How to Look Like a Beach Babe Part III – The Makeup
After you have great beachy hair and a nice sun-free tan, the next step is makeup! Now, I’d never recommend wearing tons of makeup to the actual beach, but this a great, natural look that’ll make you look sun-kissed, glowing and gorgeous… just like you look coming back from the beach!
1. Tinted Moisturizer
I love tinted moisturizer because it’s so much lighter than foundation but still gives great coverage- perfect for that natural look. I’d recommend CG Smoothers SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer ($7.29 at Drugstore.com) because it’s lightweight and blends perfectly with your natural skin tone (it comes in both light and dark shades) and will make your skin look incredibly dewy!
2. Bronzer
If you want to add some extra color to your skin, bronzer is a must. When it comes to bronzer, I personally love NARS’s Laguna ($32 at Sephora) because it works well on a variety of skin tones, and can be layered to look dark or light. If you are looking for more bronzers to work with your coloring or skin type, Nicole recently posted a really great list of bronzers for every price point, so check it out!
Now, I know a lot of people are scared to use bronzer- relax, it’s not about changing the color of your face, it’s more about making certain areas look more sun-kissed.! Applying bronzer can be tricky at first, but the short video above will show you how to get a flawless application every time!
3. Highlighter
Highlighters are seriously underrated- they’ll give you the perfect ‘natural glow.’ My all-time favorite is Benefit’s High Beam ($24 at Sephora,) and although the product is expensive, it will last you forever. High Beam is best for light skin, while Moon Beam, Benefit’s companion product, is perfect for those of you with darker skin. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried any great drugstore highlighters, but if you guys know of any, please recommend them in the comments section!
All highlighters can be tricky to apply- none of us want to look like we have glitter everywhere, but this video does a great job in showing the proper way to apply High Beam to make your skin looking glowing and dewy- the video is long, but she starts the short tutorial at 1:06!
4. Lips & Eyes
Because this look is all about looking gorgeous and natural, I kept the eyes and lips simple as well. Swipe your lashes with a coat of your favorite mascara- I like Maybelline Full ‘n Soft ($6.59 at Drugstore.com), but whatever you have around works.
Left, Chris Benz’s cheery pink lip for his 2010 Resort Collection, Right, Prada’s S/S 2010 ad.
For your lips, you guys can go two different ways. Because the rest of your makeup is natural looking, you can go all out with a bright lip- think neon orange Prada Spring/Summer 2010 ads or Chris Benz resort 2010 loud pink- or you can keep it muted with a lip balm or neutral-colored lip! It’s up to you- the beauty of this look is that it’s so versatile!
What do you guys think of this tutorial?
How do you manage to look like a beach babe? What are your favorite bronzer/highlighter tricks? Know of any good drugstore highlighters? Tell me everything in the comments!
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Posted on on June 22, 2010 / Filed Under: Beauty & Hair / Tags: Benefit, Bronzer, dewy, full n soft, glow, highbeam, highlighter, lipgloss, mascara, Maybelline, NARS laguna, sun kissed, Tinted Moisturizer
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Gracey
I’ve been meaning to buy High Beam for a while now and still haven’t gotten around to it. But it seems like it works great!
Great post, I love this series :)
Molly
e.l.f. makes what they call a “shimmering facial whip,” and as long as you don’t put too much on, I’ve found that it’s a terrific highlighter! And it’s only $1 :)
Hannah
I was just about to mention e.l.f.’s highlighter! I haven’t gotten around to actually purchasing it yet, but I’ve heard it’s fabulous.
Great post! I tend to wear “beachy” makeup most days, anyways. :)
xoxo Hannah
Kerish
High Beam by Benifit is awesome!! It may be a bit much for day wear but It you are dress super cute and the rest of ur body has sme healthy shine its great!!
I took some new passport pics last month and High Beam made my pics look really great…I just made V shape from the corner of my eyes to upper cheeks and blend…it was awesome gave my pics a inner glow!(upper check highlight is more moderm than a full apple blush,I also apply my blush the same way.
Sam
Great post! I would use a different tinted moisturizer, though. I have the CG Aqua Smoothers and while it moisturizes well and the SPF protection is good, it doesn’t give me any coverage or even out my skin tone at all.
Elizabeth - University of Missouri
@Hannah @Molly Thanks about the heads up with the e.l.f highlighter, I’ll be sure to check it out!
@Sam What TM do you use? I’m always looking for new products to try!
JuliaMit
A highlighter can be very helpful when it’s used right.
lauren
I loved this tutorial! Hopefully you’ve got another post coming with suggestions for cute cover ups, beach totes, and of course bathing suits! :)
Bernadette
No beach babe wears lipstick. Sorry. But it just doesn’t feel right on you sometimes. Maybe some cherry chapstick. But thats about all the color I can handle at the beach.
Sara (Aalto University, Europe)
I love the series, thank you for this post!
Scotti
My favorite drugstore highlighters are Milani HD Advanced Concealer and Neutrogena Healthy Skin Brightening Eye Perfector. I have semi-permanent bags under my eyes, and both of these products work very well for me!