​My preferred state of being is "glittery". If I could, I would trade my entire bloodstream for a constant flow of Lemonhead L.A’s Space Paste running through my veins. My commitment to shining, glittering, and glowing all the time means that if you find a piece of glitter on your body from me, well, that’s my Hallmark card, like a hickey from Kenickie.
However, my lifetime commitment to shining gets dialed up to 100 in the summer months. In the summer, I slip and slide around in the backseats of taxis like a little baby seal because I slapped on any single thing that has the word "glow" on my legs: oil, lotion, the TV show starring Alison Brie, the perfume by J.Lo. Just kidding, I'm not a perfume girl. As a summer baby who is also very tactile, i view summer as both my time to shine and love the benefits - ridiculously soft skin from oiling myself up all the time. I’m not using tanning oil and I’m definitely NOT a tanning kinda girl, though (I love you, sunscreen). I’m absurdly soft, like a bunny on a fur rug. It’s totally fine that it’s too hot to flirt, I can’t stop rubbing my arms.

So I want everyone to shine, shine, shine - these are my tips and tricks to being the shining, glittering, shimmering disco queen you always wanted to be.

Body Wash Matters!

When I was In middle school, he returned from college with all kinds of education, including a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap, and it has been a lifelong love affair since. You've likely seen it around - it's known for its multipurpose functionality and is a hit with new moms in particular. The soap's primary ingredient is water, followed by coconut oil, so it comes to a lather but it’s very gentle - the rest is a blend of great oils like hemp, olive, and jojoba. It comes in delicious scents like peppermint, lavender, and rose. Your skin will be left feeling smooth and clean, but never stripped or dry - a sensation I’ve noticed with the more traditional body washes is that you’ll find in the drugstore. I tried other shower oils, such as Glossier Body Hero Daily Oil Wash and Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Smoothing Oil to Foam Body Cleanser and they definitely get the job done. However, for the price point, Dr. Bronner's is your best friend and is multipurpose - I like to use it as soap for my makeup brushes. I’ve been using Dr. Bronner's to keep me clean and for shower literature so long… I still haven’t finished the bottle. It's the longest book I've ever read.

Use your loofah!

When did people stop using loofahs? Exfoliation is your friend. Scrape off the dead skin cells and let your skin breathe! You can also use a physical exfoliant like a body scrub - I like Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish and Soap and Glory's Breakfast Scrub. But the main point is as long as you slough off your dry lizard skin, the shining, glowing skin underneath comes through.

Get slippery!​

 Okay, so this is for when you really want to get treatyourself.gif and really show off. Grab your favorite body oil (I like Fresh Sugar Ultra-Nourishing Body Oil, but really, you can use coconut or jojoba oil - your mileage may vary on this one) and as the last step in your shower routine, massage the oil all over your body from the neck down under the hot running water. Sounds counterintuitive but, trust me. The steam and the oil will lock in the moisture into your skin and the running water will act as a sealing agent. Be careful though - oil and water definitely can lead to a slippery slope out of the shower, and I wouldn't want anyone to hurt themselves in the pursuit of softness. That goes against everything I stand for, personally.

Lotion is your friend!

Oh, you thought we were done? Silly girl, tricks are for kids. Once you’ve all toweled down, use your favorite lotion and make sure your skin is still a little damp before moisturizing your body. We're locking in moisture at every step, people! I lotion after every single shower and have "kitten on soft leather" soft skin because of it. I primarily use Cetaphil or Eucerin depending on the season, though I’ve never shied away from Sol De Janeiro's Brazilian Bum Bum Cream for when I'm really trying to live my best life. The cream is luxuriously thick and the coconut scent is subtle enough for even a “no fragrances ever“ girl like me. The subtle sheen works everywhere, too.

Glitter, and Glow, and Glam, oh my!

This tip is for those really extra occasions when you want the only thing as sparkling as you in the room to be champagne. If your goal is “Britney Spears in the 'Toxic' music video" well, this will be your favorite step. The other steps were all about getting touchably soft skin - this step is how you make people want to touch that skin. For my legs, I love a dry body oil mixed in with my lotion, and on top: The Body Shop Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil and NARS Monoi Body Glow for a more subtle glow, and the Gourmand Shimmering Body Oils (sadly discontinued) for a glittery "Donna Summer and Cher had a baby" moment. For a DIY option, you can just take a broken or shattered highlight that you might have (and if you're as clumsy as me, you definitely do) and mix it in with your favorite body oil. Apply to your gams, throw on a great pair of shoes and trick everyone into thinking you didn’t skip leg day for once. For my upper body, applying a powder or liquid highlight to the shoulders, décolletage, and collarbone really helps keep the party going. I like Farsali Jelly Beam, a highlight too silver for my cheekbones, but great for my collarbones. And my face? I could write another article on how there is literally no such thing as too much highlight. But that's neither here nor there, my main go-to is adding a pump of Becca Liquid Shimmering Skin Perfector to my moisturizer. The result can be best described as "lit from within realness". Even on makeup-free days, you'll literally glow from the inside out. 

Now you know! So go on, glimmering, shimmering, shining summer goddess! Live your life like Beyoncé and DJ Khaled did the soundtrack.