Makeup tips to enable you survive the very hot weather

You will have to change how you wear your makeup. Primers are your friend. They keep everything on your face instead of on tissues and dripping sweat. Primer for your eyes keeps eye makeup on, as much as face primers that illuminate and enhance your glow are a godsend for your face. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Primers are your friend. They keep everything on your face instead of on tissues...
  • A matte finish may be preferred especially if you detest shininess, but this is one of those times you might want to consider embracing The Glow. Bronzed, soft, dewy skin not only looks young and youthful, you won’t feel like you have to fight to keep it. A matte finish can also age you.
  • You will notice over time your skin tone turns uneven, with darker arms and decolletage, even when unintended. Sunscreen prevents that. Please note, anything you apply on your skin should have barely negligible levels of glycerin.

Last Friday I put on a long forgotten pair of jeans. I only needed to drive for a kilometre. By the time I arrived the top half of my jeans was a distinctly darker blue. I loathe hot weather. I can’t swim, it shrinks my hair and I feel personally attacked by the rays no matter how high the SPF. As a rule, I move around as little as possible during those glory hours of 11 am to 4 pm.

But sometimes hibernation simply is not on and I have had to find hacks to survive in this detestable heat. That is how body oils became part of my skin care arsenal.

You would imagine heat drives you away from oils, but it is quite the opposite. Spray on body oils are the secret. You spritz them on when your skin is damp from the shower, massaging them in promptly. Layer with sunscreen. Coconut and olive oil are excellent oils to use. You can go as far as pouring them into a spray bottle.

Coconut oil will always be liquid in the heat. If you have not been doing this before, and I don’t know why you haven’t, you will need to shower twice a day. There is no way around it. Oils are better absorbed by skin softened with a nice shower.

You will have to change how you wear your makeup. Primers are your friend. They keep everything on your face instead of on tissues and dripping sweat. Primer for your eyes keeps eye makeup on, as much as face primers that illuminate and enhance your glow are a godsend for your face. Invest in BB creams if you have dry skin and CC creams if you have blemishes, scars, uneven skin tone and oily skin. CC creams have concealer. When applied with a very light hand atop a primer, it will look natural and smooth.

This is precisely what you want. Something that looks like you have been dusted with the golden rays of the sun. This is why a lot of summer beauty and makeup trends are neutral, running the gamut of whites and pastels with lip colours and polish that blend in or have a burst of bold colours inspired by nature.

APPROPRIATE UNDERGARMENTS

A matte finish may be preferred especially if you detest shininess, but this is one of those times you might want to consider embracing The Glow. Bronzed, soft, dewy skin not only looks young and youthful, you won’t feel like you have to fight to keep it. A matte finish can also age you. Which is why if you do not have one, you need a spray to set your makeup once you are done. Ditch the powders unless you need to be camera ready. Wear waterproof mascara and eyeliner so when the sun and sweat get into your eyes it will not run.

Sunscreen is critical but you must also be picky. Zinc oxide is great for acne prone skin. A host of sunscreens have a grey or yellowish base which leaves your face looking like you wore a mask. Gel sunscreens or face creams with in-built sunscreen work best. Test before buying.

Some SPFs can sting the eye, dry the skin or irritate the eye area, which you ought to avoid during SPF application. Best to get eye cream with SPF to minimise the irritation. You must buy sunscreen for your body as well. Ideally, the hotter it gets the less clothing we tend to wear.

You will notice over time your skin tone turns uneven, with darker arms and decolletage, even when unintended. Sunscreen prevents that. Please note, anything you apply on your skin should have barely negligible levels of glycerin. Else you will not only be hot, you will also be sweaty and sticky.

So does wearing light, airy clothing. Natural fibres are grossly underestimated locally. Well, as it turns out, this is far more likely to be your saving grace. Cotton and linen as well as natural fibre blends as underwear will save you from the indignity of having the outline of your butt drawn against your back. Now is not the time to reach for pretty synthetic undies.

The trick is to look out for undies that are built to wick sweat, designed for surfing the crimson tide, made with technology borrowed from athletic wear, quick drying, microbial, antibacterial, made from bamboo fabric and/or really light cotton, provides sweat control, is chaf-free, ultimately cool, seamless, breathable and has stretch.

The biggest part of staying fresh in hot weather is always the thing no one can see. And you will know you have found good underwear when you forget it’s even ther

e. Take maxi dresses for instance. They are wildly popular weekend wear. The right undergarments will prevent chaffing and thigh rubbing, come in attractive packaging, be invisible and keep you cool. Functional underwear is the untold secret of 26 degree weather.