A New Love: Outdoor Wedding Sunscreen

Those of you that know me know I am a sunscreen diehard. If you show up at our office Monday with a sunburn, you are sure to get a lecture from me. But I get it. Sunscreens feel like extra work and they sometimes feel so heavy. I had an outdoor wedding to go to last Saturday afternoon when it was 90 degrees outside. Allie, one of our beauty experts from Bethesda did my makeup.   When she asked me if I wanted a sunscreen under my makeup, I almost hesitated. Imagine that? I asked, "What is your favorite sunscreen to wear under makeup on a boiling hot day?" She told me, hands down, her favorite is ReVive’s new Soleil Superior Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Sunscreen. She was right. It absorbed right into my skin and had a luminous finish. We used an M-61 Skincare PowerGlow Peel first to create a canvas of smooth, exfoliated skin.  Then, we used Chanel’s Les Beiges Healthy Flow Foundation (in select stores!) over it. My makeup was absolutely perfect all day and night. Thank you Allie and ReVive!

7 Things I Love Right Now

The Family Sunscreen

I just restocked our SkinCeuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50. I make my kids carry it in their soccer bags and I use it pre-tennis. None of us will step foot at the pool or the beach without it slathered on our skin.

Spring Cheeks

Hourglass Illume Sheer Color Trio – it’s the  perfect highlighting kit for a bronzed, sunkissed glow. I also love the fun new Laura Mercier Colour Dots Lip & Cheek Sheers. My favorite color is Fruit Punch – a sheer pop of pink happiness.

Cake for Breakfast

We are cake junkies in our family. Our all-time family favorite is an apple spice cake from Moosewood’s Low Fat Favorites book. It’s the most natural we can find, and sometimes we make it gluten free with King Arthur’s Gluten Free Flour Blend. You can find the recipe here.

Time Out

Loving Yogi’s Relaxed Mind Tea (a new discovery) and This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray. My kids keep stealing mine to use on their pillows!

Tina Seelig, What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20

My favorite graduation gift and the author of my favorite saying of all time: “Never miss an opportunity to be fabulous.” Our whole family talks about this - when you are doing anything, big or small, you should step up and do great work.  

P.S.  I’m working on my Instagram agility – please follow me! @marla.beck

Pure Magnificence: SPF 30 No Makeup Necessary

I was fortunate enough to receive La Prairie's Anti-Aging Day Cream SPF 30 ($200) as a gift from La Prairie. I have been hoarding it and saving it for the summer. I have honestly never used a sunscreen that has been so perfect. I have been slathering it on in the morning, popping on mascara, eyeliner, a cream blush and lip gloss, and then running out the door. My skin looks hydrated, luminous and I get SPF 30 protection?! As I have been getting older (think 40+) I have been religious about using tinted moisturizer or foundation to even out my skin tone. Not necessary with this miracle cream. What a lucky discovery!

Note: I would not use this as a sport sunscreen (for tennis or beach), but it is the most perfect every day sunscreen ever!

Order from Bluemercury 2 – Westport, CT 203-222-9222 or Marlton, NJ 856-985-9226. Free shipping until July 31, 2011

Recess: Sunscreen Required

My 8 year old daughter came home sunburned yesterday from school. Recess combined with the gorgeous May weather we are having is a recipe for disaster! I promptly put Skinceuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50 and Kiehl's Super Fluid UV Defense SPF 50+ by the back door. These are the two sunscreens that my children like and find it easy to put on themselves. From now, until the end of school, our morning routine will include sunscreen application to cheeks, noses, foreheads and bare-arms!

The March to 40

I will be turning 40 in May. When I started bluemercury at age 29, I had none of the skin concerns I have now - hyperpigmentation, fine lines around the eyes. Here are the things I really notice between 35 and 40:

1. Getting small indentation on chin. Dermatologist said that is from tensing facial muscles and loss of tiny fat deposits. Her solution: Restalyne. My solution: live with it.

2. Uneven skin tone. Too many years of California sun on fair skin are starting to show. My solution: glycolic acid peels (either at bluemercury spa or Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Daily Peel Pads), Vitamin C (the miracle collagen building, spot busting vitamin), and a little better coverage on the foundation front. (NARS Sheer Glow in Fiji or Bobbi Brown Skin SPF 15 or Dr. Dennis Gross All-in-One Tinted Moisturizer Sunscreen SPF 15).

3. Eyelids starting to wrinkle at inner corner. No one told me about this one! Just noticed it last year. Eyeliner starts to flutter up wrinkles in the morning after I first apply. Solution: little dose of Bobbi Brown or Laura Mercier concealer on inner corner prior to application of all over eye shadow. And a q-tip for touch up after.

I'll take 40 over 29 any day, I am much wiser and more at peace. And the beauty challenges - I'll tackle those one at a time!

Naked Face - New trick

If I have serious creative work to do, I often work from my home office after grabbing a coffee at Starbucks. It is these days where I don't see anyone professionally, that I love to wear a naked face. Our Englewood, New Jersey store manager, Deborah, taught me a new naked face trick. After slathering on sunscreen (I wouldn't be without it in the spring - used Darphin Vitalprotection Age-Defying Protective Lotion SPF50 this morning), I take my bronzer, dust my cheeks, and the new trick: my eyelids. It is amazing. It is a little bit of extra color, without any work. This is really 30 seconds and out the door. What more could a busy mom want!

Palm Beach 2: New Go-To Sunscreen

ReVive Skincare sent me the new SPF 45 launching this March. This is my new go to warm weather outdoor sunscreen. I put this on every morning in Palm Beach and zipped out the door to play tennis. Easy application and I felt like I had nothing on. I also loved the firming and hydrating properties. Am addicted.