Earlier today I had the chance to do one of my friend’s makeup and since she was the maid of honor, her main goal was to have her makeup last throughout the day without fading or melting. Luckily, by using certain products her makeup was able to last throughout pictures, the ceremony, and even at the reception and I thought I’d share some tips on what I specifically used on her.
Foundation Primer
The most basic step for long lasting makeup is using a foundation primer before applying anything on to your face. One of my favorites is Smashbox’s Photo Finish because not only does it prime your skin but comes in many different formulas to suite your skin’s specific trouble areas. My friend had a lot of redness on her skin so I used the “balance” one to even out her skin tone and soothe the redness. If you have pretty clear skin and don’t need anything extra for it then Smashbox has their original Photo Finish that works for all skin types. If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative then I recommend Loreal’s Magic Perfecting Base which I mentioned in my drugstore favorites post. The important part is that you have some sort of base for the foundation to stick on to, especially if it’s liquid in order to not have it smudge as much or melt throughout the night.
Setting Powder
I can’t stress this step enough, especially if you’re using creamy or liquid products for your makeup. Since I always wear liquid foundation and concealer, I always take the time to set it with a thin layer of setting powder. Setting powder is considered the last step after applying primer and your foundation in order to give you a smoother finish and even cover some lines that your liquid foundation may give off. Setting powders are easily found in the same shades as foundations and certain concealers such as Bobbi Brown’s, come in concealer and powder sets to make things easier. While I do like translucent powder for every day use, I highly recommend you don’t use it for special occasions where there’s going to be a lot of pictures taken since translucent powder tends to bounce off the flash and show up in pictures as white spots. It’s a nightmare and if you don’t believe me, just google some pictures of celebrities and you’ll see what I mean.
Eye Primer
Since I wear eyeshadow every day, I never walk out of the house without eye primer on since it does so much to keep my eyeshadow from creasing and fading away. I’m sure you’re all familiar with the famous Urban Decay Primer Potion and although I’ve used it for years, I think a great dupe for that is ELF’s eye primer for only a $1. I usually do two swipes on each eye and a small swipe on my bottom lid if I’m going to be wearing any eyeshadow on the bottom. I also noticed that some people are using primer on their undereye before putting on concealer and while I don’t think it’s a bad idea, it may clog your pores or worse since it’s not intended for that area.
Lip Liners
Although there are many lip primers out there right now, I thought it would be easier and more budget-friendly to use a lip liner instead for longer lasting lipstick. I simply first line my lips and then start filling in the space in between until my entire lip area is covered with lip liner and then applying lipstick or lip gloss on top. This is a great trick, especially if you’re using red lipstick because it’ll make the color of your lipstick more vivid and opaque and will also not smudge as easily since there is a base underneath. Since I have so many different lipsticks, I only have a few lip liners but the one that every one should have in their collection is a nude lip liner that you can use with any lipstick color. Added bonus: It makes your lips look fuller without making them look fake 😉
Setting Spray
Out of all the products I mentioned in this post, the most important one to me is a setting spray. I use this at the end after I finished applying makeup and spray it on a few times all over the face and let it dry. I used Urban Decay’s All Nighter Spray for my senior ball in high school, and my makeup didn’t budge all the way to the end of the night. It’s amazing how great it works and I can never find another product that could come close to this. They also have two other setting sprays which is Dew Me for a more dewy makeup look and De-Slick which is for oily skin.
I hope this was helpful and let me know what you thought about it! I’d love to hear more tips on long lasting makeup so feel free to comment!
Until next time lovelies,
-Ruya
