Everyday Glowy Beach Makeup Look

I know some people don’t like to wear any makeup to the beach; they see no point in it when they’re just going to go swimming anyways. But I, being the makeup-loving and almost-always-wearing person that I am, like to wear makeup when I’m on vacation…even to the beach and pool. 

I just got back from spending a week in sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and had plenty of opportunities to sport a glowy complexion. Thanks to makeup, of course! 

I am practically religious about applying sunscreen to my face EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. no matter the weather. If there’s natural daylight, you can bet your skin is receiving some of those rays, even if you’re not directly in the sun – even if you’re inside! If you’re by a window, light can reflect off of whatever is outside (i.e. other buildings in the city) or inside (i.e. electronics, jewelry, etc.). So protect your skin and ALWAYS wear sunscreen on your face. Just make sure it doesn’t contain oxybenzone, the ingredient that kills corals. Okay, rant over.

Because I am so strict with my sunscreen application, my face is always so pale. Even when I use self-tanner, I don’t usually put it on my face because I exfoliate throughout the week. That leaves my body glowing and my face looking like I left it in Seattle in the dead of winter. And that’s where one of the best things know to woman come in – BRONZER!!!

If you want to know how I take my face from snow woman to bronzed goddess while on vacation and in the summer, and how you can too, (for those pre-beach brunches, during-beach cocktails, even in the water!), just follow these 11 steps….AFTER you apply sunscreen, of course! 🙂

1. First I apply a face primer (Too Faced HangoveRx Replenishing Face Primer) with my fingers and let it absorb for about 30 – 60 seconds.
2. Then I mix some light coverage foundation (Beautycounter Tint Skin) and CC Cream (Pacifica Ultra CC Cream) between my fingers before applying to my face. I like to use these two formulas because the foundation gives a little more coverage than just the cc cream without being too heavy. I also like to be able to adjust the shade since my Tint Skin is quite light and my cc cream is pretty dark.
3. Next I use my ring finger to press a peachy concealer (NYX Dark Circle Concealer) into my dark circles around my eyes, then blend a regular concealer (Beautycounter Touchup Concealer Pen) on any blemishes or red patches.
4. I always set my makeup with NYX HD Studio Photogenic Finishing Powder (100% Pure Mineral!) with my Eco Tools bamboo brush. I love using a loose powder because it doesn’t have the icky chemicals that would otherwise be holding the particles together if it was a pressed powder.
5. Now for my favorite part – bronzer (Milani Baked Bronzer in Soleil)! I don’t use a contour brush, just a second powder brush that I flatten between my fingers. Once I have some bronzer on my brush, I press it into my cheeks just below my cheekbone to create a contour line. Don’t be afraid to make it look like an actual line at this point – we’ll blend it out later. Next, I take the remaining bronzer up my hairline and temples. I refresh my brush with product and lightly contour my nose, pressing and dabbing along the upper sides of my nose. Next, I take some more product and contour my jawline a little, blending it down my neck as needed (mostly the sides and front). I then take one last brush of bronzer (not too much), and basically do a once-over on my whole face – starting with the cheekbones, sides of my forehead, down my nose, and over my eyes and cheeks. Basically, just blend it out and make sure there’s the most bronzer below your cheekbones, at your hairline, below your jaw, and on your nose (all places the sun naturally hits the most).
6. Like I said, I’m serious about sunscreen…so I double up on bronzer! Next I use Milani Strobelight Instant Glow Powder in Glowing. I am obsessed with this one – it’s so pretty!!! Using the same powder brush as step 5, I apply the second bronzer to my cheeks – just like it were blush – up my temples and onto my forehead a little. I also take this one down the center of my nose.
7. Next I apply blush (Tarte – Aspyn Ovard palette {unfortunately no longer available 🙁 Sorry!} in “made you blush”) to my cheekbone with the same brush. This color is a bit darker and less bright, so looks beautiful on tan skin – or freshly bronzed skin 😉 
8. I use the highlighter from the same palette (“pure soul”) on the tops of my cheekbones and up my temple. I also apply this down my nose and lightly on my cupid’s bow. I love this look because you don’t have to be precise with your application as long as you blend everything out really well!
9. Next I fill in my brows with the NYX Precision Brow Pencil in Ash Brown, and finish them with the NYX Control Freak Eyebrow Gel. I would sometimes skip the filling-in step and just gel my brows when I was in Mexico if I didn’t want to take the extra time. 
10. And for my lashes! I always curl my lashes before applying mascara by pulsing the curler five times. I then apply a few coats of the e.l.f. Waterproof Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara (stays on while swimming, doesn’t ruin my lashes, and it’s only $3!!), lifting from the roots and applying one coat to the top (back?) of my lashes. This gives them more volume in addition to applying more product to your lashes. For my lower lashes, I position the mascara wand vertically and ever so lightly apply product to the tips of my lashes by moving the wand side to side.
11. Finally, I set the whole look with the NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray, about 7ish sprays, in a circular pattern around my face AND an SPF lip balm.

And there you have it – my beachy, glowy everyday look for your next vacay!!! Or if you just want to get your glow on in the middle of winter! 🙂

All products mentioned in this post are the products that I use. All are cruelty free and you can find most at any drugstore (Yay for being affordable!) or Ulta. For Beautycounter products, please contact me directly.