Summer cocktails for your skin
Summer’s the season for cocktails, right? We’re adamant that watermelon martinis were designed with the sole purpose of quenching our thirst during sultry sticky summer nights and Pina Coladas…well, at any other time of year we’d dub them a tacky 80’s throwback but in summer, they make us come over all Club Tropicana-y. Close your eyes and imagine the perfect poolside scenario: we bet it involves an ice-cold Mojito or perhaps a strawberry Daquiri. Are we right? But who says that our summer love affair with cocktails should be restricted to the alcoholic, edible kind? Just as blending up a mélange of ingredients works a treat on the taste-buds, mixing up cocktails of beauty products is a great way to treat your skin and is a genius way to create more potent products that are bespoke to you and your needs. Want to create your own summer skin cocktails? Read on*, pick your poison and unleash your inner mixologist.
*cocktail in hand optional
The Dark ‘n’ Stormy (aka the bronzing cream)
We usually need to switch to a darker foundation in summer, which can be expensive. Instead of shelling out for a new summer foundation – which let’s face it, once the tan fades will be out of a job – simply add a few drops of The Body Shop's Honey Bronze Drops of Sun, to your usual foundation. For a similar bronzing effect, without the complexion coverage of your foundation, add two or three drops to your face moisturizer and skip the foundation. Hello, brand new bronzing cream.
The Supermodel (aka the body foundation)
Forget shelling out for expensive creams that promise to blur your imperfections, tan your body and give your skin that supermodel glow. Create your own body foundation by mixing together 2 parts body moisturiser (go for a lotion, that isn’t too thick, rather than a cream or body butter) to one part foundation (your own foundation is fine, unless you use a super lightweight sheer one, in which case go for something with more coverage). Mix in equal amounts of a dark but sheer tanning gel (Rimmel Sun Shimmer in Medium Matte is our go-to for purse-friendly instant tan) and highlighter cream. Blend over your body using a fake-tan mitt, focusing on legs and collarbone, as well as any other body-parts that are on show.
The Beachcomber (aka the ultra moisturising aftersun)
If you want to boost the moisturizing benefits of your aftersun then add a few drops of your bath oil to your aftersun cream. After bathing with Olverum Bath Oil, mix a few drops of it with your usual aftersun cream and slather over damp skin. The added oil will extend the skin-softening benefits of the bath and sun-parched skin will benefit from the intense moisturizing.
The Goldeneye (aka the illuminating cream)
Add a summery glow to your skin with a homemade illuminating cream. Scrape leftover light gold pearlescent eyeshadow in to a bowl, add a light face moisturizer and mix well. Choose highly pigmented shimmering eyeshadows to ensure a really intense glow. A darker shade of gold, apricot or peach shimmer, mixed with a body butter, works well as a body illuminator and looks so sexy on collarbones, shins and shoulders on hot summer nights.
The Glowtini (aka the face mist)
Keep skin hydrated, dewy and glowing with this face mist cocktail. Add rosewater to an empty spray bottle and dilute slightly by adding ice cubes. Add a few drops of Omega 3, 6 and 9 & Evening Primrose Oil and then finish with some refreshing cucumber slices. Chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours and then spritz your face whenever skin is in need of a boost.
Have you tried these summer cocktails? Which is your fave? Tell us below...