When I used to have a share in a house on Fire Island (one of the places New Yorkers go to get out of the city in the summer) back in the day, I used to be amazed at how many women went to the beach wearing full makeup and big gold hoop earrings. I always went “au naturel”. (We thought black & white photos were artsy.)
Now that I live in Massachusetts, I go to the beautiful Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester and take photos in color instead of black & white.
In addition to changing beach locales, I’ve also rethought the no makeup at the beach thing. I realized that some makeup is better than no makeup, at this point. I don’t want to look like the Fire Island girls from 1988, but I also don’t want to go without. So, I have begun putting together my “limited” go-to beach makeup kit.
The most important part is the sunscreen. Usually, I prefer to go with a physical barrier sunscreen. But sometimes, especially if it’s really hot and if I’m going running on the Back Shore (great view for running, isn’t it?), I’ll use a spray for my body because it feels lighter and cooler to me. The spray I’m using has a high SPF provided by active ingredients: avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, octocrylene, and oxybenzone. Frankly, the SPF 70 is probably higher than is necessary. I think it’s more important to reapply over time than to put on a high SPF once.
I’ve got Badger SPF 30, a thick white zinc-oxide based cream for the natural sunscreen when the sun is strong and I’m staying put ($9.99 for 2.9 fl.oz./87 mL at the Common Crow, natural food store in Gloucester). The spray I’m currently using is Coppertone for Kids SPF 70. ($8.26 for 6 fl. oz/177 mL at Wal-Mart)
For my face, I use the BB cream that I wear most days: Dr. Jart Premium BB Cream SPF 45. Its active ingredients are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, physical barrier sunscreen ingredients. In addition, the tint of the BB cream hides some of my dark spots and evens my skin tone. I will do a full-on review of Dr. Jart soon. I love it! ($34.99 for 1.5 fl.oz./40 mL at Sephora or Amazon.)
I am not a big fan of waterproof mascara, but for the beach, I am trying to get into it. Currently, I am using essence Stays No Matter What 24 hour volume mascara, a waterproof mascara that, according to its name, is supposed to stay on for a whole day. In the hot sticky weather, it does weep a bit below the lower lashes, but I can live with it till I find a replacement. I don’t love this mascara nearly as much as I love my regular essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume mascara with the find-every-lash brush and formula. The Stays No Matter What mascara has a small, football-shaped brush head with a little knob at the top. The formula is OK, a little clumpy sometimes, and it doesn’t provide the big lashes that the other one does. (essence Stays No Matter What mascara 0.3 fl.oz/9 mL for $3.99 at Ulta)
I skip the eyeliner and shadow, though there are good waterproof eyeliners if I change my mind, e.g. Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner in a variety of fun colors. I happen to own Siren, a deep turquoise. Maybe when I wear my swimsuit with the aqua Liberty of London print that I picked up at Target during their Limited Edition collection, I’ll put on the UD Siren eyeliner and put the waterproofness to the test. (Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner at Ulta, Sephora, Amazon)
I need some color on my dry lips, but I don’t want to take one of my expensive lipsticks that can easily melt in my beach bag. Also, I don’t like to have to apply and re-apply lipstick at the beach. So back to my tried and true Maybelline Super Stay 14 hr Lipstick. I have a bunch of colors that I picked up on sale at CVS a couple of months ago. The lipstick doesn’t last 14 hours, but it does last a while and the kinda dry formula doesn’t melt like a regular creamy lipstick. And if it does melt on an extra hot day, it isn’t the end of the world. (Maybelline 14 hr Lipstick $8.99 at CVS) Or instead, you may want to use a lipstick with SPF. A couple of inexpensive lippies to keep in your beach bag are either L’Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick SPF 15 or the Lip Balm SPF 15, both between $9-10.
So, that’s my current bag o’ beach tricks. Now, I just need to get out my big gold hoop earrings, lol!
Do you wear makeup at the beach? If so, what are your faves? Any reccos for an affordable waterproof mascara?
I use similar products as gawd forbid, I should ever go without makeup .. lol.
I do try to have a lip product with spf .. MAC has (had?), a Spf 15 lip tint that was nice, not sticky.
Monica.
Monica P recently posted…SONOMA by Kohl’s relaxed fit boyfriend capri, dressing ’em down
Monica, you’re absolutely right. How could I have forgotten about a lip product with SPF! I was so concerned with it being long-lasting and not melting in my bag. I have a Kiehl’s lipgloss with SPF 15 that I can apply on top till I find a lipstick with SPF. MAC is too expensive for my beach bag for now lol.
I have to admit that I rarely wear any makeup at the beach, but you have just reminded me that I should 🙁 I love the background flowers on your site, too!
Josie, I completely get it. Sometimes it seems silly to wear MU to the beach, but I’ve been trying harder to wear a foundation-type product every day so that I have sunscreen on. I also wear a hat at the beach and sit under an umbrella. I’ve got way too much sun damage! Thank you for mentioning the flowers on my site. I was concerned that they were a little much. It’s a photo I took of my cyclamens in bloom <3