Keep The Spirit of Summer Alive With Faux Glows and Beachy Blues

Summer may be winding down but you don't need the warm weather to look post-vaycay bronzed and beautiful. In my mind (and technically speaking), September still falls under summer and I like to take full advantage of that. Don't be afraid to rock warm weather-inspired shades all month long and keep a faux glow going on as long as you need to.

Here is a summer-inspired, multi-hued look I've been sporting lately as I desperately cling to the ephemeral  notion of beach days and flip flops. I've been testing out several new products in the beauty laboratory and come to the conclusion that they're awesome and great makeup for any season.

Disclaimer: Please excuse the fact that I look like a total loser in these photos. All in the name of beauty right!? I guess I'm comfortable looking like a massive tool with my super serious "makeup model" face on. Err… Whatevs! Just go with it.

Here are the products I used to create my multi-color summer face:

Sephora created the Beauty In A Box Summer Goddess Palette ($36, Sephora) to help you master stunning summer makeup. The palette comes with a gorgeous bronzer, turquoise eye pencil, two eyeshadows (in Swimming Pool Blue and Coppery Summer), black mascara, a powder brush, and a slanted eyeshadow brush. Plus there are easy-to-follow instructions with great visuals to help you achieve the summer skin you're after. I definitely had a  J.Lo moment after using it. I give the bronzers two thumbs up and love how the blue and copper shadows brings out the brown in my eyes. I brushed the copper shadow all over my lid and smudged up into my brow bone, applied the blue shadow like a liner on my lower lash liner and added the turquoise eye pencil in the corners of both lids. I then swept the bronzer all of my face in a very non-sparingly manner. I love me some bronzer.

To add extra drama to my eyes and because sometimes I just want to keep playing with colors,  I added one of my favorite new shadow duos: L'Oréal Paris Studio Secrets Professional Metallic Shadow Duos in shade Ignited ($8, drugstores). The plummy purple and luxe gold shadows complimented the blue and copper shades I had on surprisingly well. L'Oreal's latest metallic shadows come in really beautiful shades and don't crease at all.  I love the collection and highly recommend throwing a few in your shopping basket the next time you're at the drugstore.

To add volume to my lashes and make my eyes pop I swiped on a coat of SENSAI 38ºC Eyelash Base ($38, Bergdorf Goodman) and Mascara ($25, Bergdorf Goodman) in black. By adding the base primer, my lashes were coated with a formula that makes mascara look even longer and thicker on. It's sort of genius. I also like the size of SENSAI's mascara wand as it makes it easy to get the hard to reach-barely there lashes in the inner corner of your eye.The humidity and tear resistant formula doesn't budge but washes off easily with water at 38°C or higher. Love it.

Finally, I added SENSAI's Deep Moisture Shine Rouge in #104 KURENAI TSUTSUJI ($40, kanebo.com) to draw some attention to my pout. SENSAI's latest lip line is super soft and creamy on my lips and I loved the neutral-pink shade. I tend to usually go for more dusty-rose pinks but really liked how the lighter hue worked with the myriad of colors on my eyes.

For me, my colorfully eclectic eyes, super bronzed skin and pouty pink lips evoke the bright, cheerful feelings of summer. I love experimenting and mixing together different eye colors and I absolutely adore any and all shades of blue. Blue is one of the most versatile shades and blends easily with many other colors. If you don't have at least one shade of blue, make sure you put that on the top of your beauty to-do list.

I'm also a big fan of mixing department store makeup with drugstore brands. There are so many great products out there in both categories. To recreate a similar look pick up some of these great finds in shades that work for you! Don't forget summer isn't over yet! Keep wearing bright summer shades as long as you possibly can!