Summertime Skin

Hello MDM!

I'm Sierra, or iswim19, and I'll be writing here on MDM on a trial basis (thanks for the opportunity, Dei!). I left Stardoll for awhile but I'm excited to be back, and writing again. I also want to hear lots of comments from you guys, the readers, on what I should write about! I'm open to everything, but for my first post here, I'm going to talk summertime skin.

Summer is probably the time my skin breaks out the most. All of the exposure it gets from the sun, sand, and surf really could be considered harassment to my skin. But this summer, I've got an entire arsenal of skin care weapons to brave the elements so I can have more fun by the poolside and the beach, and less wondering if I'm going to wake up tomorrow with pimples all over my face. So here's the routine I'm planning for this summer and the products I'm going to use to make it work!

1. Slather on sunscreen.

Skin cancer is now the leading killer of young women in Australia and quickly approaching #1 in the USA as well. I love getting a great tan, but protection has to go first! As a rule, I always cover myself in sunscreen head to toe before I walk outside of my house, and this routine even includes cloudy days (and did you know it's easier to burn your skin on cloudy days?). I've invested in the Pro collection by Sun Bum (trustthebum.com). It smells delicious and is absolutely the best sunscreen I've ever had! But, of course, you don't have to necessarily buy this exact product, as any sunscreen that is over SPF 15 will work well. Make sure to apply every few hours minimum, however!

2. Skip the foundation, but don't forget skin treatment creams.

Now that you've effectively defended yourself against the harmful rays of the sun, there is still the small problem of salt water and sand. Foundation is not the answer, as you will have to reapply very, very often and when it starts coming off it'll look like your face is melting. Bioelement's Beyond Hydration (bioelements.com) is the product I've chose for this summer, and it's great because not only does it hydrate your skin (the salt can really take a toll on your skin and cause it to crack and peel) but it also gives you more protection against the sun! But let's stop talking sensibility, the hydrating qualities of this lotion also make your skin look dewy, well rested, and g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!

3. Bronze your skin up, then blush-ify!

Bronzer is probably my favorite beauty product ever created (let's take a minute and thank it's creator, okay?) and it's my go-to beauty product. On lazy days, I'll usually skip the foundation and go straight to bronzer. It makes your skin look tan even in the winter. Because I love bronzer, I like to invest in NARS (narscosmetics.com), which could quite possibly be the owners of the best bronzers on the planet. My favorite is the bronzer in Laguna, which looks great yearlong.

But we're not done yet with our skin! Bronzer and blush absolutely should be applied in duo-form. I've found the best blush comes from one of the cheapest and greatest stores known to woman-kind, Forever 21! The blushes there are so highly pigmented I only apply a bit onto my kabuki brush every morning! I invested in this bright blush (forever21.com) for the serious steal of $2.80! I take these two products to the beach for continual application, but they are seriously long lasting as my best friend and I applied these two products on and found they can stay on your skin looking great for about an 1.5-2 hours!


4. Make your eyes stand out.

Urban Decay's 24/7 glide on eyeliner pencils (urbandecay.com) are truly a staple in every girl's eyeliner collection. For my beach look, I like using Lucky as the sweet pink color doesn't really stand out but is strong enough to bring adequate attention to my eyes (for a day-to-night look, switch to  something smoky and dark like Perversion or Bourbon). It snaps attention to your eyes without going overboard. Frankly, waterproof mascara is a bit strong for daytime on a beach, as it's more for emotional moments where you think you may cry- then waterproof mascara comes in handy. Otherwise, neutral is the simple, and beautiful way to go for the summer.

5. Come back for a beautiful night's sleep.

MAC's Green Gel Cleanser (maccosmetics.com) is a heaven sent for skin relief. The algae soothes and leaves tingles on the skin as it washes away all of the excess salt and sand from your skin and leaves it smooth and refreshed, that way your skin is feeling good as you go to sleep. However, no matter what kind of skin cleanser you use, never, never, NEVER go to bed without washing off your makeup- in any kind of situation! Never use an excuse to not wash off your makeup before bed, it's so unhealthy for your skin! Always cleanse, which brings me to another one of my favorite products.

Clean & Clear(drugstore.com) has one of my favorite items, the Blackhead Eraser Cleaning Mask. After taking off your makeup, exfoliate your skin with this product which does nothing but heal, I promise! This product was actually introduced to me by my cousin, who swears by this product- she uses it daily! I've begun to use it and although I've never really had real breakouts of acne, I've watched even the largest of my pores shrink- magical!

And when you're done, slather on some more of that Bioelements Beyond Hydration cream and wake up with a beautiful, clean complexion that's ready for yet another day of sunshine!


I hope you liked my post! Please leave comments for me, I promise to read all of them! Also, what do you think I should write about next time? I can't take all of the ideas but I'll be picking the most requested, so make sure to think up of something you really want to hear about! Also, don't hesitate to contact me on Stardoll for advice and things you want to hear about!

Love, Sierra