Clean Beauty for Summer & A Girls' Night In Event Recap
A few weeks ago, I co-hosted an event in collaboration my friends Alisha and Kara here in DC! Alisha started my very favorite newsletter ever — Girls’ Night In — back in February and, after meeting via Instagram (I love social media for this!), we became fast friends and have been supporting each other ever since. My friend Kara is an amazing photographer and social media content creator, and the three of us had been talking for a couple of months about curating a small Girls’ Night In event together in celebration of the newsletter launch.
The mission of the newsletter is to provide a space for girls who would “rather stay in tonight” and is very much focused on self-care, wellness, and general feel-good content. I love that it is also purposefully politics-free and interviews tons of women entrepreneurs who are doing awesome stuff in their careers and lives. I had the pleasure of being interviewed a few months ago, which you can read here!
Kara, Alisha, and Me!
The event was super small (only 15 of us!) and intimate on purpose — we really wanted to connect with other women and get to know what they’re interested in, how they like to connect in real life with other women, and what sort of content they’re interested in learning more about — think of it as a focus group of sorts!
We snacked on Cava, drank rose, made sugar lip scrubs together, enjoyed the sunset on the rooftop of The Hendrix, and generally had a really fun Thursday evening together! I also had the pleasure of walking everyone through some holistic summer skincare tips since we are in the peak of the season. I thought it would be fun to share on here what my tips and tricks are in regards to a clean skincare routine this time of year.
SUMMERTIME CLEAN BEAUTY TIPS
1. Limit Your Dairy Intake :: dairy is directly linked to acne, congestion, and is often filled with hormones that can cause breakouts and uneven skin tone. This is always my #1 tip when it comes to clean beauty and skincare!
2. Cut Down on Caffeine :: Caffeine (coffee, matcha, etc…) is incredibly dehydrating, and during the summer months it can make it even more challenging for our bodies to stay hydrated. Hydration is key to soft, supple, glowing skin and caffeine can often be the culprit holding you back from that “glowy” look we all want to have.
3. Add a probiotic to your daily routine :: Gut health and skincare go hand-in-hand (this article is really great at explaining the connection), so maintaining good digestion and gut flora is key to a healthy routine. I love this brand and take it every single morning!
4. Drink More Water :: This goes without saying, but staying hydrated is key for overall health (better skin, energy, prevents headaches, etc.). Especially in the summertime, you can never have too much water!
6. Add Hydrating Foods to Your Diet :: In the summer months, I recommend watermelon, berries, cucumber, leafy greens, coconut water, and papaya!
7. Replace Your Sunscreen with a Mineral-Based Formula :: Look for the ingredients “zinc oxide” and “titanium dioxide” — anything else is most likely a toxic chemical with carcinogenic effects. My favorite brands and sunscreens are:
this brush-on sunscreen
this tinted sunscreen for the face
this sunscreen stick (my husband takes this to the golf course for easy application)
this spray (I keep this in my beach bag!)
8. Last but not least, switch to a natural deodorant!! I can’t stress the importance of this enough — you can read my full post on it here to learn why. I swear by these two natural deodorants: this spray version and this stick!