Summer Swaps
make-up, hair, exercise, & sketchbook challenges
Hello Dear Readers,
I’m sharing some of my summer swaps I’ve made for the season.
Make-up
I have a simple routine each morning that includes skin care (Vitamin C, moisturizer and sunscreen - in that order) followed by a basic make-up application. I wear make-up most days— for me. You can see in this photo that it is minimal—the way I like it for an everyday look.
Now for the make-up swaps I’ve made for the summer. There are two main ones—blush and mascara.
The Blush - I’ve switched colors on my cream blush. What I used before is great, but the color was slightly more coral than I would like and that particular clean company does not offer a cooler tint. After trial and error and returned product, I’ve started using the Ilia cream blush in “At Last.” It really does harmonize more with my “soft summer coloring.” My skin is neutral leaning cool, and the other blush was reading a bit warm on me. “At Last” is more plum and is a better color for my cooler skin tone.
The Mascara - My daughter started wearing brown mascara and I thought I’d try it as well. I have to say I do like it much better on me than black. At a recent formal evening wedding I did wear soft black but for everyday use, brown it is! I really like the Thrive Causemetics Tubing Mascara. I use the color, “Crystal”. Just for fun, I also have “Iris,” which is a deep purple.
Foundation - Unless it is a special occasion, I skip foundation in our hot and humid summers. Even at other times of the year, I only apply it in certain areas anyway—it can’t settle into fine lines, if you aren’t wearing it! I do use an undereye color corrector in peach as well as a brightener. The peach tone counteracts blue. The brightener brings a bit of life back.
On a side note, Chat GPT tells me I need a lip liner. But, also as a “soft summer,” I need to keep everything soft (and cool), and I haven’t found the right lip liner that doesn’t go too warm on me. I tried, Chat, I tired tried! (I haphazardly swiped on a lip gloss for this photo…haphazardly being the key word!)
Hair
Washing my hair always feels like a big deal—meaning a time commitment. Therefore, I only do it twice a week. I stopped using a blow dryer on it and just let the waves do what they will. If I want a little more polish, I use a curling iron around the front. In this pic, I didn’t use anything except mousse on wet hair before bed. I am thankful for thick hair. I have other issues that I deal with but that is not one of them. We all have something, right?!
Exercise
A couple of weeks ago, I had to trade my daily multiple walks for bike rides. I still get one early evening walk in but with the intense heat, I’ve switched to bike rides. I set the tension so that I really feel the resistance when I pedal. Also, I make sure I get some of our steeper inclines on my rides. I have found that I can put my phone in my bike basket and listen to my book (Audible) while riding. I never use earbuds, so I keep it on speaker and it’s great!
Sketchbook
For the summer I’ve swapped my usual “let’s see, what do I want to paint in my sketchbook today,” to short challenges. One week, I participated in a challenge hosted by two other artists here on Substack. Another week, I worked on drawing faces. Last week, I set my own challenge which was Five Days of Watercolor Birds on Book Pages.
This week my sketchbook challenge is a theme, “Out & About,” where I capture in my watercolor book what captures my attention when I am out and about in my neighborhood on evening walks or bike rides.
This is day one. We have Muscovy Ducks that roam our neighborhood. I wanted to capture their shapes and shadows.
My Notes:
I’ve taken so many photos of these Muscovy ducks with the intention of adding them to my watercolor book. I chose this photo because I like the position of their bodies and their closeness and I love the shadows on the sidewalk.
Media: started with a line drawing using a rainbow-colored pencil, followed that with Kuretake Gansai Tambi (KGT, henceforth) wc, and a bit of Prismacolor pencil.
What I like: I wanted to keep this loose and easy and not get bogged down in tight details. I feel I got there.
What I’m not crazy about: the saturation in areas of the shadows.
What I didn’t want to spend time on b/c it didn’t matter to me: the sidewalk and the grass.
My focus was the ducks and the shadows they made. Pretty sure there will be more Muscovy ducks in my wc book. They are fascinating creatures and they roam our neighborhood because of the nearby creek. And some folks in the neighborhood set up water bowls in their yards and also hand feed them. I don’t do that; I just admire them out & about.
Can I Ask You a Question?
Some readers of my happy-mail newsletters are people I know in person—hey there! Other readers I have never met but you took a chance—thank you for that! I’m glad you did. This newsletter started out as art only but quickly became an art & garden & faith inspired missive. Some of you probably subscribed expecting it to be art only and are either disappointed that it is not or pleasantly surprised. If you would like to give feedback by taking this poll, I’d appreciate it. You can take the poll and leave a comment if you like. Either way, thank you! I’m working on a few swaps regarding this newsletter and your response will help.
