Charlie has two baseball games tonight. TWO! Which means that after an entire day of not leaving the house for anything except my run (which doesn’t really count because I’m not going to stop and talk to anyone) and school drop off/pick up (which does not require me to get out of the car or interact with actual adult people), I will need to get myself together to go to the little league field.

Yay for that.

I do like pink — why do you ask?

I wrote recently about my devotion to sunscreen, and about how you should also be lotioning up every single day. A couple of you have asked about the every-two-hour rule, particularly for face — specifically, you want to know how I reapply sunscreen every two hours all day long without taking my makeup off.

Let’s talk about that.

First things first: I wear an SPF 15 sunscreen on my arms and legs and neck, every day, all year long, even on a day like today when I may or may not leave the house. I’m a big believer in always covering up, even if the longest I’ll be out in the sun will be the walk to and from the grocery parking lot. Of course, even though I’m wearing shorts today, I don’t really need a full-spectrum lotion for that little bit of sun exposure — nor do I need to reapply my sunscreen before I run out for bread. A shot of incidental sun exposure isn’t going to kill me; in fact, it may give my body a chance to replenish my vitamin D stores, which is a good thing.

I will, however, put on some more lotion before I head for the ball field this evening, even though the first game doesn’t start until 6 pm, because I am totally that woman who gets a sunburn at dusk. No, I am not kidding.

But what about my face? I wear sunscreen on my face every single day, no matter what the weather or my plans. On a not-leaving-the-house kind of Wednesday, like today, I opt for Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Enhancer; it’s a sheer, light-weight moisturizer with an SPF of 20. It’s perfect when I’m just trying to shield myself from incidental exposure. It also evens out my skin and covers up the blemishes without looking like I’m wearing a ton of foundation.

I add a little cream blush and a some brow filler and a slick of lip gloss and I’m good to go. That’s my everyday face. If I have a lunch date or somewhere fun to go, I’ll add eye liner and a tiny bit of shimmery highlighter under my brows. Done!

For days when I’m going to be outside a little more — say, running a lot of errands or going in and out when the kids are home — I’ll opt for something with a higher SPF, like Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Glow Sheers, which has an SPF of 30. I don’t typically wear any sort of makeup over that — just a little lip gloss and a pair of sunglasses.

On those in-and-out days, I do reapply, not exactly every two hours but certainly two or three times during the day. I use blotting paper to soak up any oil on my face and then rub about a dime-sized blob of sunscreen on. Easy.

And of course, at the pool where I’m full-on outside (in the shade with a big hat on, but still) I go with an SPF of 70 and reapply diligently every two hours, with a nickel-sized glob of lotion for my face and ears. Because why tempt fate? Or cancer?

If you’re wearing foundation during the day, of course, this approach won’t work for you. Instead, think about using a mineral powder with SPF and touching up your face that way during the day — but keep in mind that you only really need to reapply if you’re going to be out in the sun for any extended period of time, particularly between 10 am and 3 pm.

What’s your everyday sunscreen routine? How do you manage to look pretty and stay sun-smart?