Summer Beauty Essentials ~ 7 Skin Care Must Haves

Summer is the season of skin.
There is no other season when it is more important that your skin is radiant and glowing. Summer requires you to either go bare skinned, or at least trick your makeup to look like you are going bare skinned.
Summer is also all about travel, and nothing is guaranteed to jack your skin up quite like travel does, so you need to have a game-plan in place.

Here are 7 must have summer beauty essential skin care products.

Your first thought has to be the climate you are traveling to, or how your home climate is changing.
The oil cleansers that I swear by in dry climates often don't cut it in humid places. There is every chance that your normal moisturizer either won't be enough or will be too much over the summer months, or at your summer travel destination. Before you travel, or before you invest in new products for home, factor in the humidity or lack of, and buy your skin care in travel sizes.

Cleansers

If you are going somewhere  humid you may need a foaming cleanser or a wash formula. If you are going somewhere hot and dry an oil cleanser or a milk cleanser may be your saving grace.
Not sure which direction to go? 

Try Innisfree Green Tea Cleansing Water at only $12 it's a steal.



Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist

Greatest thing ever! I take this on the plane with me to spritz on when my skin feels dry.
In dry places it can boost your moisturizer, in humid places sometimes its all I use. It's a lifesaver.

Sunscreen.

The most important thing that you can do for your skin is wear sunscreen every day. Broad spectrum, (UVA and UVB protection) with a high SPF. It's non negotiable.

Try Kiehls Super Fluid SPF 50 available at Nordstrom

An Exfoliator.

Hot weather and extra sunscreen can make your skin get congested and make the texture feel thick. 

Help it stay clear and smooth with a gentle exfoliator or enzyme mask/peel. 

A Dry Oil

I am obsessed with facial oils for intense moisture, the nourishing properties they have and for how they make the skin glow. But when you are on a beach vacation or somewhere humid adding an oil into your skin care regimen can leave you feeling downright greasy. And who needs that? 

So when I travel I always have Tatcha's travel sized dry finish Camelia Oil with me. (Not only does it make your skin look phenomenal it also soothes and calms it  it after a day at the beach. Makeup glides on over top and doesn't slip away due to the dry finish.

Sheet Masks

Whether you are dry and need hydration or whether you are oily and need help clearing your skin, there's a sheet mask for you. Use them once per week all summer and your skin will be gorgeous!
Memebox has a limited time offer of their Summer Mask Bundle. 11 hydrating sheet masks for only $18! If this is sold out when you go to their website, go to their masks section and pick and choose what you need based on your skin concern.

Eye Gels

These are the greatest thing when you are feeling or looking tired, or when you need an under-eye booster. The morning after the night before they will soothe and de-puff your hungover eyes, they totally revitalize you after a long flight, and after a day at the beach they add in just the right amount of moisture so that makeup will go on evenly and look pretty.
I travel with individual packs of Elisha Coy Snail Hydrogel Eye Patches that I order online from Memebox. They are super convenient to travel with!

How To Avoid Hat Hair This Summer

image by Kelly Capelli
makeup by Corinna Cooke

If I so much as put a hat on for 60 seconds my hair is trashed for the rest of the day.
It drives me insane.
And it can be a real problem during the summer, especially on vacation, when you've been out and about in the sun all day with your fabulous hat on, and now everyone is going to lunch/dinner/drinks/or some other place where you either can't have your hat on or will look stupid with your hat on.

So what is a girl supposed to do?

 Tips For How To Avoid Hat Hair This Summer.

Start by choosing a hat that fits your head, is not fitting too tightly anywhere, and that is made of quality, light materials. This will help your hair to breathe beneath the hat.

1. Pull your hair back into a low pony or low braids and wear your hat loose.

2. Don't put your hat on over wet hair.

3. Fold a bandana or scarf flat and place the non seamed side against your forehead, tying it above your ears. Let your hat sit against the scarf, stopping your hat from leaving indentations against your forehead.

4. Fold a silk scarf into a large triangle and place the longest edge against your forehead, the V over your head, tying the two corners behind your head. Let your hat sit loosely on top.

5. If you wear your hair in a part, direct it in the opposite direction before you put your hat on. When you take your hat back off flip your hair back to it's normal side you will have created volume!

6. If you can avoid getting an indentation on your forehead, when you are done wearing your hat spray some dry shampoo (I use Klorane) into the roots of your hair, letting it sit for three minutes. Fluff your hair with your fingers,
spritz the mid-lengths and ends with Ouidad Botanical Boost Curl Energizing and Refreshing Spray 

for curls or glossy hair, or Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion for beachy waves, then clip or tie hair into a high pony.

Home Remedies For Sunburn

Sunburn is misery.

The only thing worse than you getting sunburned on vacation is your child getting sunburned on vacation. 

Can you even imagine how badly this must have hurt??

