As your mom always told you, you can’t have everything.
So in the midst of this summer’s good times, good weather and good food, we all must contend with some serious uglies.
You know what we’re talking about: little snafus, beauty bumblers if you will, that appear magically when the sun comes out to play.
Frizzies. Floppies. Melting makeup. Clogged pores. Sunscorched skin.
Fear not. You won’t have to spend the season hiding under one of those Mission Impossible latex masks that cover your head (though it works for Tom Cruise).
Here’s what to do when the heat is on:
MELTING MAKEUP
Summer returns and your skin shows its thanks by turning into an oil slick, with makeup sliding down your face in a major avalanche.
But guess what? You’re in luck. This season, shiny skin is tres chic. Which means that summer makeup should be minimal with a capital M. Ideally, foundation and powder should be put aside until say, October.
But if you refuse to leave the house without that security blanket duo, there are ways to keep your makeup from looking as if it just met up with a nuclear reactor.
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Here’s what Justin Henry, a makeup artist with the New York-based Next Models, advises:
Apply foundation, then press your face lightly with a thin layer of tissue paper.
Dust on powder, then spray your face lightly with a can of Evian water. The water will set your makeup, eliminating excess shine.
Follow up with lipstick, waterproof mascara and powdered eye shadow. Forget smudgy eyeliner and creamy shadows until the temperature drops.
CLOGGED PORES
To keep your pores as pristine as possible, step up your cleansing regime, says Jane Zappala, an aesthetician with Faces by Alexis in Chicago.
Use products that contain salicylic acid, such as Clinique’s Turnaround Cream, and keep pores clear and skin blemish-free by sloughing off dead skin, advises Dr. Jonith Breadon, a Chicago area dermatologist.
Other helpers:
Lighter moisturizers.
Non-comedogenic sunscreens and makeup.
Lots and lots of water — more than eight glasses a day.
Use sunscreens formulated for the face, says Breadon.”You wouldn’t want to put something on your face that you’re going to put on your body,” says Breadon.
And if your best efforts fail and blemishes flourish across your pretty face, leave them alone. Apply warm compresses to bring the pimple to a head, and dab the area with a benzoyl peroxide solution such as Oxy10.
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN LOCKS
Do you look in the mirror and feel an irrestible urge to burst into a rendition of “I’m Every Woman” a la Chaka Khan? Do you look like a clone of your toy poodle?
There is help out there. Even in the most sweltering of conditions, your Shirley Temple locks can be made to behave.
“Curly hair, whether it’s natural or permed, has a higher level of porosity, and the hair can swell up more than you’d want it to,” says Mary Beth Jannsen, artistic director of I.S.O., a Chicago hair-care company.
The solution? After shampooing and conditioning hair, layer on protective products.
Start with a leave-in protectant on wet hair, such as Aveda’s Elixir or I.S.O.’s Stress Defense, which will smooth the hair.
Apply a heavy-duty gel to weigh the hair down and rein in curl.
You then can dry hair with a diffuser or let it air-dry, but don’t touch it until it is dry.
Determined to have straight hair? Use a firmer gel on the hair to coat the surface before blow-drying the hair with a vent brush, advises Janssen. But remember: “When you blow out very curly hair, that’s an assault on the hair,” Janssen says. “Excessive heat can damage hair. Heat on hair will mold it like butter.”
LIMP, LACKLUSTER LOCKS
You look at the tresses of your abundantly curly sisters and gnash your teeth. For when the heat hits, your hair flops. No matter how much you curl, twist, blow-dry and load up on miracle products, your hair will revert to whatever Mama Nature intended it to do in the first place — unless, of course, you’re cheating with processes such as a permanent wave or a chemical relaxer. Then, your mane will do whatever the chemical fooled it into thinking it’s supposed to do.
To make straight, fine, limp locks stand up at attention, use a light-weight volumizing gel, mousse or foam on freshly washed hair.
For more oomph, bend over, blow-drying hair upside down to give your locks some much-needed vavavoom volume at the roots.
When it’s almost dry, toss your hair right-side up and finish things up by curving the ends with a bristle brush.
Hair that has been chemically straightened won’t frizz in humidity — unless it has been underrelaxed, says Terez Zeigler, owner of Essence V.I.P. salon in Waukegan. Like naturally straight hair, relaxed hair lies down and plays dead.
Zeigler’s advice? Deep-conditioning treatments, frequent relaxer touchups and hair polishers such as Aveda’s Brilliants line, Sebastian’s Grease or Essential Oils by Affirm to add shine and keep the fuzzies at bay.
Finally, don’t fight the feeling: When your curls quit, grab a headband and slick your hair back. Or opt for an easy-care short cut. Shampoo the hair at night and wrap it in a silk scarf. In the morning, whip off the scarf and — voila! — you’re good to go.
DYED HAIR IN DISTRESS
You’ve spent a fortune whiling away the hours in a beauty salon, looking like an alien with tinfoil sticking out of your head. Don’t let the sun destroy your investment.
Marco Bonne, color expert with the Grand salon, in Chicago, recommends using products that contain sunscreens.
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Try conditioners and shampoos with sunscreens such as L’Oreal’s Colorvive.
Another option: a temporary glaze such as Sebastian’s Cellophanes or Redken Shades by Redken. Glazes, which are good for color-treated and virgin hair, will seal the hair cuticle, providing shine and protection for three to six weeks.
If your hair has been lightened, chlorinated pools can turn it a dreaded shade of chartreuse. Shampoo the hair immediately after you swim, whether in a pool, lake or ocean, and follow up with a good conditioner, Bonne says.
AFTER YOU’VE SINNED IN THE SUN
You don’t need a lecture. You already know that to venture outside without a sunblock with an SPF of at least 90 is suicide, right? So what are you doing with that Bozo the Clown nose?
Never mind. Now that the damage is done, what can you do?
“Treat your burn with kid gloves,” says makeup artist Justin Henry.
Slather your (lightly) scorched skin with aloe vera and vitamin E oil.
Use a gentle exfoliating scrub to encourage dead skin to peel.
Apply a hydrocortisone cream to reduce swelling, and do, do, do continue with the sunscreen — unless your skin is blistering, in which case you shouldn’t put anything on it at all, warns dermatologist Dr. Jonith Breadon.
And then wait.
“Everyone knows what sunburn is,” Henry says. “Put some lipstick on and a little eye makeup and just go with it.”
As for those terribly attractive raccoon eyes you got from wearing your sunglasses, don’t even think of going without sunscreen to even out the glow: “The skin around the eyes is the most susceptible to sun damage and wrinkling,” Breadon says.
Next time, fake it with bronzers. Your skin will thank you 20 years from now.
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Models: Liza Cruzat, Aria, and Elke Liewald, Elite. Hair and makeup: Tina Guzaldo, Stewart Beauty. Illustration by Tom Bachtell.
Resources Plaid dress, $163, from Cynthia Rowley boutique, 808 W. Armitage Ave.