If you live in Hawaii or anywhere that considers “winter” to be the air-conditioning on Da Bus, then you know the struggle of sweating your makeup off on the commute to the bus stop before your day has even started.
Most products will get away with being marketed as long-wearing, sweatproof or waterproof, but that’s not always the case. Knowing what makeup products are actually sweatproof can be the most important and most tricky part of all. So what happens when you still want to rock a little or a lot of foundation as part of your makeup look to class, your internship, job or what have you on a busy day in Hawaii? Well, there are some tips that you can keep in mind that will definitely help keep your face on. Firstly, the climate is just as important as your skin type!
Foundations with “glowy,” “hydrating,” and “dewy,” in their descriptions are great for giving you that effect if that is what you’re after and you have normal to dry skin… but not so much if you have oily skin. And it’s even worse when you live in a place that’ll melt or slip just about any makeup off your face after enough amount of time. So, try to steer clear from these kinds of foundations if you know you’ll be in the heat or walking around most of the day. Look for products with the keywords, “long-wearing,” “matte,” “demi-matte,” “waterproof,” “sweatproof” or provide time/hour guarantees. They might not always be perfectly true, but the product company definitely created this product with these goals in mind.
The downside is many of these types of foundations can be heavy. Don’t want that much coverage? No worries. You can still wear a lighter coverage foundation; the key is to pair your foundation (no matter the coverage) with a good translucent powder.
The Originial RCMA No Color Powder from Beautylish.com retails for $12 for 3oz of product. That’s much more than you’ll get at the drugstore and has been reviewed by many professionals to be a good dupe for the iconic Laura Mercier translucent powder available at Sephora for a whopping $39 for 1oz.
Dust the powder over your base to set your makeup in place and absorb any oils that might start to come up. Don’t hesitate to touch up loosely throughout the day if you need to, a little goes a long way. Patting or blotting your powder into your skin a little at a time with a large powder brush might also be more effective than simply brushing over top. This technique helps bind the liquids into your skin rather than having them sit on top to slide off too easily.
My personal favorite foundation of choice for a long day (or night) in Hawaii is the All Nighter Liquid Foundation by Urban Decay ($40, Sephora.com). With this foundation, a little goes a long way as it is marketed as full-coverage. A downside is that it tends to oxidize, meaning the color sets darker a few minutes after application—keep this in mind when choosing your color. I would recommend trying this one in store first.
So next time you want to seize the day without sacrificing your beauty bag, be sure to find the right formula, look out for the right words on product descriptions, and keep your powder brush nearby to finish off your look and keep you looking fresh all day long no matter what the weather is like.