10 Summer Beauty Mistakes You Need to Stop Making Today

SPF is important year round, but especially in the summertime when we tend to be outside more often and the sun is out for longer. But many of us skip sunscreen because it can leave our skin sticky, greasy, or gray. This leaves skin vulnerable to skin cancer, sun damage, and premature aging.

If you’re not usually fond of the texture or smell of sunscreens, get in your morning dose of sunscreen by switching to a foundation that has SPF built in. Bonus points for getting you out the door quicker!

Bare Minerals BarePRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 20, $42.

We all know that when we’re at the beach or the pool, we need to be reapplying sunscreen — Health Canada recommends reapplication every two hours — but that’s a little trickier to do with a full face of foundation, blush, and contour. You might be tempted to skip the all-important sunscreen reapplication to save your makeup.

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Sunscreen reapplication doesn’t have to ruin your makeup. Keep a makeup setting spray with SPF in your purse for a mid-day refresh that’ll keep those harmful rays at bay.

COOLA SPF 30 Makeup Setting Spray, $51.

If you have oily or combo skin, chances are it gets oilier in the summer. If you’re not sure what to do to stay matte, you might be skipping moisturizer to avoid contributing to the problem.

See more: Are you making these skin cleansing mistakes?

Whether your skin is dry, oily, or somewhere in between, all skin needs moisture and care. Skipping moisturizer can make your skin produce even more oil to try to compensate for the lack of moisture, leading to even more unwanted shine. Give your skin what it needs and cut down on excess oil production by switching to a lightweight gel moisturizer.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel, $35.

Even with sunscreen, lots of fun in the sun usually means getting a bit of a tan. Before you know it, your favourite (and pricey!) foundation is too light for your skin, leaving you looking more ghostly than glam.

There are two fixes for this common mistake. For a quick fix to foundation that you've already applied, use a bronzer close to your actual skin colour to deepen and warm up your complexion. To adjust your foundation to match your skin the next time you apply it, add mix-in drops in a deeper shade to a dollop of your foundation on the back of your hand. This will change the colour of the foundation you have without changing its texture or performance.

CoverFX Custom Cover Drops, $56.

We’ve all been there: you apply a perfect, full face of makeup in the morning, only to have it melt off by lunchtime. Worse yet, your usual primer just isn’t cutting it in the summer heat and humidity.

If you’re going to wear makeup in the summertime, you’ve got to bring out the big guns. This means layering on your products for maximum longevity and minimum meltdown. After primer but before foundation, dust some setting powder on your face. Setting your primer helps absorb oil before it gets a chance to break through your foundation. Finally, before leaving the house, spritz on a generous helping of setting spray.

For more of the best summer beauty tips, check out 9 ways to get your legs summer ready.

You fill in your brows with your usual pencil or powder, only to discover that you’re eyebrowless by the end of the day. Yikes!

Summertime is the perfect time to make the switch to brow pomade. Popular with makeup artists and Instagrammers for years, brow pomades are fantastic for summer because they’re waterproof. Even in the heat and humidity, they’re not going anywhere.

Summer is a great time to break out fun eyeshadow colours — gorgeous bronzes, golds, oranges, and teals. Putting all that work into your shadow, only to have it crease by lunchtime is frustrating, to say the least.

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If you don’t already use eyeshadow primer, it can do the trick to help keep your eye look from creasing or melting off. If you already use primer and it’s not holding up in the summer heat, try setting it with a little translucent face powder or matte eyeshadow close to your skin tone to lock your primer in and absorb oil before it ruins your look.

Many of us won’t leave the house without a matte powder in our purses, and with good reason: they’re great for makeup touchups and shine reduction on hot days. But reapplying powder throughout the day — on top of the oil that skin already produces — can leave you looking cakey.

To avoid cakiness, add a blotting powder to your makeup touch-up kit. Blot first to remove oil that your powder might cling to, then powder your skin with a light hand. In a pinch, use this household beauty hack: blot with tissues, toilet paper, or even clean, disposable toilet seat covers.

Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets, $7.

We’ve all been there: you go to the beach or pool, go swimming, and get amazing beachy waves or fluffy curls. The next day, though, your hair is dry, fried, and tangled from the sand, salt and sun.

Make the most of your beach day by deep conditioning at the same time. Instead of leaving your hair loose, put in a deep conditioner and put your hair in some cute braids. The deep conditioner will protect your hair from drying saltwater and pool chemicals. Just be sure to give your locks a rinse when you get home!

In this heat, hair can get greasy really quickly, especially if yours is thin or fine. It can be tempting to wash your hair every single day. But the oils that your scalp produces actually nourish your hair, and over-washing can leave hair stripped and parched.

If you’re a daily washer, start by making it your goal to only wash every other day. Once your scalp adapts, stretch it to every three days. Refresh hair between washes with dry shampoo, and hide limp strands with cute up-dos like braids, buns and other hairstyles for greasy days.