How To: Easy Summer Daytime Makeup

If there is one feeling most women cannot stand, it is the feeling of a heavy slick of cosmetics on her face mixing with sweat and melting off 10 minutes after it has been applied. It leads some of us to abandon makeup in the summer months all together, which is an unfortunate option for anyone who has a job in which she has to keep herself looking her best.

However, the heavy makeup of winter and fall need not apply to our summer faces - literally! While it is true that the feeling of makeup melting off can be absolutely disgusting, do not panic about how you will stay fresh-faced at work. The following steps will help any woman look her best and most beautifully natural in the summer months without piling on the cosmetics!

1. First and foremost, liquids and cream foundations, concealers and blushes should be avoided if at all possible on hot days. These will be the first products to begin to slide off of your face. Stick to powdered products when you can!

2. During the summer months especially, one thing that every woman should invest in is something called a face primer. Primers come in "lotion" form, and what primers do is help your makeup go on more smoothly and helps it to stay in place. This cuts down on touch-ups throughout the day immensely. All you need is a thin layer of primer over your entire face, applied after you wash and moisturize your face but before applying your makeup. You can pick up a primer at any Sephora store or at the Sephora website.

3. Less actually is more. This is true - your mother didn't lie to you all those years after all! After using the face primer you will find that you need an alarmingly small amount of foundation in order to get beautiful coverage. Again, powder in the summertime is the way to go - especially if you have oily or acne prone skin. I like to use i.d. bare minerals foundation after my primer, a light layer over my face blended well is all it takes!

4. If you have considerably clear skin, skip foundation all together. What looks gorgeous in the summer is just a hint of sun-kissed color on your face, and using a bronzer only a shade or two lighter than your skin tone is the perfect way to achieve this. This works on all skin tones, don't be fooled by magazines or if your friends tell you that they have skin that is too dark/too light to use bronzer. Apply lightly to the spots on your face where the sun would naturally hit: your forehead, top of your nose, cheekbones and chin.

5. Blush. A lot of people like to skip blush, but I have found that it can make all the difference. Now, depending upon your skintone everyone has a different blush shade that will flatter them the most. However, I have found that the most universally flattering blush is the ever-popular "Orgasm" by NARS. If you have pale skin, apply this lightly. If you have tan skin, apply a little heavier. For deep to dark skin, "Deep-Throat" by NARS is a must-have and a beautifully flattering shade. Play around a little to find what works the best for you, but remember the "less is more" rule! Don't go too heavy on blush in the summertime, just enough for a subtle, sexy hint of color to brighten face.

6. Eyes. In the summer during the daytime, nothing screams subtle elegance more than a hint of mascara and/or a little bit of eye liner. Liner is a tricky subject, but to make this as simple as possible I will cut it into black and white with little gray area. No matter what your eye color, stick to either black, brown, or gray liners. The most elegant daytime summer look is topped with just a smudge of kohl pencil liner along the top lashline of your eyes. When it comes to eye liner on the bottom lash or waterline, this is where personal preference plays a part. However, should you choose to apply eyeliner to the bottom lashline or waterline of your eye, try not to stray from these three colors I have mentioned. In the workplace, let your natural beauty and colors shine through!

7. Lip stains can be your best friend in the summer heat. While lipsticks and glosses not only need to be reapplied several times over the course of an 8-hour work day, they also have the tendency to melt and run - ick. Using a lip stain will not only keep this from happening, but often look much more natural than even a natural shade of lipstick. Stains lay right on your lips instead of as a layer atop of them and last for hours or even days depending upon the brand and the formula. Using a lip-stain in the color of your choice will allow you to apply it in the morning and not have to worry about it every half-hour. For an added bonus, try applying a little bit of clear lip gloss or even just Vaseline on top of the lip stain for a subtle shine. Pick up a lip-stain from any Sephora, or drugstore.

Remember, this summer natural beauty is in during the day. You don't need a lot of makeup to keep yourself looking fresh at work or class - the key is all in the application, and summer weather lets us bend the rules in our favor!