How to Look Fresh for Spring

With warm weather arriving in much of the country, it's only natural that many of us are shedding layers of clothing and lightening our looks with bright colors and softer fabrics. While you are busy refreshing your wardrobe, don't forget about tweaking your makeup routine as well.

The ideal look for spring is fresh, dewy and seemingly bare-faced. So, store your dark red lipsticks and smoky eyes for now and use these tips to get a gorgeous spring look:

1. Trade in your foundation: Find a new, lighter base for the warmer months to avoid looking cakey and sweating off your makeup. Use an oil-free, tinted primer to help your makeup glide on and stay put. Move from a liquid foundation to a tinted moisturizer or a mineral powder makeup.

2. Fill in your brows: I know this might seem like a strange tip; I myself scoffed at the idea at first. But the truth is that lightly filling in your brows is one of the best ways to enhance your features. Your brows frame your face, giving it definition and shape. When they are full and well-groomed, you will look younger, and because your features look more defined, you'll be able to wear much less makeup. We all have spots in our brows where the hair is sparse—my naturally brunette brows have the odd tendency to grow in blonde at the ends—and filling them in is easy. All you need is a brow pencil or a cream formula (I use Laura Mercier Brow Definer) in a color that matches your natural hair hue and a small, angled makeup brush. Use short strokes to fill in your brows. Try to mimic the shape and direction of your hair and don't go too dark. Filling in your brows is especially important when wearing your hair up so you don't look washed out. This is common practice among celebrities and one of the reasons why they seem to be able to pull off the sleek look better than most.

3. Highlight your cheekbones: Use an illuminator or highlighter to give your cheekbones a dewy glow this spring. It makes your cheekbones look higher and brings radiance to your whole face. Dab a little highlighter in the corners of your eyes and under the arch of your brow for an even more glowing look.

4. Put something, anything, on your lips: A rosy, bee-stung pout is the epitome of fresh and pretty. Even if you are not a lipstick girl, the new products hitting the market that are infused with essential oils and just a hint of color will give you that gorgeous color without the weight of a lipstick. I love Revlon's new Lip Butters and Burt's Bees tinted lip balms. I hate to see a girl with flawless makeup who looks washed out because her lips are dry and colorless. Give your kisser some love!

5. Be a bronze goddess: The key here is to fake a realistic tan. I'll admit I hated self-tanners until last year; they all seemed to turn my light skin orange and left stains on my clothing. However, the formulas for these products have been improving at a rapid rate. My favorite versions are those that come in towel form; they're fast-drying and do not stain. I use the Tan Towel brand. Others include Comodynes Self-Tanning towelettes and L'oreal Sublime Bronze.

You may also want to visit HealthyWomen's Skin Health Center or read:
Healthy Skin Dos and Don'ts
Skin Health

Bethany Porter is a blogger and beauty junkie. She believes in healthy living and that women have powerful potential for beauty both inside and out.