Keepin' it Fresh

This past weekend I found myself in a rather sticky situation after participating in the Colour Me Crazy festival. And while I was melting away in the heat, trying to improve my 5km time, I thought it would be a grand idea to share some of the cosmetic products I just can’t do without in Summer... all in the spirit of avoiding being a haaaaat mess.

Dove

My relationship with Dove began several years ago during a camping weekend where I accidentally left my lovely bottle of Clearasil at home. I simply loved how my skin wasn’t left feeling as dry as it did before. Since then I have moved to not just using the bar of soap on my face but now my entire body gets to enjoy the moisturising beauty of Dove as well as the body lotion. For those who enjoy a fresh smell; there’s just nothing fresher than the Dove “go fresh” cool cucumber & green tea anti-perspirant deodorant. 

Nivea

When a friend of mine suggested that I use Nivea Creme on my face I just thought they were trying to turn me into an oil-painting but used at thee most moderate of proportions – this cream keeps my face moisturised in Winter and gives me a healthy glow in Summer.

Sunblock

If you’d ever seen my pictures from athletics days back in primary you’d understand why I wasn’t always the biggest fan of sunblock – I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s suffered from a sad case of Shades of Grey. Sunblock just always made me appear a greyish colour – then it would just melt, making me look greyish and oily (no-one wants to look either of the two). I was introduced to this ROC sun block during my visit to France and I have been using it since. It blends in so nicely with my skin. I was advised to apply it every 2 hours so I do so when I spend several hours in the sun otherwise I do so less frequently. The Sun Dance sunblock on the right doesn’t do the same wonders as the ROC one so I just use that one on my legs, neck and arms whenever I feel the need.

Make-up

Keeping it fresh in Summer means that I use very little make-up during sunny skies. I prefer to let my skin breathe but just for a bit of oil-control after making use of the sunblock I use a tad bit of Dream Matte Mousse. And if I’m having lunch with the girls or going out I just use some gel liner and mascara. You’ll notice that the label on my Dream Matte Mousse is gone ^^ That’s how long I’ve had this stuff – a little really goes a long way with this product. I use the the Caramel (Dark 2) but I’ll add a link below just to share all the other shades ;)

Dream Matte Mousse

Hair

The sun can do plenty of damage to one’s hair. As you all know, I recently took out my extensions so I’ve just been washing and conditioning my natural hair these days and while I usually used Hair Mayonnaise to re-nourish my hair – this time I decided to try something new. I haven’t relaxed my hair yet but this night wrap crème has really done a great job keeping my hair feeling soft.

Now this list could go on forever coz the market offers so many products and tricks for staying fresh under the sun but I’ll end this off with the product I use the most on a daily basis.

Lips

And while I personally prefer to keep things neutral nowadays, I know that Summer is a wonderful time to explore with all sorts of bright colours on one’s lips. I feel that applying a lip balm with some sun protection before your lipstick is good practice. I absolutely enjoy the smell and taste of this Labello Vitamin Shake (not that I sit chewing on my lip balm) :P and it also gives a bit of a nude lipstick look.

This is me keeping things super fresh with zero make-up and some lovely fresh goodies for breakfast. 

I hope you’ll have a lovely week!

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness"

Ntabiseng Moahlodi