Can you feel the heat yet? Joanna Schlip, Physicians Formula’s celebrity makeup artist can, and recently shared a few of her favorite Summer 2009 beauty trends and tips. 

TREND: A NEUTRAL, FLAWLESS COMPLEXION

In the spring and summer, your best feature should be flawless skin. But since it’s warmer outside, you have to use a product that isn’t too heavy and won’t run down your face when it’s humid.

TIP: To make sure you don’t over-do it, use a product that gives you sheer, light coverage that makes it look like you were born with smooth, flawless skin! Apply it just like you would your regular moisturizer. An added bonus is finding one with SPF in it! (She suggests Mineral Wear® Talc-Free Mineral Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15 - I also love Laura Gellar’s, though it’s a bit more expensive.)

TREND: A SUBTLE GLOW… EVEN WHEN A VACATION ISN’T AN OPTION

It’s not as easy these days to jet off for a weekend getaway, but you don’t want your only glow to come from the light of a computer screen either. The solution? Fake it with a subtle, natural-looking bronzer - one that will make friends ask which beach you spent your weekend at.

TIP: For a subtle glow that is polished, not overdone, use a bronzer that offers gorgeous color and one that offers a mistake-proof formula. Picking the correct bronzer will give the illusion of a soft, smooth surface. Sweep it across cheeks, forehead, nose and chin, neck and chest for a healthy looking fresh finish. Use it to create some cleavage as well! (Joanna suggests Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting Pressed Bronzer)

TREND: MAKE EYES POP WITH A WASH OF WARM, RADIANT BRONZE

A subtle application of bronze shimmer shadow on the top of lids is right on trend for spring and summer. With the same shade in hand, sweep color gently under the lower lashes to make your eyes stand out for a more dramatic pop.

TIP: Make sure the shadow is applied starting right above eyelashes and take it up just past the crease. Be careful though - if you apply it any higher, the look will go from being in trendy to clown-ish. (Try another great Physician’s Formula product to get this look - Shimmer Strips Custom Enhancing Shadow & Liner - Bronze Collection)

Will you be sporting any of these key trends this summer?

Bobbi Brown’s signature, portable Foundation Stick has been reinvented for Spring in a chic Compact. Part of the Customize. Simplify. Organize. system, the foundation pans can be removed from the compact and  then inserted into customizable palettes.

Image courtesy of Bobbi Brown

Bobbi’s creamy, moderate coverage formula is a favorite of mine and I’m really loving how you can choose an empty six pan palette on site and mix and match eye shadows, blush and lip quads to create one simple, portable system.  Though I love, love, love makeup, it’s my dream to have ONE small stash that suits all of my needs and Bobbi’s system could be that for many women.

The Foundation Stick Compact is available in twenty shades, three of them new (above is Alabaster, the lightest). Check out Bobbi Brown counters or www.bobbibrown.com to shop.

When it comes to foundation, I’m a tough chick to please.  My checklist includes moderate-to-full coverage and a natural-looking finish, along with ingredients that are good for my skin, as opposed to pore clogging.

Image courtesy of tarte Cosmetics.

My latest find to fit the bill is tarte’s ReCreate Anti-Aging Foundation with Wrinkle Rewind Technology ($37).  This mineral pigment-based liquid foundation offers strong coverage but with a soft, diffused finish.  With anti-aging, hydrating and brightening ingredients (along with broad range UVA/UVB SPF 15 protection), ReCreate is pretty much the ULTIMATE multi-tasker.

ReCreate is paraben, sulfate, oil, dye and talc-free.

To shop tarte, visit www.tartecosmetics.com

Brett Freedman, Makeup Artist & Founder of Vanitymark Cosmetics

Next up in our series of Makeup Minute How To’s are tips on making foundation last.  Foundation is an essential for women who want coverage but getting your makeup to last the duration of the day can be a challenge.

Celebrity makeup artist Brett Freedman (who keeps stars like Reba McIntyre and Jenna Fischer looking gorgeous) gave us his top three tips for foundation with staying power:

1. My first trick to getting a foundation that holds up is to find a long wear formulation. I LOVE Revlon’s ColorStay Active Light Foundation. It’s super sheer, comes in an amazing color range and has SPF 25.  That’s  not even the best part. The stuff STAYS. Oh, it won’t come off till you take it off. It’s so lightweight it lets the skin breath. Very important in the warmer months.

2. Switch to an oil free moisturizer. Apply while face is still damp. Denser moisturizers can sometimes  ‘break down’ foundation. Lock in moisture right after cleansing and allow your moisturizer to dry completely. You’ll use less foundation and it will really absorb and adhere to skin. This trick is all about timing. Origins Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Face Lotion (an oil free moisturizer) is one of my faves!

