While I am in the middle of a cold and snowy Canadian Winter, all I can think about is the warming months (aka summer). Although I’m not the type of person that loves super hot days because I literally feel like I’m melting in the hot temperatures, I wouldn’t mind a little bit of heat instead of shivering under layers of clothing and a blanket. I am writing this post to give you a couple ways to get you in the mindset for summer: self-tanning, bright colours, and beachy scents. These tips could also come in handy if you are escaping the snow and headed somewhere warmer on a vacation. I am very jealous of you if you are one of those lucky people!
Tan It. Not everyone is okay with using tanning salons, me being one of those people, so when it comes to bringing some colour to my rather pale skin in the dead of winter I am left to resort to self-tanning products! If you have seen photos of me over the past few months, you will have noticed my white complexion, so I went ahead and wanted to look a little less ghostly. I am no expert at all with this topic, but I did dabble in it a bit last summer and I am back trying it again because I want my skin to look a little more alive and sun-kissed. I have gone straight to the top of holy grail tanning products (or so says many bloggers and YouTubers) and tried out the St. Tropez Self Tan Express Mousse with the brand’s tanning mitt to apply it. I did my bit of research online before applying and watching people’s reviews of it and was prepared when it came to applying it to my own skin. This is the one product that let’s you chose how light or dark you want the tan to be in the end and you wash it off after 1-3 hours, and let the ingredients activate longer after then to reveal your sun-kissed tanned skin. It applied very easily, but I would definitely recommend using a tanning mitt to help really buff it into your skin to get the best results, and dried really quickly as well. I did not want to dive into the deep end right away, so I washed off the product after two hours and I can now say that this product is definitely worth the hype I have heard about it. It provides a non-orange tan to your skin that is very sought after in the world of golden sun-kissed looking skin.
Colour It. Bright colours scream summer weather. It is not very often that people opt for the brighter coloured clothing and make-up during the coldest of months, so why not add that bright pop of colour into your look through your make-up. I find the easiest way to do that is a bright and bold statement lipstick. I’ve chosen the Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Shine Sculpting Lipstick in the shade Empowered, which is a bright orange-toned bold red shade. This lipstick comes from a range of very hydrating colourful lipsticks with a bit of shine to them. I found it very easily to apply, and I can attest to that because I put it on not very carefully and still managed to not make a mess of it. I haven’t had much experience with the orange/red lip colours, but this is definitely an easy and beautiful way to add that pop of definite colour to your face. I’ll definitely be adding this one into my rotation whenever I feel like I really need that extra brightness.
Smell It. It’s time to switch up all your winter scents for new scents that will remind you of the beach, sun rays, and the salt water waves calling your name. I recently picked up the Bath and Body Works Copacabana Beach 3-wick candle on a whim and thought it would fit perfectly as an inspiring scent to look forward to the upcoming summer, no matter how many months away it still may be. This candle is a fresh blend of sun-kissed coconut, ocean-washed driftwood, and sweet tonka and appears to be from sort of of Rio-themed candle collection. This was my favourite from the collection and the packaging itself screamed beach time to me.
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