Hey everyone. Today our topic is how to wear full-faced makeup (FFM) in Singapore. As you all know, Singapore can be summed up in three words – hot, humid and sunny. Girls, you know what trouble that spells – makeup melting, oily skin, cakey makeup, BO, pit stains – the list goes on and on.
Here’s my tips on how to wear an entire face full of makeup and not have it slide down your face by the end of the day. Don’t worry, because I’ve prepared a list for my oil slickers and dry skinners.
OILY SKIN
You and I both know how hard it is to wear makeup on oily skin. Our skin produces more oil than normal, which can cause the base – BB creams, tinted moisturizer, foundation – we wear to break up and separate on our skin, often disappearing by the end of the day.
Your skin savior is anything that has the word ‘mattifying’, but hold your Batman credit card. There are different grades of mattifying in the glorious industry of makeup. If you buy a mattifying product that is too strong, you risk overdrying your skin, which sends a signal to your brain to produce extra oil. This is a very vicious cycle that could ruin your skin. So listen before you pay.
More:Why Over-drying Your Skin is Bad
Is Your Skin Dehydrated? Here are
There are different level of oils too.
The first place to de-slicking your makeup is with your base. Use mattifying moisturisers and sunscreen to counteract the oiliness of your skin. Since your skin is already producing an excess of oils, get oil-free skincare so that your skin is still hydrated, but will not produce too much oil.
Another area to tweak to reduce shine is with primer. Traditional primer works as a base for your base makeup to stick to your face, but we are in the era of multitasking primers – primers that hydrate, colour – correct, but most importantly mattify. They are the ones that will absorb any and all shine before and after your skin starts to oil up. A famous and effective primer is the Innisfree No Sebum Blur Primer, and for eyeshadow primer, The Face Shop Eye Makeup Primer.
The final area to control shine with is makeup! Depending on where your skin is oily, here are some picks to keep your face downy and smooth!
In clockwise – Innisfree Long Wear Cushion, Etude House Surprise Concealer Kit #02 Dark Circle, The Face Shop Lovely Me:Ex Make Me Star Waterproof Gel Liner in Celebrity, Peripera Peri’s Tint Water No.3 Orange, Etude House Color My Brows #1 Rich Brown, Banila Co. Fantasy Blusher Orange Mania.
Many of these products that I recommended are long wearing, waterproof, gel, water and powder based. These are key words to look out for when you want a base that will not melt or smudge throughout the day.
Dry Skin
Dry skinners face a completely different issue. Makeup tends to last longer on these girls, but makeup also sucks and blocks water from entering the skin, which leaves the skin feeling tight, and often flaking by the end of the day.
Basically, if you fit into any of these areas, your daily moisturizer is usually not enough for your skin. Switch to a richer formula, and look out for words like hyaluronic acid, vitamin e, a and c, ceramides, shea butter, beeswax, squalene, jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil. These ingredients help to increase the amount of moisture in your skin, as well as strengthen and build your skin, as dry skin tends to be more sensitive to environment pollution.
What you have to look out for in all three sectors (skincare, primer, makeup) is words that are associated with moisture – hydration, plumping, aqua, moistful, rich, glow, watery – as these will keep your face plump and smooth all day long. A great moisturiser is the Etude House’s Moistful Collagen Cream. It contains baobab tree, which provides nutrients and moisturise to the skin.
In clockwise direction: Dr. Jart+ BB Bounce Beauty Balm, Etude House Surprise Concealer Kit #01 Flaw Coverage, Etude House Draw My Brow Pencil in Black, 3 Concept Eye Lipstick, Etude House Lash Perm All Shockara Mascara, The Face Shop Soft Cream Blusher in 01 Pink.
Most of the makeup products I recommend here are watery, waterproof, matte, shiny and powdery. Though dry skinned girls may want their complexion to shine brighter than the moon, the shine still needs to be contained, and you can’t have your brows melting off because of the moisturizing products. Too much glow can look greasy, so I suggest pairing a glowy face with matte lips as contrast and to keep the glow natural.