The struggle of keeping my makeup set has been too real this summer and there’s no sign that the temperature will drop anytime soon. Yesterday the thermometer in my car registered 100 degrees [F] and in all honesty, it’s been like this for months now. I have been wracking my brain trying to think of ways to keep my makeup in place with no luck, well until recently that is. I found a way that seems to keep my foundation [mostly] in place for hours on end AND feels much lighter on my skin, which is super beneficial when you live in the kitchen of hell known as South Carolina. So, here’s the deal, or at least what has worked for my combination skin…
First, I started by slathering moisturizer on my face, focusing particularly on the dry spots around my nose and chin. When I say slather I mean use an excessive amount, leaving a bit extra on your face. Go do something for 20-30 minutes, maybe some light cleaning or catching up on your favorite show or blog. When the time has elapsed take a tissue and gently wipe away the excess, making sure to get as much of it off the surface as possible. Next, I took out my NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, a primer from Avon [review to come later] and my color correcting mint concealer from NYX. Squirt a bit of foundation, a little more than half of what you would usually use, on your surface of choice; I always use the back of my hand because it warms the foundation and makes it easier to apply. Then add about half the amount of primer you normally would directly beside it and dab color correcting concealer, if using, to the side. Now, I’m going to go ahead and warn you here.. you need to get the ratio of foundation to primer as close as you can, otherwise it comes out kinda iffy. If you use too much foundation it just slides off your face but if you use more primer, the coverage won’t turn out the way you would like. If you are using CC concealer, dab sparingly. The last thing that you want is to have a green/lavender/peach/whatever tinge and if you need to you can use a bit more.
This is my ratio:
You can mix it with a foundation brush or your fingers [my method] but make sure everything is evenly incorporated. How you choose to apply it is completely up to you, I chose to dab it on my face with my fingers and buffing it out with a damp beauty blender like sponge [save yourself $15 and get the sponge by Real Techniques]. I let the products “dry” on my face for about 5 minutes before spritzing with setting spray pretty heavily, which requires about the same amount of time to dry. After everything has dried, I set it AGAIN with a light dusting of the HD Studio Finishing Powder from NYX and use my normal blush and highlight routine and opt for a powder contour instead of my usual cream. If you would like to use cream contour or blush I imagine that it would be no issue to quickly apply it with a light hand before the primer has had a chance to dry. After all is said and done, I spritz lightly with setting spray again and I’m done. I know that this seems like a lot of setting but due to the humidity here [and the fact that I’m on medication that makes me sensitive to heat] I sweat quite a bit.
I’m not gonna sit here and say that this method is going to work for everyone because I know that everyone has different skin types and people react differently to products but I will say that it works better than anything else has for me in the summer. Normally when I sweat there are itty bitty “holes” in my makeup but for some reason this method doesn’t do that. The featured image of this post is how my face turns out, even if I’ve been exposed to the heat for hours. If you try this PLEASE let me know how it works out for you, as well as your skin type for comparison. Do you have any tried and true methods for surviving the summer? Drop any helpful tips that you may have in the comments.
Until next time,
BekahBoo
BekahBooBeauty 