As sad as I am to be back in class, I glad I have the tan lines to take me back to last week’s weekend vacay. If you follow me on Instagram (@misslaurenalston), you would have seen that my family took a quick trip to Aruba to kick off the New Year. With 3 gals getting ready in the bathroom every morning, I noticed that between my mom, my sister, and I have very different vacation makeup routines that range from full coverage to all natural. My vacation makeup look is the perfect in-between to still look good in photos and feel confident in public without going overboard and having all of your makeup wash away in the salty sea.
As I mentioned in my no-makeup makeup post, the key to any look is a good base. I don’t wear any kind of tinted moisturizer or foundation when I’m going to the pool or the beach, so I have to rely on my skincare routine to make my skin look the best it can. After cleansing, I like to exfoliate every other day or every few days depending on which product I’m using. I love the Summer Fridays Overtime Mask to use only once or twice a week, but recently I got the Ole Henriksen Walnut Scrub which you can use every other day and that’s what I brought on my most recent trip.
After exfoliating, I always apply sunscreen, specifically the Sun Bum Face Stick, which I’ve talked about before. Finally, I moisturize. I love the Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask, though I only use it when my skin feels extremely tired and dry. Lately, I’ve been using a couple drops of the Josie Maran 100% Argan Oil and my skin feels amazing. I was hesitant to use an oil on my skin because I didn’t want to clog my pores and get breakouts, but this oil isn’t super thick and I only use a few drops.
The rest of my routine is only a few steps. If I’m really in the mood to wear makeup, I set my brows (but this is rare). I use the Milk Makeup Kush clear brow gel and it works well. I’m not a huge brows gal, even though I have bushy brows, so I only use this step if I’m in a makeup wearing mood.
Next, I apply mascara. This may sound crazy because the last thing you want is mascara running down your face, but a little bit of mascara goes a long way in making up my face. I’ve been loving Hourglass’ Caution Mascara lately and even though it isn’t waterproof, I had no problems with it at the beach. If you are less of a risk taker and require a waterproof mascara, both my mom and my sister wore the Too Faced Better Than Sex waterproof mascara and highly recommended it.
Last, but not least, I dust a little bit of highlighter to the top of my cheeks with a fan brush. I always travel with the bh cosmetics Carli Bybel palette, so I mixed the middle two of those shades together on this trip. I also recommend the Kylie Cosmetics Kylighters or the model’s own liquid highlighter for traveling.
To set the look and add more SPF, I use the Supergoop! Defense Refresh Setting Mist. If you’re concerned about oiliness, you could also try the Becca Cosmetics Hydra-mist Set & Refresh powder, which I love but have never used in the water before.
That’s all for my beach vacay makeup! I know that’s it’s more than some (my sister) and less than some (my mom), but I love the way it looks and I don’t have to worry about a full face of makeup melting off or washing away. What’s your vacay makeup routine? xx Lauren