8 Sexy Summer Beauty Ideas to Try Now
by Gina Way, REDBOOK
1. Make Your Skin Shine: There's nothing more sensual than a little after-hours gleam on your décolletage and legs. A natural oil is the best way to get it, but you don't want to look or feel greasy. Sally Blenkey-Tchassova, owner of Brazil Bronze Glow Bar in New York City, suggests dabbing a bit of oil onto extra-dry spots like elbows and knees, then using a dry washcloth to rub it in and buff it across other areas, like your shoulders and calves. Try Lierac Paris Sensorielle Oil, $34.
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2. Stain Your Kisser with Kool-Aid: To give bright lipstick extra staying power, Schlip first makes a paste with a little water and Kool-Aid mix (we think the Tropical Punch and Cherry flavors are the most flattering) and paints it on with a Q-tip. It works as a base, but you can also skip lipstick entirely and just wear this carefree, candylike tint alone. But prepare to commit (at least until it wears off): This tasty color isn't budging.
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3. Create a Candelit Effect: Makeup artist Christopher Ardoff, who turns the Victoria's Secret models into celestial hotties, uses an angled contour brush to skim the faintest hint of VS Makeup Brilliant Shimmer All-Over Powder ($14) on a few key spots: cheekbones, brow bones, and the inner corners of the eyes. He also grazes shoulders, clavicle bones, and shins. "It makes skin appear dewy, not sparkly," he explains.
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4. Smell Like a Summer Vacation: "Body heat amplifies and radiates fragrance, so in the summer it's a good idea to wear a scent with cool citrus, aquatic, green, or floral notes," says Anne McClain, owner of MCMC Fragrances, a boutique perfume company in Brooklyn, NY. "It should have a natural, refreshing, clean scent, like fresh-cut flowers, grass, or sea air."
5. Try a Slightly Smoky Eye: For a molten eye that looks soft and shimmery, not dark and dramatic, Ardoff smudges a creamy, copper-hued eye pencil (his pick: Nars Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in Skorpios, $24) into the top lash lines, then sets it with a powder eyeshadow in a similar shade (try DuWop Amber Eyes Single, $18). For maximum smolder, focus the color as close to lashes as possible.
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6. Go For a Juicy Lip: An of-the-moment fuchsia, red, or '50s coral lipstick paired with minimal other makeup is smoking hot for evening. "Think Elizabeth Taylor circa 1970s Saint-Tropez," says makeup artist Joanna Schlip. The right texture and application technique are key: Dab a creamy lipstick onto your lips straight from the tube, then gently smoosh them together and blot with a fingertip.Try Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color SPF 12 in Cosmic Raspberry, $22.
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7. Ease Up on Fragrance: A light form of perfume, such as eau de toilette or eau fraiche, won't overpower on a hot night. Or skip perfume and wear a lotion or gel version of your favorite scent. "It's less concentrated," says Karyn Khoury, senior vice president of fragrance development for Estée Lauder. The upshot: Only someone near you can detect it - how sexy is that?
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8. Keep Skin Makeup to a Bare Minimum: You want your face to look naturally radiant, like you have no product on at all," says Schlip. If you're fair, apply concealer only where you need it (under the eyes, around the nose), then dust bronzing powder that's two shades darker than your skin over your face and neck. If you have a dark complexion, even it out with bronzing powder in a skin-matching shade. Feel naked without coverage? Use tinted moisturizer instead of foundation - but we say you don't need it!
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