Summertime Chi! Your Easy Living Summer Drugstore Beauty Guide

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post by P&G Beauty but these are my opinions and experiences.

The weather is perfection, there’s not a cloud in the sky. A light breeze ruffles your hair and your clothing as you stroll along the lakeshore. I’m here to tell you, there’s nothing more beautiful than summer in Chicago!

This is the time of year that we love in the Windy City. It’s the time when the city comes alive with visitors and with locals re-emerging into the sun, all looking for outdoor fun. This time of year reminds me of why I love living here.

For Memorial Day weekend, I went out and explored the city, and shared some of my favorite drugstore beauty finds that helped me look and feel my best in hotter weather. If you were following me on Instagram, you saw me sharing with the hashtag #GetGlowing. Now let me break down my top 10 enjoy-the-summer tips, including some of my tried and tested products that kept me fabulous along the way!

DO get out and go for a walk! It’s so easy to be lazy and just hang out at home. When you live in a place where the weather’s only awesome for so long, you’ve got to go out and carpe that diem! Lately my husband and I have just been going for long walks along the lakeshore in the evening. It’s peaceful, beautiful and healthy.

DO protect your skin from the elements. Don’t be fooled and think that your skintone somehow protects you from the sun’s damaging effects. Whenever I’m headed out, I use a moisturizer with at least SPF 30. If you’re looking for a quality drugstore sunscreen, check out anything from Olay’s Total Effects SolaSheer line – I like Olay Total Effects 7-in-One Anti Aging Moisturizer with SPF 30, for example. It absorbs easily without any chalkiness or greasiness, and keeps me protected.

DO dare to bare. Let’s be real. It’s HOT. It’s too hot to let self consciousness hold you back. I used to wear jeans all the time when I grew up in Trinidad, why? Because I felt self conscious of my legs. I never wore sleeveless shirts because I worried that people would notice my chubby arms or the stretch marks near my armpits. You know what I learned real quick? Life is short. Nobody really cares, and if they do care enough to say something mean then they’re not worth your time or attention. And did I mention that it’s hot and life is short? Wear that mini skirt. Rock that sleeveless top. Get yourself a pair of shorts and a cute swimsuit. Enjoy the weather and celebrate yourself.

DO sweat-proof your situation. From the minute the temperatures soar above 75 degrees, I find myself all kinds of melty and sweaty. If there was a topical product to stop me from sweating, I would be about that life. Until that day I’ll be using every kind of primer from eye primer to lip primer to oil absorbing all over face primer. And I’ll be using as hardcore of an antiperspirant as possible elsewhere. When it’s extra super duper stupid hot I use Secret Clinical Strength Antiperspirant/Deodorant. Clinical Strength = you will not smell sweaty and your armpits will be dry. I’m a believer.

DO stay cool by all means necessary. In my younger years I used to be more of a body hair critic and I held very traditional and stereotypical ideas about what was and what shouldn’t be. Now I’m grown and I really feel like, live and let live. There’s too much body shaming going on in the world and I refuse to be part of the problem. I personally choose to shave my legs and armpits because it makes me feel cooler, more comfortable and beautiful, and my methods change with the weather. In cold weather I tend to use depilatories. In hot weather I tend to shave more often because I’m going bare-legged and sleeveless on a daily basis. The new Gillette Venus Snap with Embrace Razor is super cute and travel friendly, and with 5 blades it makes shaving speedy and relatively effortless.

DO stay hydrated and health conscious. OK so last summer, I went for a bike ride on the hottest day of the year and almost passed out on the beach. Not even kidding. I didn’t realize how utter dehydration and a little more physical activity than usual would make me feel. Now I’ve gotten smarter about it and I go out with a refillable water bottle pretty much everywhere, especially at this time of year.

DO rock makeup with staying power. For summer makeup, you want anything that will stay on your face despite heat and sweat and the back of your arm being wiped across your brow in exhaustion. You want makeup that lasts. Think of lip liners and eyeliners, and setting gel eyeliner with eye shadow. If you’re looking for mascara at the drugstore, check out CoverGirl Bombshell Mascara – it’s a 2 step mascara and the second step seals and makes your mascara last.

DO take it all off at night. At the end of a long, hot day outside you may just want to melt into bed. DON’T DO IT. After a sweaty day outside, it’s so delicious to take a cool shower to rinse all of the sweat, sunscreen, dirt and fatigue off you. At the very least you have to take off that makeup that’s clogging your pores. If you don’t have the energy for a shower, just reach for a good makeup remover. I keep makeup removal wipes in my bedside table drawer just for this reason. My latest faves are Olay Fresh Effects {Everything Off!} Deluxe Makeup Removal Wipes – they’re sturdy and have texture to really clean off all of the day’s residue.

Follow my summer tips and you’ll enjoy the season to the max. I plan on filling my next few months with as many outdoor picnics, cookouts, concerts and al fresco experiences as possible! How about you, bellas?

I was compensated for this post by P&G Beauty but these opinions, experiences and all of this joie de vivre is all me!