How To Get Your Makeup To Stay On In The Heat This Summer
Vacation dinners, patio drinks, just living life while sweating — a professional MUA shares tips for all of it.
Spring is here and summer beckons. Before long, it’ll be time for beach trips, patio margs, and backyard barbecues. That also means that when you’re getting ready for these fun in the sun days, you have to decide whether it’s even worth it to put makeup on or if it’ll just melt off your face in five minutes.
Well, we here at Scary Mommy are in the same boat (we wish we were on a real boat...), and we’re sick of feeling like a sweaty mess when we want to feel pretty and sun-kissed. So, we asked a professional makeup artist for her best advice on how to get your makeup to stay on in the heat. It’s a little bit about what you use, and a lot about how you use it, she says.
How To Get Your Makeup To Stay On In The Heat
Most makeup artists agree that for your makeup to look its best and wear its longest, you need to prep your skin before applying. And when it’s hot out, you want to start with a gripping primer and then build up your foundation a little at a time.
“When it’s hot or humid, the longevity of your makeup really starts with how you prep the skin. I always begin with a smoothing primer to create grip, followed by a lightweight, breathable complexion product rather than anything overly heavy. Thin layers are key — after all, it’s much better to build coverage gradually than to apply a lot at once, because thicker layers tend to break down faster in heat,” says Nikki DeRoest, LA-based celebrity makeup artist and founder and CEO of ciele Cosmetics.
If you’re worried about heat and sweat, you should probably also be thinking about sun exposure, DeRoest says. Her advice is to reach for products that have SPF built into their formulas. They’ll help you prevent exposure to harmful UV rays throughout the day, and you won’t ruin your makeup by reapplying a traditional SPF — you can just pop on a little more skin tint instead.
“For example, I’d start with Ciele’s Prime & Protect SPF 30+ to smooth the skin and help makeup adhere better, followed by Ciele’s Tint & Protect SPF 50+, which gives breathable coverage while also protecting the skin,” she explains.
You may have to touch up your makeup in the summertime, even if you’re not someone who typically does so during less sweaty seasons of the year. You don’t need to travel with your whole makeup bag, but keeping a few versatile tools in your purse can do wonders, DeRoest says.
“I always recommend keeping blotting papers, a small powder compact, and a lip product in your bag. Blotting papers are great because they absorb excess oil without adding more product. A powder blush is also helpful because you can lightly revive the cheeks if needed,” she says.
If you’re a millennial who spent time learning from beauty guru YouTube, chances are you’re wondering where setting powder fits into this sweat-proof makeup routine. Those early influencers set every inch of their face in every tutorial. But you really don’t need to do all that, DeRoest says.
“You absolutely don’t have to mattify your entire face to make makeup last. I actually prefer keeping the skin luminous and only setting the areas that tend to move the most, like the center of the face or along the temples if you tend to sweat,” she says. “A cream blush or complexion product layered with a very light touch of powder in strategic areas can help maintain that skin-like finish. For example, you might apply a cream blush first and then lightly tap a powder blush over it to set the color without losing the glow.”
Setting spray, on the other hand, really can help hold your makeup in place without changing the finish of your skin. Makeup setting sprays contain polymers that form a lightweight film or “net” over your makeup, which holds it in place throughout the day and makes it more resistant to humidity, sweat, and smudging.
As a beauty lover who tests a ton of products for work — and a lifelong resident of the Sunshine State — here are the products I keep on my vanity for hot summer days:
Whether you want to put on makeup or declare this a bare-faced summer, more power to you. If you do want to pop on a little something before you meet the girls for oysters later, we hope these tips and tricks help you feel beautiful.
