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I don’t like to wear very much makeup in the summer, but I still want to look good. What do you suggest?

 
Summer is a great time to ditch the heavy foundation, dark eye shadows, and matte lipsticks for a fresh, easy look. Here are my tips for a simple summer face.
Face
The first thing I do as soon as the warm weather hits is store away all my full coverage foundation. Even though my skin isn’t perfect, trying to wear a full face of makeup is too time consuming and labor intensive with foundation, concealer, powder. It’s just too much! Instead, I use a cream makeup, light foundation, or creamy concealer just on the spots that need it, like dark undereye circles, blemishes, and the like. I like to use my fingers or a makeup sponge to dab the product on, then gently blend it out. I usually set it with a dab of loose powder applied with a puff or just my finger.
Cheeks
The “it” product every summer is bronzing powder, but personally I don’t like it. I have fairly rosy skin, so bronzers always look orange (or dark brown) and really fake on me. If bronzers suit your skin, look for one that isn’t too sparkly or shiny (watch out for mica in the ingredient list). You can use a bronzer instead of blush on your cheeks as well as lightly dusted on your forehead, temples, and chin for an allover sunny look. Bobbi Brown and Stila both make nice bronzing powders (I’ve used them on other people).
My personal choice for summer cheek color is either a cream blush like Bobbi Brown Cream Blush Stick, or a stain like BeneFit BeneTint or Philosophy The Supernatural. Both creams and stains work best on clean skin (not over foundation or powder) and give you a really natural glow that won’t cake or streak like powders.
Eyes
I keep my eye makeup completely minimalist for summer: clear brow gel and mascara. That’s it! If I feel adventurous, I’ll use brow makeup like a pencil or powder to very lightly define and shape. I’ve got three mascaras I’m alternating through right now: Oil of Olay, Beautiful by Nature by Bath & Body Works, and Neutrogena. Basically, I look for something basic and defining that doesn’t glob or look spiky.
Lips
I also keep my lips really simple for summer, using clear lipbalm, a lightly colored lipgloss, or a rosy lipstain. Lipstick and pencils are just too thick, greasy, and creamy to feel comfortable when the temperatures soar. A few of my favorite lipbalms right now are Remede Hydralock Lip, Candy Kisses lipbalm in Chocolate Mint, Bloom Aromatherapy Lipbalm in Spice Lips, and BeneFit Vitamin E Stick. For colored gloss, I like Valerie of Beverly Hills pot gloss in Butterscotch and Stila Lipshine in Petal. My favorite lipstains are BeneFit BeneTint and Lip Ink.
Last but not least, I highly recommend wearing sunscreen every day whether the sun is shining or not. Your best bet is a broad spectrum product (protects against UVA and UVB rays) with at least SPF 15 (I use SPF20 or higher). A few that I like are Sage SPF 25 Sunblock, Peter Thomas Roth Daily Defense Moisture Cream SPF 20, and Ombrelle broad spectrum Sunscreen Lotion with Parsol 1789.