If you are heading to the sunshine this summer make sure you bring along some of the following items for a quick homemade sunburn remedy:

1. Cucumber

image via eatandrelish.com

Cucumbers provide instant relief to skin that is sun scorched, not just because they feel cooling but also because their antioxidant and analgesic properties promote healing great relief from discomfort.

Keep cucumbers in the fridge, and should you get sunburned or windburned, or even if your face just feels parched after a day at the beach, grate them and then smooth onto the affected area, leaving it to soak into the skin.

For a really bad burn liquefy the cucumbers in a blender and then make into a paste with cornstarch and aloe, apply to the area and leave it for as long as you can.

2. Plain, Live Cultured Yogurt.

It must be plain, non flavored yogurt, not vanilla yogurt. Plain, live cultured yogurt is full of probiotics and enzymes that help heal the skin.

Apply a liberal coating to the affected area, leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes - it will feel wonderful and cooling. Then gently rinse it off with tepid to cool water.

3. Vinegar.

image via cosmopolitan.com

People swear by this remedy, especially when using unfiltered apple cider vinegar.

Use about a cup of apple cider vinegar and a spray bottle. Have a cool shower first (avoid soaps as they will dry the skin out, making it worse), air dry or pat dry, and then spritz liberally with the apple cider vinegar.

4. Witch Hazel 

Witch Hazel contains tannins which when applies directly to the skin reduce swelling, help repair damaged skin and ward off bacteria.

Soak cotton balls or gauze in witch hazel and gently apply to the burned area.

5. Aloe

The aloe plant is famous for its healing properties and for its ability to take the redness and the sting out of sunburn. Slice fat, juicy leaves along the middle, open them up and press them to the skin.

If you don't have fresh aloe, use an aloe gel and apply it liberally.

6. Baking Soda

Baking soda can take out redness and diminish the pain of sunburn.

Either add some cool water and make it into a paste to apply to the area, or poor a cup of baking soda into a cool to tepid bath, and soak in it for as long as you can.

7. Oatmeal.

Oddly enough oatmeal is another great aid for troubled skin. 

Put 2 cups of any plain rolled oats into a tube sock, tying off the end. Add this to a cool or tepid bath, allowing it to soak for a few minutes, then squeezing it out. Repeat this a few times until the water looks cloudy, then soak in it for as long as you can. The polysaccharides in oatmeal will coat the skin, helping it heal.

Don't do a cold bath, as cold will close the pores and hold the heat in. Find a temperature that you can tolerate, somewhere between tepid and cool.

Don't stay in the bath too long as this will dry the skin out.

8. Potatoes

image via natashaskitchen.com

Potatoes are known to be pain relievers and work wonderfully on everything from insect bites to scratches to burns.

Wash the potatoes really well and then either grate them into a bowl or slice them and put them in the blender to liquefy them more. You don't need to peel them first. If necessary add a little cool water.

Apply grated raw potato to the skin, or if you've blended and added water, soak cotton balls or gauze in the mixture and lay on the skin.

9. Drink as much water as you can and stay out of the sun until your skin is healed. Avoid soaps and bubble baths as they will dry your skin out too much.

Make sure you apply full sun block and use hats, sunglasses and full cover lightweight fabrics to keep the sun off your skin.

Buying Sandals In Capri

Beautiful Villa San Michele in Anacapri

When I'm traveling I love to head off the beaten track, get away from the tourists and immerse myself in the regional culture, chat with the locals and get a feel for the place without the omnipresent t-shirt vendors.

But sometimes you find absolute gems hidden in the heart of tourist-central.

On Capri, in the heart of the town of Capri itself I found one such gem. 
Capri is full of little stores selling world famous Capri sandals.
On the Via Roma, the busiest tourist street in Capri, is a little slice of magic, a store called Schettino di Capri. 

Lovely Lydia has worked in this store for 60 years

Run by the adorable Lydia and Aldo Lella, this darling store sells hand made Capri sandals. The sandals themselves are gorgeous. Flat leather soles with deliciously jewel embellished thongs, they are perfect summer wear. 

Lovely with all hem lengths, skirts, dresses, pants and of course, the world famous Capri-pants.
And they are available in a fantastic array of colors, designs and settings.

See a style or color that is not in your size? No problem, they'll make a pair for you while you wait! 
Delightfully engaging and full of fun, Aldo will tell you stories of Capri's illustrious past, his interactions with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (for whom he made many pairs of sandals), and recommend the perfect place to stop for lunch or to grab a late afternoon aperatif.

Aldo with Jackie Kennedy Onassis in 1970

Sandals, like pretty much everything, are expensive on Capri. So you need to choose a store that will take care of you, appreciate you, and send you on your way not only with  a great pair of shoes, but with a magical experience and fun memories to go with it.


You can find Schettino at Via Roma 51/53 in Capri. Call them at 081.83.70.946

My best friend, jewelry designer Michelle Mirkovich 
(Divinity Jewelry) with Aldo Lella, and a wall full of sandals.