How To Survive Summer.

Let's face it, it's hot as a chupacabra's squeal up in here. Most of us are indoors on this lazy Sunday, basking in the crisp central air conditioning that we just cannot imagine living without. This ridiculous heat is melting our souls and all hope of maintaining a decent, non-sasquatch-like appearance quickly sizzles before our eyes. For those of us who workout outdoors, yea, I didn't think it was humanly possible to sweat that much either.
So how do we survive the summer heat and live to see another season? Let Marissa count the ways...

HYDRATE!
 I cannot stress the importance of proper hydration enough. We live in a society where people only drink water with Crystal Light mixed in or when it is in the form of ice cubes. Stop being idiots and drink up! The most ridiculous excuse is, "I don't like the taste of water". Oh, so you can't stand the taste of something that has no taste, yet, you'll down some disgusting Patron shots and drink Tampico on the daily. Ugh. As a population, we just aren't drinking enough water and are just not seeing OR peeing clearly. Especially if you are exercising, it is imperative to be hydrated unless you want that tingling, cold feeling in your body where you start to see black spots all over. Not the best feeling, trust me. You want to lose weight, achieve optimal athletic performance and have glowing skin? Start drinking water, cut out all the other garbage and start being an adult.

Keep the sunglasses dark and the window tints darker. 
Of course sunglasses for that rush hour fiesta where the sun beams in your face no matter what or stunner shades to hide behind while running errands that seem to suck the life out of you in this heat. I suggest illegal car tints as well. Sure you run the risk of getting a ticket, hence the reason I roll my windows down while driving through Pinecrest or Miami Springs, but it's totally worth the leather seats that don't singe my ass, not having my appearance dissipate while driving in my car, and being able to sing in my car without people judging me for my talents.

Keep alcohol intake to a minimum. This is correlated with proper hydration and your reputation. Alcohol = dehydration. There is nothing worse than a morning after drinking and not having 300 deliciously cold water and Gatorade bottles waiting for you on your nightstand with a side of Motrin. Just doesn't happen. Also, if you're out drinking it up, you're most likely dancing like a video vixen outside, sweating, and morphing into a soggy disaster. Not a good look. Yes we are all guilty now and then, but a couple cocktails, some easy dancing, and a functional morning is how it should be done.

Invest in some serious antiperspirant. 
Especially you sweaty men. You don't want to be that guy in the pictures with the proud pit stains. There are a bunch of clinical strength deodorants with probably a disturbingly unhealthy amount of aluminum zirconium, but hey they seem to work. I'm a fan of Dove Clinical Strength Antiperspirant. Apply at night and I'm good for the day. I reapply my regular Dove pre-workouts though, but it works amazingly with no residue or marks on my clothes. It's the little things guys...

For the metrosexuals, keep the hair gel, intoxicating/unbearable cologne, and guayaberas to a minimum.
For the prissy ladies, hair products, makeup, and anything creamy applied to the body should be kept light. Chances are unless your hair was sent to you by and angel or keratin infused like mine (and trust me, I still struggle immensely with my hair), your hair and the humidity will battle it out with the humidity deemed victorious. Most of your makeup will slip off by the end of the night so stick with primers, mineral powders, and anything anti-shine. Some of my lasting faves for a complete look: Sephora Foundation Primer, L'Oreal Mineral Foundation Powder (it's cheap, matte-ifies and is gentle on sensitive skin like mine), and Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner (this stuff does not budge!).



                             And with that, stay cool, classy and have a great week! I'm off to run!