Spring/Summer makeup vs. fall/winter makeup

Until recently, I thought I had the kind of skin where it didn't matter the season or how I did my makeup- I was still going to need to blot, blot, blot. I could keep Clean and Clear in business all by myself, since I need to buy those darn blotting sheets so much and I have even tried strange potions like "mattifier," whatever that is.

But within the past year, I found that my skin was getting super dry in cold months while it still gets oily in the warmer months. To compensate for the lack of moisture in the winter I started using very emollient lotions for both day and night (and of course, I always use SPF 15 or 30 during the day, year round.) I haven't found a liquid foundation that doesn't make me look like I am wearing a mask, so I have been using Bare Escentuals/Bare Minerals. It gave me even, natural looking coverage, blended well, never looked cakey, and was buildable so I could use more as needed.

However, as it started getting warmer, and I started using my blotting sheets again, I did not like what I was seeing. I would put my makeup on in the morning, get greasy looking by 11am, blot, and I would be left with cake face. It would be noticeable (at least to me) that I was wearing a powder on my face. I am the type of person that doesn't want to look like I am wearing makeup, I just want to appear as though I have good skin!

So, I decided that maybe I needed makeup that was a bit lighter for summer, maybe an all in one product. I never tried a tinted SPF moisturizer that I liked from the drugstore, so I figured I would try some from Sephora, which has a great return policy. I always try to read reviews of products at Sephora I am interested in before buying, and my results showed that Benefit, Philosophy and Laura Mercier would give me the best bang for my buck. So far I have only tried the Benefit one- You Rebel, but I kind of love it. It gives me a little bit of color and evens me out, it moisturizes, and it has SPF built right it.

Since I was changing from a mineral powder to tinted moisturizer, I thought this was the perfect excuse to try a different blush. I was using an Estee Lauder (I forget the name) or Nars Orgasm- both in powder compacts. I had tried Nars cream blush in the past. But I had been dying to try an all around stain- like Benetint, although there are others. You can use it on lips AND cheeks, but so far I really only use it on my cheeks. You kind of have to play around with it to get used to it and see what works best for you. But I can best describe the effect you get as a "glow from within." It just looks like you are naturally blushing, which was exactly what I was looking for.

Do you have different makeup for different seasons? Do you like Mineral makeup? How do you feel about tinted moisturizers? Love a certain one and think it beats out my Benefit You Rebel? Ever try Benetint? Love it as much as I do? Share!