Sexilicious Summer

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Yah. So I was relieved of my World Cup watching duties for the last couple days just long enough to get back to work. These last couple weeks have been a blurr. Who knew so many things can happen in one month of June? Shout out to all my peeps who saw it fit to celebrate my existence on this earth with a birthday week to remember, not that I really do remember anything seeing that there were oh so many cocktail bombs involved. At least I have the pictures to jog my memory. ***ooooh for reals??? We did THAAAAAAAT?!! ***

Anyways, in the meantime, between all this World Cup and Wimbeldon action and all, summer is in full swing y’alls! Gotta enjoy it because blink 3 times and it’s over man, specifically referring to Canada and it’s rationed SIX WEEKS of ‘Summer’; 2 nights ago and I was already freezing. Still, gotta love the long days – 8pm and ya still sweating cause it’s 12 o’clock hot sun beating down your back, sandal season, chance to let your skin breathe and actually see real live human beings. Get in where you fit in because summer ain’t waiting on nobody. Who would have thought that there are so many beautiful people in Toronto? I certainly couldn’t have guessed that during the ghost town that is the winter season. My word the place is empty. Me likey this current situation a looooot.

Summer – Boat rides, cooler fetes, beach parties, BBQ’s, pool parties, patio brunches, lunches and dinners, all things Crop over – for my Caribbean peeps and of course Caribana for my North American posse –  There is always an excuse to unapologetically bring the Freakin’Fabulous-ness; My kind of vibes.

Regardless of what you choose to don in the dance, however expensive or not, your biggest accessory this summer is your skin.

Show as much of it as you can get away with, without looking like someone’s jump off. This means no exposed butt cheeks; no fall-out boobies. Be well aware of your body type when choosing your kit and size, and most of all, wear it well.

Face

The summer heat can bring on the slick, so keep pores breathing with a skin treatment that involves a deep cleanse, exfoliation and skin rehydration least once a month to keep the slick at bay and reveal fresh, healthy, supple skin.

Exfoliate skin at home at least once weekly (preferably evenings rather than mornings) to keep skin cells refreshed, and use hydrating moisturizers; mattifying ones if your skin is oily and/ or acne prone. Blotting paper can assist in keeping the shine at bay during the day.

Makeup

Well contoured, layered, and expertly applied makeup has its place, and it’s definitely not at summer events. Let your skin breathe Louise, it’s an oven out there. Heat does not befriend makeup convincingly.

When it comes to summer makeup, less is definitely more, for the more makeup you wear, the more makeup will slip – off your face and onto the shoulder of your friend’s crisp white shirt dress after that rehearsed “OMG!!!!…Hiiiiiiiiii! <<Grin>>” embrace. Interestingly enough, the less you wear, the less you’d have to fidget with your face and the more time you’d have to enjoy the intoxicating vibes. Sounds like a recipe for good times. 

The key is to let your skin radiate through your makeup, so opt for sheer colour. To achieve a dewy glowing look, use a tinted moisturizer mixed with bronzer rather than just plain old pressed powder. If you must wear foundation, opt for a light coverage formulation. Apply bronzer under your go to blush to boost your ‘natural’ glow, and choose golden or coral translucent lip colours for a most natural pout. Soft pinks or pale purples also work well on lighter and darker skin tones, respectively. For an unexpected pop of colour, use coloured eyeliner such as teal, which works well on most skin tones. Apply a coat or two of waterproof mascara and finish with a smile.

Body

It would stand to reason that, as clothing is minimal, hair removal is tantamount to being a prerequisite. No hairy peek-a-boo surprises please. Not only is it unpleasant for one to witness, but also it is also (or should be) pretty awkward for one to experience. Save yourself and everyone else the terrifically uncomfortable visual, and organize the line up/ removal of the hair situation pronto. Be sure to include scheduled visits for further upkeep. Anyone with a cell phone can easily turn paparazzi these days, so before your fluffy muffy ends up plastered over the Internet, consider hair removal a must.

Like the face, exfoliate your body at least once a week. Exfoliation is recommended at night time as this gives your skin some time to recoup and regenerate during sleep, which helps the newly revealed skin to be less susceptible to sunburn the next day.

Shoulders are dead sexy. Even if you didn’t get to do those handstand presses that you meant to do earlier this year, still expose your shoulders and collect your no-brainer, instant sexy points.

Feet

Please. Three words – Well. Groomed. Feet.

Manicures are necessary yes, but the condition of jacked up feet is an entirely higher, inexcusable level of unfab. Goodness.

Whether it involves a DIY or hitting the nail salon, feet need to be addressed. I know, it does seem like the feet are all the way down there but, don’t believe the hype, everyone still sees them.

Maintain your heels by giving them some gentle foot file action in the shower either daily or every other day and follow up with a thick moisturizer at night before bed. If the polish on your toes has a tendency to chip often, or become dull from walking in the sand, refresh polish every 2-3 days by applying a layer of top coat and your pedicure will last, as is, at least a couple of weeks longer.

The same goes for your hands. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Invest in some cuticle oil, or alternatively apply olive oil, jojoba oil or vitamin E, whatever you have, to your cuticles (hands and feet) every night before bed.

Long sandal wearing day? Pack a tiny bottle with oil (one with a polish applicator type top is helpful) in your bag and apply to cuticles as necessary – after washing hands or to refresh the toes. Really, it is just oil so you can never apply too much. In the event that your heels get ashy, apply the oil to the heels and rub in. I’ve found that a touch of one of the aforementioned oils work much better at concealing the ash than does a go to hand cream and, for my people who have a tendency to have sweaty palms after the application of certain creams, it’s much lighter and isn’t nearly as greasy.

For a no nonsense jolt of colour, try nail polish in one of the season’s various fluorescent hues. Haute!

Sunscreen

And of course, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t plug the use of sunscreen.

It will not only save your skin but you will appreciate that you took the extra 5 minutes to slather it on somewhere around 10 years from now. Sunscreen also helps prevent against pre-mature aging and pigmentation disorders, like darkening of the skin, especially in darker skin tones and Asian skin. You’re welcome. You can thank me later.

With the various different packaging of sunscreens out there – lotions, powders, sprays, wipes, and your old fashion lotions, available in two different formulations – chemical (for most skin conditions) and physical (for sensitive skin conditions), there is absolutely no excuse to expose your skin to potentially irreversible damage, unless you are dead set on looking like the grandparent in the bunch.

Alcohol, which increases the degree of a wicked dread sunburn or at the very least ‘tan’ for my chocolate peeps, will almost undoubtedly be the system so protect your skin accordingly. Get it. Wear it. Love it.

b Freakin’Fabulous

Photo: m_bartosch / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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