Some good tips from our friends at Well+Good. How do you make your natural makeup last longer?
If you’ve made the switch from mainstream makeup to natural brands like RMS Beauty or Vapour, you’re probably still admiring your new dewy, fresh-faced complexion.
But lots of converts also have a complaint: The pretty pots and sticks just don’t last as long as their conventional counterparts (because they’re missing the chemicals that make them cling).
“It’s just something that everyone will have to learn to expect,” says celebrity makeup artist Katey Denno, who gets stars like January Jones and Christy Turlington ready for the red carpet. “There are no crazy intense polymers in the natural world that will equal long-lasting color.” (Though some hyper-pigmented brands do stain well.)
But, says Denno, while you may have to work a tiny bit harder and touch up your face during the day, it’s actually a good thing. Instead of feeding your skin endocrine-disrupting chemicals over and over, you’re nourishing your skin with hydrating bases like jojoba and coconut oil every time you reapply.
It will look better, too. “Instead of adding another layer onto old makeup, which creates a pancake-y look, you’re just adding a fresh glow,” she explains.
And while you’ll have to schedule a midday reach into your beauty bag, there are ways to maximize your natural makeup’s staying time. Here are Denno’s expert tips:
1. Moisturize first. Make sure your skin is properly hydrated. “If you put makeup on dry skin, it will be difficult to blend, and it will more likely disappear more quickly,” says Denno. “You don’t want your skin to absorb the cheek colors.”
This post might be premature as I’ve only had one for two days now, but I am in love with my new humidifier (that’s Canadian for “vaporizer,” by the way).
My skin’s been pretty dry lately, despite the fact that I’m using a super rich new moisturizer by Tammy Fender (review coming soon), that eye serum by La Bella Figura, a gentle Tata Harper cleanser and my usual argan oil every night. I also eat plenty of good fats, drink lots of water and take omegas every day. So what gives?
Well, since the holiday season started I’ve probably (definitely) been drinking more alcohol, which is dehydrating and disrupts my sleep a little bit, which stresses out skin. Plus, the air has gotten a little drier outside and in; I live in a prewar building where I can’t easily control the heat, and the radiator is right next to my bed.
That’s why when it was suggested to me recently that I get a vaporizer, I jumped at the idea—not to mention it was on Alexandra’s list of winter skincare tips. Dry Montreal winters necessitated them, so we always had them in our rooms growing up, and I got another one years ago, a gift from an engineer who had designed the thing. But somewhere along the line I forgot they existed. Now, just two days in, it’s love all over again.
It’s admittedly a little humid in New York now, but I’m convinced, though I can’t prove it, that the last two nights I’ve slept better, probably because the moisture in the air makes me more comfortable and less likely to wake up parched and desperate for a sip of water. Also, seeing is believing: My skin is much more hydrated, as if by magic.
So what about you? Do you use one?
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