constitutes a HAUL and a MINI HAUL.

I think I may have a mini haul. What do you think?

The Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette is not pictured with the rest of the products because I received it from Amazon the day after these photos were taken. Originally, I was not going to include it in the haul, but changed my mind last minute :)

I kept myself, and my wallet, very busy this weekend. Some of these products are things I have already used and just needed to replenish, while others are first time purchases. 

We shall start at Sephora. It seems as though every time I go into Sephora for something specific, I come out with more than necessary. Does that happen to you? 

Side note: While writing this, I've just realized that these are the first Urban Decay products I've ever purchased. 

I went to Sephora to purchase Urban Decay's Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in the color Distortion. I had heard a lot about this liner, and I've been really into sparkles lately, maybe due to the holiday's (?) I don't know, but I wanted to give it a try. And so far I am loving it! It just adds a fun little extra pop to your eyes. What I find great about this product is that it has multi-purposes. You can wear it on it's own, with shadows, as a liner, over other liners, or you can throw it all over your lid if you're feeling extra sparkly. I have a swatch of it below! But I really recommend it. It runs for $20.00 at Sephora. 

Next, I purchased the Urban Decay Anti-Aging Eyeshadow Primer Potion in a "Travel size"

Seriously, don't you just LIVE for the bins along the checkout line of Sephora? I always find such goodies there. I bought a "travel" size of this eyeshadow primer because I was previously using another eyeshadow primer that I really disliked, so I wanted to start small to be sure that I liked this before I bought a full size. I've yet to use it, but I've heard great things, so I'll let you know how it goes! Also, I know, I know. "You're 22. You don't need anti-aging." But due to my always wearing eye makeup and tugging on my poor lids to remove it, I figured I'd give them a little extra help. The primer is photographed above, I didn't think the primer needed its own photo, haha. The travel size runs for $13.00 at Sephora.

Finally, I was VERY happy to finally purchase the Makeup Forever Rouge Artist Natural in color N9 (Copper Pink). I had first tried this product when I received it back in September for my birthday gift from Sephora along with the Makeup Forever mascara, and fell in love with it!

The difference between my mini sample and the full size

 I use this color ALL the time. I just love it. I have been trying to get my hands on it for such a long time, but it was always sold out both online and in stores. Finally, this weekend, I spotted the LAST one all the way in the back of the display and snatched it as fast as I could. This color is such a beautiful cool copper tone, but not too dark or brown. It has such a slight hint of pink to it. It has a slight shine, and is very hydrating on the lips. It doesn't leave them dry. I believe this color would work with all skin tones. A big plus! It runs for $20.00 on Sephora. 

Here's a wonky swatch of the Makeup Forever N9 lipstick and the Urban Decay Heavy Glitter Liner in Distortion. SO beautiful!!

Next, I'll move on to QVC! 

So, last week Josie Maran was on QVC with a Today's Special Value that I just HAD to purchase, and it arrived over the weekend! 

For those of you who don't know, a Today's Special Value (TSV) is an amazing deal on an amazing product or kit at a discounted price for ONE DAY ONLY. We all know from my previous post about Josie Maran Argan Oil that I love all of her products. I was sold. 

Josie Maran Argan Oil Pure Complexion 5 Piece Collection!!

This five piece collection was to live for. They're all full sized products, one is even a supersize! 

If purchased separately, this 5 piece collection would come to $213.00. As the TSV, it was being sold for… wait for it… $69.96. SAY WHAT?! How could you resist?! 

Now, before diving in, I will say that since the TSV price is no longer, the price went up to $76.96. Only a few more dollars. Still an amazing deal if you ask me!

Okay, so what do we get in this amazing collection? 

This collection includes:

• A full size bottle of 100% Pure Argan Oil
• A full size bottle of the Josie Maran Argan Cleansing Oil
• A SUPERSIZE bottle of the Josie Maran Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation 
• Foundation brush exclusive to QVC until April 1st, 2015
• Full size Argan Color Stick in Love: An exclusive shade to QVC

I was very excited about this collection, because it has products that I needed to replenish, and products that I've been wanting to try, but haven't yet. 

