Summer-ready, in a jiffy

'A splash of cold water or rubbing ice before you step out will instantly help you, and your skin will feel fresh and get ready to face the dust and heat.

'If you have to head to an important meeting after a longu00a0commute, use powdered blocking tissue, that will soak the oil off your face and also clean the dust. Dusting with the age-old talcum powder helps too.

'Carry cheek and lip tints with you. This multipurpose product can be used to add a natural blush to your cheeks, as an eye shadow if necessary and also adds colour when applied to your lips. also, a kajal is a must as it's quick to apply and removes the tiredness from your eyes.

'When heading for a night out post-work, defining your eyebrows with your eyebrow pencil helps. You can also use it to add a smoky look to your eyes.

'Stay away from foundation as it clogs your pores and looks patchy after a few hours. Use powder foundation instead. If you really need to camouflage use a long-wear concealer.

'Skip red lipsticks for daytime and go for corals. Apart from lip stains, one can use mattifying lipsticks, which will not bleed.

'Do not use any heat on your hair as it will kill the volume, use dry shampoo instead or tie your hair into a sleek pony with a nice scrunchy.

'For those with wavy hair, use moisture spray and do a loose tie-up, once you have reached your venue, open and scrunch a bit for beautiful, textured layers.

Tips by make-up artist Ojas Rajani.

For men
"Summer is harsh and the sun can do some severe damage to your hair. If one is bald apply sunscreen, yes, it might sound funny. But, will definitely help your scalp from flaking. If you have long hair, ponytail it and wear a hat. It looks stylish and protects the hair at the same time. Use very little styling products and a very mild conditioner to avoid the hair from getting greasy and oily. If you're the swimming and outdoor kind, protect your hair with a leave-in
conditioner," says stylist, Sapna Bhavnani.

Know your SPF
SPF, seen on sunscreen packaging, stands for Sun Protection Factor. The amount of SPF in numbers (SPF 15, 30, etc) signifies the amount of protection it provides against skin-damaging Ultra Violet rays. "For the Indian skin tone, one can use a minimum of SPF 15 sunscreen. Both men and women need equal amounts of skin protection; hence, it does not vary according to your gender. Also, the increase in the SPF level and the protection it provides is like a graph; if SPF 15 gives you 95 % protection 30 will give you 95.5 % and not double. But go for a sunscreen that protects you against both UVA and UVB rays," says Dr Swati Srivastava, Dermatologist.u00a0