How To: Make Your Makeup Last All Day

Okay ladies, do you ever wish your makeup lasted all day? Especially when your days are long and your commute feels even longer? Over the last year, I have watched a million YouTube videos and have read a thousand blog entries (a slight exaggeration, but I think my boyfriend will say I'm pretty close :p). From all the research, I have tried a few things that have really helped my makeup last longer. 

As always, I want to set expectations. By no means will your makeup look like it did when you first applied it 8 hours later, however, it will look better and you should notice that you still look polished, even after a long day at work. Here are the top 5 things that have worked for me. . You'll notice that it all begins with your foundation... literally.

1. Use and prep with minimal products

I used to do it all... toner, moisturizer, sun screen, and primer before putting on any type of foundation. The more layers you put on, the harder it is for the foundation to adhere to your skin.

Look for products that are multipurpose, e.g. primers that are extra moisturizing for dry skin, foundations with sunscreen, moisturizers that help tone and brighten skin, etc. The bonus? Not only will you save time in the morning, you'll save money too!

2. Use a primer

Primers really do work - not only to provide you a smooth surface for your foundation to go on, but it helps to prolong the wear of your make up. Because my skin is dry, one of my all time favourites is Laura Mercier's Hydrating Foundation Primer.

Primers can get expensive, so I use mine sparingly. I've found that a lot of my foundations hold up pretty good for the most part, and so on work days, I generally skip this step. When I do use it on weekends or on a night out, I focus the primer on areas that get oily. For me, I dot it along my t-zone and work my way out - spreading the excess to the rest of my face. A pea size dot is more than enough, a little goes a very long way!


3. Blot off the excess foundation

I got this tip from watching YouTube (gossmakeup). Take Kleenex or toilet paper, whatever you have lying around and separate the sheets so that you're working with a thinner layer of tissue. Use this and gently press it against your face. Key word is press. The goal isn't to rub off your make up, but to remove all the excess moisture and oil from your foundation, leaving behind just the pigment on your face. It's really such a simple step that makes a big difference. 

4. If you're wearing liquid foundation, set it with powder

I didn't always do this step until after a makeup workshop that I went to this summer. The instructor told me to always set something wet with something dry. This will help absorb any oil or moisture from the skin throughout the day. I like the way that it really finishes the look, making your face look more flawless. I was initially worried that my skin would look cakey, since I have normal to dry skin, but she (my instructor) told me that if you've moisturized enough (or her tip, mix your favourite foundation with your moisturizer), the chances of that happening are slim. If you're still concerned, then try to only focus on the areas that you get oily. I always make the effort to powder my t-zone and the areas where I've used a concealer. My favourite one right now is MAC's Mineralize Finish Powder. 

5. Use a setting spray

Last but not least, use a setting spray to help make your makeup last all day. I actually never leave home without it. The one that I've been using is Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray. For a full review, click here. This is not a miracle spray, your makeup is not going to look flawless like how it did when you first applied, but it sure is going to look a heck of a lot better at the end of the day then if you didn't use it at all.

That's it! 5 very simple tricks that should help your foundation last all day. If you have any tips that really work well for you, please share :)

Thanks for reading!

Face of the Day (FOTD)

I love having Friday's off! - It lets me do things like this that I normally wouldn't have the time to do. So FOTD is something that I've seen on various beauty blog sites, where beauty bloggers show their makeup look for that particular day. Since I had a lot of time to kill and a lot of makeup, I figured I will do my own rendition :)

Although taking pictures throughout the whole makeup process was time consuming, the actual application wasn't at all. You can probably do this in 15 minutes - honest! Enjoy :) 

 

Before and After.

Uh-huh. I'm putting it out there... my no makeup face on the World Wide Web. Other than my closest girlfriends, my family and my boyfriend, no one usually gets to see this face. As you can see, I do have darker eye circles, sun spots and redness that I like to hide. However, I'm not complaining, because I do feel truly blessed to have skin that behaves for the most part :)

  

 Base Face Application. 

Products Used: Clinique's Moisture Surge Intense;  

Guerlain's Lingerie de Peau (in shade 12); 

Clinique's Airbrush Concealer (in Fair);  

MAC's Mineralize SkinFinish Natural (in Light Medium)

 Contour. 

Product Used: Chanel's Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzer Universel

Colour and Highlight. 

Products Used: Tarte's Amazonian Clay Long-Wear Blush (in Tipsy); 

Christian Dior's Shimmer Powder (in Amber Diamond)

Eyes and Lips.

Products Used: Kiss Me's Heroine Smooth Liquid Eyeliner

Christian Dior's DiorShow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum;

Make Up For Ever's Smoky Lash (in Extra Black Mascara)

NYX's Eyebrow Cake Powder (in Black/Gray)

Essence's Stay With Me Lipgloss (in Hottest Pink)

AND TA-DA! You're done!

TGIF Ladies! :)

Accent Nails



Nail Polish: MAC's Frost Glam Clan's
& Sephora's Only Gold for Me

I first mentioned accent nails in my Welcome blog. I didn't go into any detail, other than the fact that my cousin had sparkly thumbs. So what are they exactly? The idea of accent nails is to accentuate two or three nails with a different colour or application from the rest of your manicure. 

I first saw this on my best friend when she came back from Hong Kong. She told me it was very popular in Asia, I figured it would only be a matter of time before we started seeing it here... and we have!

Experiment with colours and express your mood! You can be subtle as you like with complimentry colours or be bold with contrasting colours. The best part? There are no rules! Decorate your accent nails with whatever you like - glitter seems to be very popular. 

After you pick your colours and application, you have to choose which nails to accentuate. It really comes down to personal preference. My cousin, as mentioned earlier, likes accenting her thumbs. In the beginning, I didn't like symmetry at all... Currently? I do (focusing on my ring fingers)... Tomorrow? Who knows! This is why accent nails are one of my most favourite things... because no matter who's doing it, it never stops you from changing it up and making it your own.