Summer is here!  Or at least, it’s trying to be?  And with summer comes changes to my skin and skin care routine.  The first couple of weeks of any season seem to me to be the most frustrating, as nothing seems to be working while my skin has a major freak out about the new weather conditions. And while everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you, I thought I’d share what I’m doing daily to ease into our very loved but short season of summer.

Every morning no matter the season I peel myself out of bed at 5:15 AM and manage to get myself to barre class (or maybe kettlebell depending on the day.) It’s all I can do to put my glasses on and brush my teeth at 5:15 in the morning, so my face just gets splash of water at this point to, if nothing else, wake me up!  When I get home I immediately make some coffee (which should probably instead be a fancy green juice or something that will make my skin glow, but let’s be real…) and get on with readying myself for work. Though I cleansed my skin and put lots of good stuff on it before I went to bed,  I always still cleanse my face in the morning typically using something oil based like Julep Love Your Bare Face Hydrating Cleansing Oil.  It’s not super heavy and is hydrating and doesn’t strip my skin of the good stuff that happened overnight.

coffee, coffee, coffee

A couple of times a week I use an exfoliant.  My go to these day is either Dermalogica’s Daily Superfoliant, or Daily Microfoliant. Incidentally, neither of which I can use daily…. my skin becomes too sensitive, but your’s might not – it’s all trial and error and figuring out what works for you.  If I have time to exfoliate, I really hope to have time to mask, which I also turn to Dermalogica for the Multivitamin Power Recovery Mask.  I like to mask after exfoliation because said exfoliation is going to prep my skin to absorb my mask a bit better, but this mask is amazing to use anytime really…. it’s like an ambulance in a tube (think late nights and too much whiskey.)

I spritz my face with a little Mario Bedescu (they now make an 8 oz. size!!!)  to give my skin a little drink of water, and let that dry down as I drink some water (but probably coffee…. let’s be real)

Every few days I use the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum.  I use this to help firm up  my skin and to combat uneven tone and pigmentation.  This particular product is a time release formula of sorts and stays active on the skin for 72 hours, which is why I, especially in the summer when I’m in the sun more, only use it about every 72 hours.

Suncare is next!!!  I’m not even lying when I tell you that I use 3 to 4 products with an SPF in them every morning.  In order, as layered on my face – Dermalogica’s Total Eye Care SPF15, Dermalogica’s Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF50, Dermalogica’s Skin Perfect Primer SPF30, and, or BareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream SPF30.  I know, that’s a lot.  I’m a little nuts.

After that, with a little highlighter, bronzer, brow gel and mascara – I’m good to go!  I feel like it’s pretty quick and easy (I think writing this took longer than it takes me to do all of that.)  Do you have any secret tips or secret weapons for your summer skin?  I’d love to hear about them!

As usual, I buy all this stuff myself.