On the heat....

Summer. In the South. It's definitely not fun. With temperatures always being in the late 90s-100s, heat indexes shoot up into 110s. And the kicker is, there is no one to yell at about the heat! :)  Definitely don't want to yell at God. He may get pissed and throw down a tornado to tell me to hush.

If only it would rain, speaking of. The rain usually cools us down to about 80s. With the rain, my a/c doesn't have to work so hard to keep us cool. Without it, my system works so hard, it ends up being hotter in the house. The system cannot keep up with the extreme heat. Its normally 80 degrees in the house by 8pm. And it's only bad from 6-8pm when the sun is up and beating on the west side of the house. There are no trees in my yard to help either.

Well, the purpose of this blog was to share some of my summer beauty tips. Here goes!

During the summer, makeup is hard to adjust. For the summer, you may want to forgo foundation creams. Pressed powder or powder foundations are the best in this heat because they can help with absorbing sweat and they have less chances to run. You will want to put on makeup in the morning and keep your makeup in the house. The extreme heat has melted many a mascara, eyeliner, and chapstick in my purse. Also, try to wear only tinted chapstick. Lipstick, upon high temperatures, can run outside the lines of your lips and you look like that lady from the oooold airway commercials ("Did I get it on straight?") I personally use pressed powder (ivory), chapstick, and waterproof mascara. That's all you need, really. It keeps your pores from clogging with the excessive sweating and makeup running. Mine doesn't run.

The major way I keep myself dry is with baby powder (with cornstarch). The powder will help to absorb the sweat and keep you smelling fresh. Another option is deodorant. I know, we already use that daily. However, the best place to use deodorant to keep yourself dry (outside of your armpits), is in the creases of your legs (at the knees) and around the chest area. If you have over a B cup, chances are, your boobs sweat. Yeah. I said it. Best way is to take a mild deodorant (one without much scent or for sensitive skin) and swipe it in between your girls and right underneath them. It will keep you dry during the day. If you truly do have sensitive skin though, baby powder there may be your best bet. The deodorant can clog pores if you don't shower at night.

I find that a nice, cool shower at night can refresh me and help to keep me cool when I sleep. I hate being hot at night. My favorite products for the shower, in the summer, are: exfoliating scrub (equate tropical scent is really good for a great price), light conditioning Pert Plus all-in-one shampoo (helps with an oily scalp/hair), and facial wash (St. Ives apricot timeless scrub, helps with wrinkles and scrubs to get pores cleaner). Also a tip, if you can tolerate soap and water shaves, Ivory soap on the underarms and leg areas help to shave without giving you a coat of moisturizer. I then moisturize out of the shower with a very light lotion. Too heavy of a lotion can cause your legs to sweat terribly in the day and cause them to sweat lines of lotion. Try to go easy on the lotion. I use one swipe of Love Spell body lotion (not the cream).

Keep your feet moisturized! In the summer, us southerners can get dry, cracked heels from wearing flip-flops all of the time. My favorite products for my heels are: a ped-egg and a tub of True Blue Spa (from Bath and Body Works $15) heel of approval lotion. Once out of the shower, ped-egg your heels, bunion area, and big toe. Once all dead skin is gone, rinse and dry. Once dry, apply the lotion generously and keep feet off of the ground until all soaked in. Wearing socks is great if you can tolerate warmth on your feet at night. No need for a pedicure! Polish your own toenails (if you are good at it), ped-egg, and cream makes for a great money saver. Cream nightly or bi-nightly and ped-egg weekly. Keeps my feet flip-flop ready.

Feel free to post your tips or ideas to better mine! I look forward to hearing some more lovely ideas. :)