Beauty Clinic: Make up with super staying power
Q. I need tips on keeping my make up looking fresh through a long day and into the evening. Would a finishing spray help, or is translucent powder better? Or both? I normally wear tinted moisturiser with concealer where needed.
A. ‘In fact, staying power starts with prepping your skin,’ says make up artist Armand Beasley (armandinternationalltd.com). He recommends using a good cleanser, exfoliating regularly and, for summer using a lightweight but hydrating moisturiser. (We’re very keen on the new This Works Morning Expert range, especially their exfoliating Multi-acid pads/£33 for 60, which you can use daily if you want though we’d stick to once or twice a week. For other suggestions, see our Beauty Bible Skincare Award Winners here.)
Leave your moisturiser a few moments to absorb then apply a primer to create a smooth surface. Armand likes Smashbox Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Foundation Primer/£26. Eye make up is prone to creasing over a long day, as he says, so invest in a specific primer for eyelids such as Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion/£17.50, in six shades.
Our Beauty Bible testers raved about two primers: nude by nature Perfecting Primer/£22 for 30ml, and REN Perfect Canvas, £50 for 30ml. See their comments here.
Armand recommends swopping your tinted moisturiser for a BB cream like Inika Organic BB Cream/£30, which has a little more coverage and comes in seven shades from pale to very dark.
If you want to carry a concealer in your bag, we highly rate CODE8 Seamless Cover Perfecting Concealer/£25, in six shades, which has a brilliant sponge tip – best delivery system we’ve tried and the product covers and lasts.
Finishing powders really can help ‘set’ make up and, in Beauty Bible Awards, Aussie brand nude by nature triumphed again with its Translucent Loose Finishing Powder/£22.
If you tend to shininess, Clinique Stay Matte Universal Blotting Powder/£27, comes in a take-anywhere silver compact with a mirrored lid. One ‘very, very happy’ Beauty Bible tester reported: ‘I normally find powders sit in my pores and look chalky, then my face is shiny within a couple of hours. But this stopped all of that. It sets my make up without changing how my base looks.’
Armand sets the finished look with a few sprays of Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray/£24, to take his clients through to the small hours. (Follow Armand on Twitter and Instagram: @armandbeasley)