Summer makeup trends

Now that winter is in the rear-view mirror and you’re no longer bundled up in a hood and scarf, your beauty routine can really shine. Not sure where to start? Some of our favourite Canadian beauty bloggers share summer’s hottest makeup trends and how you can get the season’s best looks for yourself.

Radiant, hydrated skin

In the dry winter months, we are constantly reminded to be diligent about moisturizing to keep skin hydrated. But that wise reminder can often fall by the wayside as we focus our attention on finding summer beauty products that won’t budge. Elaine at Toronto Beauty Reviews points out that “keeping skin hydrated is just as important in the summer as it is in the winter, as the sun and heat can be quite unforgiving.” After all, you want your skin to look fresh and healthy, not dry and flaky. Keeping skin hydrated and refreshed on a hot day can be easy thanks to hydrosols, explains Elaine. Her favourite? Beaulance’s skin toner (beaulance.com, $19), which combines ingredients such as witch hazel and lavender to soothe and refresh while also fighting oil. “It’s a great way to prep skin for makeup, and it’s perfect over powder makeup too to avoid that ‘cakey’ look,” says Elaine.

A flawless look that won’t go anywhere

Playing around with colours and new application techniques in the summer is always lots of fun, but nothing is more on trend than a flawless base that will stay put no matter how hot or humid it gets. To achieve that perfect base you can rely on, Lisamarie at Beauty Crazed recommends ditching your heavy winter makeup in favour of something light, such as a tinted moisturizer or BB cream along the lines of Marcelle’s Sheer Tint Fluid Moisturizer SPF 15 (marcelle.com, $16) or La Roche-Posay’s Hydreane BB Creme (amazon.com, $29). A light product “will feel better on your skin and won’t be as obvious if/when it melts,” explains Lisamarie. And when it comes to dressing up your eyes, waterproof products are your best allies. Lisamarie suggests foregoing eyeshadow altogether and relying on such products as Givenchy’s Noir Couture Waterproof Mascara (givenchybeauty.com, $32) and Stila’s Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner (stilacosmetics.com, $22) to give your eyes a boost. To be extra safe when it’s particularly hot out, she advises avoiding applying mascara or eyeliner to your bottom lashes, as even waterproof products can find it hard to stand up to extreme heat.

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A perfectly protected pout

Chances are you’ve gotten used to applying a daily moisturizer with SPF in it and additional sunscreen when you’ll be outside for extended periods. But all too often our lips get left out of the sun protection equation. To keep lips pretty and protected, Jennifer at Spiced Beauty relies on Maybelline’s Baby Lips SPF 20 Lip Moisturizing Balm (walmart.com, $3). You can protect your lips from the sun’s rays and dress them up in fun colours and scents at the same time!

Colourful aqua eyes

Summer is all about playing with the fun colours you might shy away from during the colder months, and that trend extends to your eyeshadow palette. Don’t think you can handle that kind of boldness? Don’t worry — even beauty connoisseur Rema at The Burgundy Book was a little nervous about trying the aqua eyes look for herself after seeing Cara Delevingne rock it on the Topshop runway. But after discovering Dior’s Bird of Paradise 5-colour Eyeshadow and her favourite palette of them all, Blue Lagoon (sephora.com, $60), she was sold. It features intense pigments in five shades that can even be used as liner, Rema explains. Blues, greens and emeralds might be outside your comfort zone, so Rema advises breaking yourself in gently. If wearing aqua shades all over your eyelids is too intense for you, she suggests getting the ball rolling by using a bright eyeliner on your upper lash line. “Then start to build in a shade or two, and before you know it, you’ll be layering on the blue hues,” says Rema.

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Bright, bold lips

Makeup artist Tess Lopez at Makeup by Tess reveals that this season she’s all about the bold lip. To get the look, she recommends choosing a matte lipstick, as this type of finish will showcase bright lips in a subtle and flattering way. She does caution, however, that because matte lipsticks are built to be long-lasting, they can be less moisturizing than other lip products. So exfoliate your lips first and then moisturize them well before applying lipstick. If this is your first time trying out bold lips, Tess suggests applying lipstick in a dabbing motion to create a soft and subtle stained look. But if you’re ready to be a bit more daring, apply it regularly from the tube, or use a lip brush to achieve the perfect consistency. So what lipstick should you try? Tess is a fan of MAC’s lipstick in Russian Red, Ruby Woo and Lady Danger (mac.com, $15); Rimmel London’s Lasting Finish by Kate in 102 and 103 (target.com, $5);and Annabelle’s TwistUp Retractable Lipstick Crayon in Kinky Pink (annabelle.ca, $10). “Pairing a bold lip with neutral eyes is the perfect spring/summer look,” says Tess.

A colourful head scarf

No matter what makeup trends you’re rocking this season, you’ll want to ensure your hair stylishly brings the look together. But that can be hard on summer days, when the heat and humidity wreak havoc on your locks. Enter the head scarf. Blogger at Shop Pretty and beauty editor at The Luxe Life Andrea Victory-LaCasse is looking forward to incorporating this fun and easy trend into her beauty routine this summer. The trend has been seen on the spring 2013 runways of Marc by Marc Jacobs and Dolce & Gabbana, she explains, and it’s a great way to incorporate colour and another accessory into your look. Andrea shares how to pull off this fun trend:

“A friend of mine who rocks the head scarf year-round gave me a quick lesson on working it into a regular wardrobe. As a newbie to the art of wearing fabric on my head, she explained that when wrapping the entire head in a scarf, to comb all hair as far forward as possible and then tie a ponytail right at the top of the forehead. Spritz a leave-in conditioner to keep hair in place, then take a square silk scarf, folded into a triangle, and wrap from the back of the head and knot the ends at the front. Pull a little bit of the forward-knotted ponytail onto the forehead, add a little bit of pomade so the ends are sleek and so it looks like a little bang, then tuck the ends of the scarf into the knot which has been tied at the front. Keep tucking any bulky or poufy ends in until it is smooth and feels snug. When using a long, more rectangular scarf, wrap around the front of the head and tie a knot, similar to where a headband would sit, tying hair up into a bun or little ponytail. A square scarf can be knotted to cover all of the hair and looks great with a little hair pulled out in front.”

Leave-in conditioner, styling spray and pomade for the ends will help get your hair into place, and then it’s just a matter of picking out the silk scarf you want. Andrea relies on Yarok’s Feed Your Ends Leave-in Conditioner (yarokhair.com, $12–$23), Sigrid’s Tidy Locks Styling Wax (sigridnaturals.com, $28) and a square silk Echo scarf (echodesign.com, $38–$85) to rock the trend. Pair your new style with a cute set of earrings and a bright glossy lip for a pretty and charming look, suggests Andrea.

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