3. Set with loose powder and a big fluffy brush. A compact is good for touch ups but for a solid, diffused finish to just applied foundation there is nothing better than loose powder. Finely milled powder works best to really get in there and ’set’ every little area. A big fluffy brush insures even distribution. NARS Loose Powder has an amazing feel and ultra soft on the skin. 

For more info on Brett or to check out his line, Vanitymark, visit www.vanitymark.com .

Wow, do I have a fabulous foundation for you all to try: Prescriptives Photochrome Light-Adjusting Compact Makeup with SPF 15!

Image: Prescriptives

I must say, I am a mighty picky chick when it comes to foundations, and I’m willing to bet many of your are too, no? And that once you find a great product, you’ll stick with it forever and ever, right? Well, as a die hard fan of tinted moisturizer paired up with a pressed powder, I am now singing the praises of this Prescriptives makeup and am even willing to go so far as to chuck my old stand-bys in the garbage. Seriously.

First off, the compact is absolutely gorgeous, which I’ll admit, is a huge selling feature to me. When something that makes me look beautiful looks beautiful on its own, that’s a great start.

Second, the makeup itself goes on beautifully, provides fabulous coverage, lasts for ages and does not clog my easily-clogged pores. I was very, very afraid that now that I have my skin under control and looking great, trying a new makeup would make it rebel, but I’m happy to say that after a week of use, I see no signs of breakouts at all. Hallelujah!

Here are a few selling points:

• Suitable for all skin types
• Natural looking in all types of light
• Minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Minimizes the appearance of pores
• Oil-free, fragrance-free, and non-acnegenic

This is a cream-to-powder makeup with light-reflecting properties. It’s available in 12 different shades, so you’re sure to find the right one for you. It’s a fabulous product any way you look at it.

Interested? You can snatch this up for about $35 by vising Prescriptives.com or by stopping by any Prescriptives counter nationwide.

A while back I asked you all what you thought of mousse foundation. So finally I have had the chance to give it a try with Milani Cosmetics Mineral Mousse Foundation (which is oil-free LOVE). I also gave their talc-free Mineral Compact Makeup and Lip Mixer a shot as well. Paired with some of my other favorite brands, I was determined to get that snowbunny-sexy look going on.

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Elizabeth Arden just launched a new mineral foundation powder that I have been loving for the last week: Pure Finish Mineral Powder. The compact itself is a “portable grinder” as there is no loose powder in this baby! How many of you have hated putting your mineral foundation in your handbag and having it become messy when you open it? The fact that you only twist the compact for it to grind out only as much powder as you need is sheer genius!

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If you are anything like me, you cannot leave the house unless you have *something* on your face. It doesn’t have to be a full fledge of makeup, but as long as I have powder on, then I can at least face the world. In the summer it’s key for me to find something weightless so that my face isn’t melting once I hit the outdoors.

Wet n Wild’s Ultimate Sheer Tinted Moisturizer and their Ultimate Minerals Powder Foundation are not only weightless, but give you a more natural look. For the Ultimate Sheer Tinted Moisturizer I used 182/Natural and for the powder foundation I used 272/Medium. Both blended perfectly and seamlessly with my skin tone. The tinted moisturizer glides on smoothly (I used Billy B’s Foundation Paintbrush) and the mineral powder foundation goes on without having that usual “shine” that comes with a mineral powder.

You can’t beat the price either, the tinted moisturizer is $3.99 and the powder foundation is $4.99. Have any of you tried them?

*Photo Credit: Wet n Wild

Personally, I have never tried mousse foundation, but with more and more cosmetics brands offering it as an option, it seems to be a foundation trend that is catching on.

I’m interested to hear if you’ve tried any of the following mousse foundations:

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse (is it heavy? is it really matte?)

Colorescience Chocolate Mousse Foundation Primer (Ok I added this because of the word chocolate. Sounds irresistable.)

Rimmel Cool Matte 16hr Mousse Foundation (again is it really matte? does it really last 16 hours?)

Elizabeth Arden Flawless Mousse Makeup (is it really sheer with a hint of bronze?)

Can you think of any others?

Here is a list of the newest products from Rimmel London:

Lasting Finish Intense Wear Lipstick–Availble in 20 shades and said to last up to 8 hours. I have yet to come across a lipstick that actually stays put that long, so I may just have to try this one out.

Lasting Finish 16 Hour Foundation–Available in 10 shades, transfer resistant, with semi-matte coverage for up to 16 hours. The testimonial from the 52 year old woman from Florida on their site sold me on it. Now I have to try it.

Now I don’t know why I am only stumbling across this now, but I am intrigued by their Stay Matte Foundation. The testimonials on the page say it works. I may have to scoop this product up as well to wear on cooler days this summer (like it’s been for the past week–40’s at night, summer where are you??)

*Photo Credit: Rimmel London