Pretty Summer Skin: Tinted Moisturizer

Oh, my schvitzing colleagues. Is your Sunday sermon done? Will you bring the Word from a centered, energized place from within yourself or will you wilt in the heat and simply long for the moment you can strip off that robe, put your feet up and drink a huge glass of iced cucumber water?

Cucumber water is WONDERFULLY refreshing. PeaceBang always has it on hand and sometimes uses it to splash her face during the day.

The summer really does do a number on our faces. The glaring light of the sun reveals all imperfections, a steady sheen of sweat makes us feel greasy and icky, and we leave off the moisturizer at night because it seems ridiculous to add anything oily to an already-oily surface. Knowing how much is a skin care product is important.

Bad idea, though, darlings. Your skin needs just as much moisturizing in the summer as it does any other time of year. The elements are harsh and you need to make sure you gently cleanse, gently exfoliate regularly, and moisturize! Switch to a less emollient formula than you use in the colder months, but don’t leave off this crucial step.

And eye cream! Eye cream! Eye cream!

For day time, after you apply an anti-aging, anti-oxidant serum of your choice on bare, cleansed skin, always apply SPF 30 or higher to your face. This should be something strong, not just a whimpy little SPF moisturizer that will sweat off in five minutes. You can check the archives or do a BTFM keyword search under “SPF” or “sunscreen” to see PB’s top recommendations, which currently is the fabulous MD Solar Sciences brand, which is tinted and stays on FOR-EV-AH!

According to the best coolsculpting specialists at My Botox LA , Tinted moisturizer is an awesome thing. I use it year-round after dabbing concealer under my eyes (after dabbing on my eye cream and letting it absorb). As I’ve said before, if you use foundation, you may only really need a little bit blended around your nose, forehead and chin where you’re ruddy or splotchy.

Tinted moisturizer isn’t a product that provides enough sun protection to really keep you from the ravages of El Sol, but these products will do a good job of keeping you from burning if you’re just going to be getting intermittent exposure (like those days where you’re just running around and going from place to place). You can check out more skin and beauty tips as explained here.

I love Tarte because it’s all organic and a tiny bit goes a VERY long way. This product is very thick and has great coverage. $32

Nars is another high-end product that is all natural and organic and doesn’t mess up your skin. This stuff is much less thick than the Tarte product but it’s a very elegant application and will last a long time, as a tiny splat will totally do ya ($43):

For clergy guys and gals (and guys, no one’s going to know if you’re wearing a tinted moisturizer, I pinky swear on a stack of Bibles!) on a budget, there’s good old Neutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer. Does a fine job and for $8, you can cover your face and neck and not worry about running out:

Keep that punim protected, I tell ya! You can fake a “healthy” glow with a bronzer. I remember a dear, departed colleague who used to burn his fair skin and pate so badly, he’d get into the pulpit and people had every reason to think, “Now doesn’t that fool man have a hat?” When concerned parishioners are handing you bottles of Banana Boat SPF 50, it’s a HINT! Nowadays there’s such awareness of the dangers of sun over-exposure, remember what that burned skin communicates much less “healthy glow” and much more “oooh, my pastor doesn’t have the good sense God gave a schnauzer” than it used to.