How to Get Your Makeup to Last All Day
Follow these simple steps and you’ll always be ready for your close-up.
Whether you’ve spent all morning perfecting your look or sprung for a professional makeup artist, you don’t want your precious beauty investment to melt with every hour that goes by. After all, pictures abound in today’s selfie culture, or perhaps you’ve got a prom or bridal shower to attend and the photos won’t stop until you do. Taking a few extra steps in the getting-ready phase goes a long way in making sure that you don’t experience any excess shine, smudging or transferring later on. Here’s how to get your makeup to last all day using the latest tricks and products so when the camera goes snap, you’ll truly be able to “smize,” worry-free.
Ask any pro makeup artist or beauty YouTuber and they’ll tell you: The first step in how to make makeup last all day is start with a primer. That’s because primers are like a virtual Instagram filter. Applied before base makeup and after daily moisturizer, these silky formulas blur imperfections, like enlarged pores and fine lines, while helping makeup glide on smoother. The biggest bonus? Any foundation becomes “long-wear” when you start with a primer. If you’re prone to oiliness, you’ll want to search for the word “mattifying” on the label, such as L’Oréal Paris Infallible Matte-Lock Mattifying Makeup Primer, to help keep shine at bay.
Next up is all about acing that base. No matter how many supposed flaws you have, resist the urge to pile on copious amounts of dense pan makeup! For the most natural look that will stay put for hours, it’s best to choose a lightweight rather than a full-coverage foundation that could leave your face looking flat in photos. Choose a long-wear version such as L’Oréal Paris Infallible 24HR Fresh Wear Foundation. It’s available in 30 shades and allows skin to breathe as oil-absorbing ingredients ward off sweat or tears or the risk of transferring.
Don’t worry! You can always build up light- to medium-coverage foundations by using an applicator sponge or brush in areas where you need more disguising, such in the T-zone and under the eyes. That way, cheeks will stay looking dewy and fresh. If you have stubborn spots of acne or patches of discolouration or redness, you can get out the big guns! Choose a long-wear, full-coverage concealer, such as L’Oréal Paris Infallible Full Wear Concealer. Start with a dollop from the doe-foot applicator and then blend it in using the warmth of your fingers to avoid any cakey finish.
The next area most likely to give away the fact that you’ve been up until 5 a.m. is the eyes. Just like your complexion, a lash primer like L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Original Primer will keep mascara from smearing while providing even more dramatic length and volume per lash. Curl lashes with an eyelash curler beforehand and you’ll have the closest thing to faux lashes you can get for a larger-than-life effect in photos. As an extra precaution against potential smudges, choose a waterproof mascara like L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Original Mascara in Waterproof Black.
You know what’s not so cute in pictures? A skid of eyebrow makeup that gives away your top-secret shaping tricks. Try a long-wear formula that won’t budge when it rains (or even if you’ve been working up a sweat on the dance floor). L’Oréal Paris Unbelieva’Brow has a waterproof film that seals in the gel pigment while maintaining a natural look. Simply deposit the colour over a wide area using the doe-foot applicator first; then, using the accompanying angled brush, draw in hairlike lines toward the top of your brow; finish by brushing upward using the provided spoolie. Voilà! Brows for days.
Time for the grand finale. The last step in how to get makeup to last all day ends with your lips. Once you find the lipstick of your choosing, be sure to use a matching lipliner first, to give your pout long-lasting definition no matter which finish you choose (satin, matte or anywhere in between). Fill lips in with the lipliner to create a super-pigmented base. Next, apply your lipstick and blot using a face tissue. Seal it all in using a light dusting of translucent setting powder, and you’re done.
Remember: The less touch-ups you have to do the better, since more and more makeup only takes you further and further away from the natural beauty you started with.