I will not go into the important benefits of Josie Maran's 100% Pure Argan Oil again. To read my in-depth post about that, click HERE: ARGAN

I've yet to try the Cleansing Oil, but I've read countless reviews and heard countless testimonies about it. All good things! I'm running low on the current cleanser I am using, so once I officially run out, I shall switch to this cleanser and let you know how I like it :)

Can we just talk about the Matchmaker Foundation + brush. I've yet to use the blush, but I purchased the foundation on its own at Sephora. The difference between the full size and the supersize in this kit is amazing.

The left is the supersize from QVC, the right is the regular full size from Sephora

You can only get the supersize in this specific collection. 

The great thing about this foundation is the magic of it. As it says in the name, it is a "matchmaker foundation." It goes on white, and as you blend it in, it melts into your skin and color corrects to match your skin tone. It's amazing! Another great thing: There are only 3 shades for every single skin tone in the world.

• Fair/Light
• Light/Medium
• Medium/Dark

Just like that, everyone is covered. Due to the color correcting pigments, only 3 shades are needed. 

I really enjoy this foundation. It provides full coverage, and it's build-able without caking due to its serum texture. It's very easily blended, and feels very lightweight on the skin. And because it contains 100% Pure Argan Oil, it keeps your skin moisturized throughout the day. YES! On its own, the regular full size goes for $42.00 at Sephora or QVC. 

Finally, the Argan Color Stick in "Love." I've been wanting to try the Josie Maran color sticks for a while! I have the Argan Infinity Lip And Cheek Creamily Oil in a few colors and love them. This Color Stick has multiple purposes! You can pop it on your cheeks and just blend it in lightly with your fingers, or you can apply it to your lips as a lip color. The color is just a beautiful mauvey pink and it smells yummy too. (But please don't eat it.)

All in all, I seriously recommend this kit to anyone who wants to try Josie Maran products and get a great deal!

Next, I purchased the NYX Dewy Finishing Spray from Target. I really love this finishing spray. I've purchased it before, but was running low, so I stocked up. It is photographed in the first picture. There's not much to say other than that I love to set my makeup with this when I'm finished applying. I love a good dewy finish, girl yaaaaaas.

Next up, we've got two nail polish's from Kiko Makeup From Milano. A Kiko just recently opened in my local mall, and I really love this store! Their products are pretty good quality, and great dupes for many more expensive brands. 

I was looking for darker pinkish colors that I could wear in the Fall/Winter, because all of the pink polishes I own are Spring/Summer pinks. Way too bright for this time of year. 

I should just state this now: I am a nail polish hoarder. I live for nail polish. I change it up constantly, and I own way too many. That being said, I love Kiko polishes! They've got a great selection,  and they're very pigmented. You can get away with one coat. They dry quickly and don't chip easily. Most importantly, they're around $4-$5 dollars, I can't remember exactly. Way cheaper than other brands, and just as good of quality! I highly recommend them.

Left: 317/ Right: 375

And finally, I purchased the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette.

Love the packaging!!

 I haven't tried any of the shadows out yet, since I just received it in the mail yesterday, but I'm very excited! (Thank you, Brittany, for the suggestion!) I haven't even swatched it yet, because it's so pretty I'm not ready to taint it, haha!  But the colors look beautiful, I'm loving it. I love any great palette that has both matte and shimmer shadows! I'm so excited to try these. And I got it for $19.00 on Amazon ($20.00 if you include tax.) All of those shadows for $20? Don't mind if I do!! 

That was a lot to absorb, right? It was a lot to write, haha. But I hope I sparked your interest with some products! Let me know if you're going to give any a try! Also, if you have any products that you recently purchased that you've been loving, I'd love to hear some recommendations! :)

I hope you enjoyed this haul. I enjoyed writing it!

Until Friday, stay gorgeous! 

Christina Bracco

xoxoxoxo

For PR inquiries, comments, questions, suggestions, please email: Christina.f.b@aol.com or fill out the Contact Form on the side of the blog.

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