Let’s face it. Summer is not the best time for makeup. Because… nothing stays on!
And yet, people get married so you can’t show up with a bare face to their special day. You find a hot new date, or you want to just put a painted face on to perk up yourself.
We don’t have many places to go to right now. But the lockdown will be over soon and these tips will help you forever. So read on to find out the do’s and don’ts of summer makeup.
How to get summer makeup right
Start with a clean, iced canvas
Don’t start applying makeup when you’re hot and bothered. Calm down and cool down. Keep sipping an iced drink if it helps. After you have washed your face and exfoliated it, rub ice on it. You want the pores closed before you apply any products.
Hydrate and prime your skin
You do need hydration, even in this weather. Put on your trusted moisturizer, follow it up with a sunscreen, and then dab on some translucent powder. (Please don’t use ultra-hydrating sheet masks this time of the year, you don’t want the extra shine.)
Prime your entire face
Not just your eyes, not just your lips, the entire face. You need that to hold the makeup in place.
Concealer is optional
Unless you have prominent dark under eyes and/or spots that you want to cover, you can skip this step. Summer makeup should be light and playful. It’s ok for your ‘flaws’ to peep through. (Hey, come on, they are not really flaws!)
But if you insist on a flawless look, for a wedding/party appearance for instance, keep in mind it will require you to increase both the number as well as the amount of products you use, which may or may not lead to a pimple or two.
Pick a matte foundation
I recommend a liquid matte formula, preferably medium to full coverage if you’re skipping concealer. A liquid formula is easy to work with if you start sweating in the middle of a makeup session! It will also not cake.
Use pink or peach eyeshadow and only slightly dust your eyelids with it
Keeping in tune with the playfulness and brightness of the summer theme, choose your eyeshadows accordingly. Stay away from anything dark or glittery.
In general, keep the eye makeup light
Who wants a heavily done dark smokey eye on a summer afternoon (or even night)!
Bake your eyebrows and under eye area
To help prevent the product from getting ruined by sweat (if you happen to sweat on your forehead, which might then trickle down to your eyes). If you are unfamiliar with baking, here’s a good read on it.
I don’t, however, recommend baking on a regular basis. It’s too drying.
Use translucent powder generously
Powder your face before as well as after applying the foundation. And I’m not talking about the compact powder that we apply in the end, just the translucent powder for in between the application.
So, powder your face before applying foundation, wait a little bit, and then again after applying the foundation. Dab it in with a beauty blender.
Keep the blush light and matte
Cream blushes look wow, but they spread and disappear into an oily face. Plus, you don’t want shiny cheekbones on top of shiny cheeks!
Skip on contouring
Ask yourself, is this really necessary? The more the amount of product you have on your face, the greater the chances of the heat and the humidity ruining the end result. Unless you’re going to a wedding or a big occasion, there’s no need for a full face of makeup.
Use a bright lipstick
This is a good time to let the lips do the talking and keep the rest of the face low-key. Not only do you have a happy, perky look, you are also not drowning in a ton of products.
Use a setting spray
You need all the help you can get with keeping your makeup in place. My absolute favourite is the Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Setting Spray. But since Urban Decay products are not available in India, I have my eyes trained on the NYX Professional Makeup Long Lasting Setting Spray in matte finish, about which I have heard good things. (If you have any recommendations in this regard, please mention in the comments below.)
Bear in mind, however, that even with everything recommended here, chances are your makeup might not stay for more than a few hours. It’s summer! If you are out and about, of course, you’ll sweat – it’s unnatural not to. If you’re indoors, you’ll have better results. Much also depends on your personal tolerance to heat and humidity.
Here’s a summer look I created using drugstore brands. I was indoors – in a perfectly air-conditioned room – and in the mood for a bit of fun. 😊
Products used
- Colorbar Perfect Match Primer
- Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation (01 Ivory Fair)
- Innisfree Auto Eyebrow Pencil (Espresso Brown)
- Nykaa Eyes on Me! 10-in-1 Eyeshadow Palette (Beachside Peach)
- Lakme Eyeconic Kajal (Classic Brown)
- NYX Professional Makeup Worth the Hype Voluminizing Mascara
- Flower Beauty Flower Pots Powder Blush (Sweet Pea)
- Kay Beauty Matteinee Lipstick (Rom Com)
This is an unfiltered image so you can actually see the makeup. I’ve kept the makeup minimal and peachy, with an overall warm tone. This look won’t take long for you to create. I would, however, recommend that if you’re going to be outdoors in this weather, for any length of time, use a humidity- and sweat-resistant foundation. Not only will it last long, such foundations typically also give you better coverage so that you don’t necessarily have to use an extra product like a concealer.
That’s all for now. See you later!
