Summer Makeup: How to keep it from melting

By Ettel Chava Rosenbaum

Chava is a 26 year old mother of two girls living in Kensington, NY.  She has been a practicing makeup artist for nearly seven years and recently began doing makeup for the exploding field of religious women's theater...in which she also loves to perform! Chava offers lessons to women, teaching them how to apply their own makeup like a professional. In addition to makeup, her passions are singing, comedy and keeping her kids out of her shoe rack. Chava is available to do makeup for simchas and productions in New York. You can contact her to book a consultation or job by e-mailing beautybychava@rocketmail.com

Mention LadyMama when you book me for any occasion and get a 20% discount on TWO faces(including the Kallah's). And as usual, kallahs get a free trial! Spread the word! Call me at 718-986-1211.

Summer Fun With Makeup

How to keep your makeup for melting off your face in the humidity!

We all know the feeling, especially if you're in New York. The air is soupy in the summer months and makeup doesn't stand much of a chance. So how do you keep it on?

Rule number one: the less there is in the first place, the less that can come off. Keep the look simple and light so there is less weight. For example, most people don't need a daily foundation in general, so to even out your skintone and protect your skin from damage use a tinted moisturizer instead of foundation. It absorbs into the skin rather than sitting on it, so it won't come off as fast.

Great tip: Don't have tinted moisturizer? No problem. Mix some of your mineral powder or liquid moisturizer into your regular moisturizer to get your desired level of tint and apply with sponge or fingers.

Tacky cheeks from moisturizer, or sweat or oil, can make your blush stick to your skin as you apply it and streak. To avoid this, dust a thin veil of colorless translucent powder on first so your blush with have a dry even surface to blend onto.

Great tip: Coral blush is the must-have color this summer and its looks great on everyone! Coral is like peachy pink but brighter, more tropical looking and leaning more towards the pink side than orange.

Eyes can be tough durring the summer. Lids get oily, you sweat, mascara smears, liner melts...



Once again the best rule is go for less. Use a waterproof/crease proof cream eye shadow like from Benefit Cosmetics, Mac Painpots, or Illuminare Cosmetics. If its not waterproof/crease proof then skip it and use powder.

Shimmering Metalic shades are in this summer but don't be intimidated. Take the trend and make it your own. A shimmering nude like Demure from Yourname cosmetics, or RSVP from Benefit has light reflecting glamour without overwhelming your look (for those who like it natural). For those trendy gals who love a splash of color, metalic green, amethyst  or true gold are on trend and flatter everyone. Pick a shade and intensity that suit your taste, age and personal style. Use a waterproof primer for powders to prevent it sliding off.

Mascara has confounded women in summer forever. Regular formulas melt off and give racoon eyes in the heat. Waterproof formulas, while great for weddings and evening looks, can feel heavy to wear durring the day, every day - and can be a pain to get off at night. A great daytime alternative, especially for those who like a natural look, is clear mascara - available from Maybeline or CoverGirl. Curl your lashes with a lash curler and use the clear mascara to set it. It will separate and define your lashes, hold the curl and catch the light to make your eyes look open, but it won't give you flakes, smears or trouble getting it off before bed.

Whatever eyeliner you choose, you're safest going on the upper lid only because its least likely to get under your eyes that way.

Concealer is a tough one because it is often heavy and therefore prone to come off. Apply with a concealer brush as thinly as possible and set it with a translucent powder.

Lips are the easiest. I often leave my lips bare in the summer, with some chapstick to keep them supple. But if you want color, color is very in. Bright lipsticks are very in style this season (but if you go bright, keep your eyes very simple). Colors like orange, bright pink and fuschia are going mainstream. I nearly always prefer longwear lipsticks like Covergirl Outlast and Loreal Infallible because I just hate my lipstick coming off during the day. But those of you who prefer a creamy texture and don't mind touching up, you can find great color options all around. If neither option is for you, the summer staple lipgloss is always chic. Be sure to choose a formula with visable color, non-sticky formula and not too much glitter. Loreal Infallible lipgloss is a nice option, and longwearing.

And of course what would summer be without bronzer?

I personally use cream bronzer but the same rules apply with powder. First, choose a shade no more than two shades darker than your skin. Don't go too brown or too glittery as it will look phony.  Secondly, same summer rule: Go light. apply lightly and well blended to the high part of the cheekbones, hairline, bridge of the nose, and tip of the chinm and (here's something you probably didn't know) down the center of your neck. The neck is the palest part of the picture and with color on the face, the neck will look ghostly without a little color added to complete it. Just a bit!

Now get out there with a 16 oz iced coffee and enjoy the sunshine! Winter will be here before you know it!