Summer Beauty Favorites

Edited in June 2018 to add: Since this post, I began switching to natural beauty products (although I still use the RMS Lip2Cheek mentioned).  You can find my favorite natural beauty products here.

Summer is a great time to bring in some new beauty products.  This time of year is usually filled with plenty of happy events you're going to want to look and feel good for, so if you're having your wedding, baby shower, or attending one, this is for you.  Why keep your favorite beauty products a secret?  I've added a few game changing products into my routine and I think you're going to love them just as much as I do.

Tarte's Full Coverage Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation is my favorite for when the weather starts warming up and you need something that isn't just going to slide off after a few hours.  It does a good job covering redness and feels weightless on the skin.  I love feeling like I'm not wearing any heavy makeup on my face, and this does this trick without compromising the benefits of full coverage.

This Pixi Lower Lash Mascara was in my Christmas stocking.  It's genius and you need it!  No more tarantula bottom lashes for you.  And since it's only available at Target, you can go smell the new spring candles and home decor sales with a Starbucks Chai Latte in your hand while you're at it.  Go ahead, treat yo self.

I owe the Tarte foundation, this primer spray and the lower lash mascara to my favorite beauty blogger, Kate of The Small Things Blog.  She never steers me wrong.  Derrik walked by the first time I used the primer spray and said "that smells so good!".  That's always a good sign for me.  Kate mentioned it's comparable to the Matrix primer spray, but at a lower price point.  I tried it on a whim and now I can't go a week without it.  It cuts my drying time down in half.   

This RMS Lip2Cheek in Demure was my favorite new product throughout winter because it added some much needed moisture to my cheeks.  It helps give that dewy glow even if you're dealing with dryness.  I'm going to keep wearing it into the summer to see how it wears in warmer weather, but Demure is the perfect pink!  It's just the right amount of muted mauve with rosy hues.  You can see in the picture above it just adds a fresh flush that looks like it came from your own skin, rather than something powdered on.  While it's supposed to work for both cheeks and lips, this particular color looks washed out over my normally rosy lips, so just keep that in mind as you're choosing which color you'd like and whether you want to use it for both.  I bought mine from Anthropologie but you can also order it directly from RMS.

Which beauty products are your tried and true favorites?  Are there any I should try?

All-time Favorite Nail Polish

The search for the perfect light pink nail polish began many moons ago after watching Giada De Laurentiis elegantly slice fresh vegetables for some delectable dish on Food Network's Everyday Italian.  Her nails looked so beautiful with that clean light pink polish.  It took me a while to stumble upon the eventual winner in my personal search: Essie's Ballet Slippers.  But alas, finding the perfect polish is only as perfect as the base and top coat to complement it.

Enter: the Orly Bonder Rubberized Basecoat.  When I was in-between base coat purchases, I tried using my top coat backup as a base.  Half the polish on one of my nails chipped off that same day.  Oops.  Orly redeemed my wrongdoing.  This base coat gives a great, tacky surface for your nail color polish.

The perfect pink: Essie Ballet Slippers.  I typically do 3 thin coats, letting the polish dry between each coat.

And finally, Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.  This little bottle of magic is a widely-held favorite.  It popped up in every "favorite top coats" article I read during my search.  This top coat outshines the competition (get it?) in the glossy finish department.  Sally Beauty Supply sometimes offers this on sale for $6.99.

This trio is a winner.  I'm currently on day 4 with minimal chipping.  If I hold both hands up, I can't immediately spot any imperfections.  I'd say that's a big improvement on only 2 days of near-perfect wear I had using my former routine!  

The trio: ORLY Bonder Rubberized Basecoat, Essie Ballet Slippers and Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. 

Do you have any favorite long-lasting nail products I should try?  Let me know in the comments.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you decide to purchase one of the items linked in this post.  As always, I genuinely like these products and hope you found this review helpful!