Beauty tips for summer

Heat and humidity? We officially hate you. Nevertheless, with a long and sweaty summer stretching ahead of us, the daily beauty battle of staying shine free has only just begun.

Your skin needs an arsenal of beautifiers to cope with climatic change, and since there’s no denying that the summer sweat-fest has well and truly kicked in, now is the time to update your skincare regime, and turn your attentions to hot-weather complexion perfection.

Humidity - friend or foe?

Soaring temperatures and high levels of humidity are all part and parcel of a Dubai summer. Living in a humid climate gives skin a hydration advantage, since the air that surrounds us in full of water, and our skin absorbs the moisture from the air throughout the day.

Great news for drier skins, but if your skin type is combination, normal or oily, skin that is already flush with moisture can become overloaded, and leave you battling an almost constant shiny-skin situation. But following simple skincare and make-up steps can ensure that glowing for all the wrong reasons can be achieved when the mercury‘s rising.

Cleansing

Since air-conditioning is a necessary evil when outdoor temperatures are unbearable, your skin not only has to battle with soaring temperatures and dehydration along with constant environmental change, but excess oils and bacteria building on the skin. Which means you’ll need a really great cleanser at the heart of your happy summer skin kit.

Wash your skin twice a day with a gentle cleanser that won’t strip the skin of it’s essential oils - anything too harsh will simply encourage the skin to produce more oil to compensate for the loss, which will make the skin greasier.

Morning cleansing helps to remove the oil and dead skin cells that build up while you sleep, whilst cleansing at night dissolves makeup residue, perspiration, dirt and pollutants, and clears away dead skin cells and stimulates skin’s natural cell turnover. It also allows your skin to better absorb your serum and moisturiser, so you can get the most out of their ingredients.

Moisturing

Since you’ll be sweating - sorry, ‘glowing’ - a lot more than usual, a lightweight moisturizer is your first defence in combating dehydration. Unless your skin is extremely dry (we’re talking lizard-like here), ditch any heavy moisturisers in favour of a lightweight gel cream, which will give your skin all the essential moisture it needs without overloading the pores and making it too greasy. But don’t neglect your night-time skincare regime.

Your body goes through a natural restorative cycle at night, and since you shouldn’t be worrying about having a shiny face while you’re sleeping, it’s the perfect opportunity to deeply hydrate your skin with a heavy-duty moisturiser loaded with anti-oxidants and anti-ageing properties.

Mattifiers

Mattifying products are an essential at to fighting back at the shiny-faced demon that is the Dubai summer. Designed to be worn over moisturiser but under foundation, look for lightweight formulations designed specifically to control excess sebum, and layer your kit of oil-controlling skin savers for your best shot against glowing for all the wrong reasons.

Make up

According to London-based MAC Senior Artist Rebecca Butterworth “the secret to staying immaculately made-up in the summer sun is all in the prep and your product choice.””First things first you need an oil controlling primer under your foundation,” says Butterworth, “It makes any foundation or tinted moisturiser infallible.” And while it sounds obvious to avoid heavy foundations, ditching foundations full stop is, according to Butterworth, the best way forward when the sun is out.

“Switching to a tinted moisturiser, beauty balm or CC cream will control oil, moisturise, smooth fine lines and stay put all day.” And contrary to popular balmy skin belief, we shouldn’t be topping up with powder during the day either - “instead use blotting papers,” says Butterworth, “as they absorb oil and sweat without moving, or overloading, make-up like a brush with powder would.”