I think most of us can agree that this summer has been HOT. Although Fall weather is starting to appear in the air, we still have some hot days left like yesterday and even today! For many of us living in houses in Portland, there is no air conditioning or at least none that was put in when the house was built. My place definitely fits in this category and so here I am, trying to stay cool. For those of you out there who also do not have any AC, I wanted to share 5 super easy tips and tricks that I use for staying cool.

1. Apply Your Sprays in Front of a Fan

For many of us who wear makeup all day, setting spray is a life saver. When I have a 9 hour day in front of me, I want my makeup to last so I always apply setting spray before heading out the door. My two favorites are Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray and Mario Badescu Facial Spray. Since I am already applying these sprays to my face every morning, I love to sit in front of a fan and do it on hot days. The few seconds in front of the fan before your face dries can be really refreshing and definitely helps to cool you down.

2. Drink lots of water

Now I know that this sounds very obviously but honestly, a ton of us (myself included) do not drink as much water as we should. I remember reading somewhere that by the time you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. The best way I've found to remember to drink water and to make it more enjoyable is by always carrying around a fun water bottle. By having a water bottle with you at work, the gym, in the car etc. you will have a constant visual reminder to drink water as well as it being easily accessible. Drinking water can also be fun! There are so many cool and creative water bottles out there! I personally LOVE straws so I have several water bottles with straws to make it more enjoyable.

3. Hold cold objects to your wrists

In movies and back in high school health class you always learn and see people measuring someone's pulse at the point near their wrist. This is because that area is right over your radial artery which is where your blood is passing through as it circulates throughout your body. By holding something cold to that area you are cooling down the blood passing through that area which then continues through that vein helping to overall cool your temperature. Honestly I am not sure it that theory is backed up by scientific fact but definitely try it because it helps me cool down!

4. refrigerate your moisturizers

One really simple way to help stay cool in the hot weather is to refrigerate your moisturizers between uses! In the summer I use a lot of coconut oil as moisturizer on my whole body but especially my legs which can get pretty dry. The strange thing with coconut oil is that is has a pretty low melting point of only 76 degrees. On hot days my jar of coconut oil has long melted which makes it tricky to use. To make it easier to apply I started to stick it in the fridge which turned out to be great because when I used it, it would start out cold and solid and then melt as I rubbed it in. Since then I have also tried this tactic with my facial moisturizers which feels just as lovely.

5. Slow breathing and less movement

This last trick I actually learned while I was traveling in Italy two summers ago. I was there in the middle of the summer and it was hot hot HOT! In addition to being over 100 degrees, it was extremely humid and no where I went or stayed had air conditioning. What I learned to do was to try to take deep, slow breaths which helped me cool down. Sometimes when it is really hot, we almost start to panic as we realize just how hot and stuffy it is. This can raise our heart rates and actually make us more hot. This goes the same with fanning yourself with your hand or even a paper fan since all of that movement is using energy and making your warmer. Similar to what cats do when it is hot, slow breathing and less movements will definitely help you cool down although at first it may seem like you are still sweating buckets.

Let me know in the comments what other tips and tricks you all have for staying cool! Thanks for reading!