The Experts’ Guide to Meltproof Summer Makeup
Never mind the heat waves and ballooning humidity—you can still play it cool. The makeup artists Lisa Aharon and Sam Fine share their tips and product recommendations for creating summer looks that stay put.
Written by LAURA REGENSDORF
Jasmine Tookes on set for VIOLET GREY’s summer campaign, as the makeup artist Loftjet sweeps on an incandescent highlighter.
If peak summer could be summed up in a single image, it would be a melting ice cream cone: a race against time and temperature before the delicious comes undone. So it goes for makeup, where the usual routine—skin-like foundation, dewy blush—now must contend with the elements.
“What you’ve done all year round can’t always carry you in this heat,” says the makeup artist Sam Fine. “Thank goodness glow is in,” he adds—but unmitigated shine is not. A few strategically chosen products can help control the extra slip. “I tend to use more powder formulas in the summer because they have better longevity,” says the makeup artist Lisa Aharon, noting how these textures adapt to the moisture in the air. “You walk out into humidity, and it instantly becomes a cream effect.” Here, Fine and Aharon share their techniques and makeup recommendations for the long, steamy days ahead.
THE COMPLEXION
Skin is in: That’s the mantra of summer. How does that translate to the face when heat-wave temperatures put complexion products to the test? One option is to embrace the moment and keep it simple. “I definitely pull back in the summertime,” says Aharon, who often wears just a tinted sunscreen. Tonal’s Sunveil SPF 50 foundation is another way to slip in sun protection. “It’s great for somebody who wants a good amount of natural-looking coverage that lasts,” she says—and if you plan to sheer it out, just pair it with a base layer of sunscreen. For occasions that require a polished look, she recommends applying a smoothing primer just at the center of the face, topped off with a semi-matte foundation, to tamp down redness and shine in that zone while letting the outer face retain its glow. Sarah Creal’s Face Flex concealer is in her current rotation. “I’ve been using it all over the face, not just under the eyes,” she says, pointing out its skin-like finish.
For people who want targeted coverage for, say, melasma or acne scarring, Fine suggests going in deftly with a heavier formula, like a stick foundation. “I know it sounds crazy,” he says of the summer counterprogramming, “but that usually works better in the heat because its constitution is made to stay put.” Concealer pencils are another option for “pointillist” touchups, he says. A setting spray is a helpful way to seal everything in. This is also a time when powder becomes your friend, Fine adds—particularly at the center of the face. “Using a translucent powder is going to be the lightest, most effortless way to walk through this heat,” he says. A portable compact, paired with a classic powder puff, is good to carry in your bag. Even a two-ply tissue comes in handy. “You don’t have to be a pro—just blot along the way.”
THE CHEEKS
Nothing says “summer” like a flush on the face. When layering on that color, you want to consider how the formula might behave on a 98-degree cheek in 98-degree heat. Fine recommends steering clear of the “really liquidy, emollient formulas—they’re only going to slide across the skin and break up once you start sweating,” he says. But that doesn’t mean cream blush is out of the picture. Westman Atelier’s Baby Cheeks sticks are a go-to for Aharon, who finds that the “formula has enough payoff without being super, super pigmented, so it gives you room to play.” She uses that to lay down the majority of the cheek color, and then sets it with a light wash of powder blush on top. Another approach is to go with an illuminating powder blush, like the ones by Hourglass, which cast the light in such a way that it “gives the illusion of being cream,” she says.
Bronzer, of course, is synonymous with the season. “You don’t have to overthink it,” says Fine, who advises choosing a similar shade to your skin tone if you’re looking for easy, overall warmth. “If you’re a real makeup girlie, then two shades deeper along the hairline and the perimeter of the face will give you that depth,” he says. Pair it with a powder highlighter for a “glow that will bake into the complexion and won’t be as easily disturbed as a balmy highlighter.”
THE EYES
When eye makeup goes rogue in the heat, it’s often a raccoon ring of mascara or liner. But there are no rules—only reasoned preferences—when it comes to which formulas to use or jettison. Aharon herself isn’t a fan of powder eye shadows, unless it’s for a three-dimensional effect. “Whenever possible, I’m using creams or liquids on the eyes,” she says of the category dominated by slender sticks and molten formulas. Some are designed to stay put, though others remain malleable. “If there’s a color that I can’t live without, then I’ll just set it myself with a lid primer and a dusting of translucent powder,” she says. Meanwhile, Fine makes a case for shimmering powder shadows with low-level pearl: “They help the eyes to dance a bit—and you don’t have to be a pro.” He also singles out the icy blue eye shadow that the makeup artist Ernesto Casillas recently used on Zendaya. “This is the time to use a color you haven’t used before.”
A smudgy kajal plays into the heat. “Smoky liners are meant to be messy,” says Fine, who suggests setting it with a thin sweep of coordinating shadow. Aharon likes to blend out a liner—Victoria Beckham Beauty’s is a staple—and then underscore it with a waterproof pencil: “I like a little softness, and then you've got to lock it in.” The last component is the lashes. “I love all mascara—brown, navy, black—but sometimes it's one thing that I like to skip,” says Aharon. In those instances, it’s all about a lash curler. When she does want to define the lashes, she uses a tubing form of mascara on the bottom—less likely to transfer—and a water-resistant version on top, which is still easy enough to remove. Fine is all about waterproof mascara: It’s on there for good, and that’s the point. “Invest in a great makeup remover,” he says.
THE LIPS
How to approach heat-wave color on the lips? “I tend to go for sheerer formulas in the summertime,” says Aharon, advocating for ease above all. Besides, she adds, “lips don’t really melt off the same way that the rest of makeup does in the humidity.” To her, nothing is more flattering than a longwear lip liner with a balmy product on top. “I am obsessed with Fara Homidi’s liner in the shades Minky and Fawn,” she says; the ones by Victoria Beckham and Westman Atelier are also in her kit. “In light of things looking effortless, I’m not overlining too much—I’m just working with the edge of the lip and blurring it out to make it feel really soft.”
Counterpoint: In a season where the full face is prone to getting dewy, this can be a moment to revisit a liquid lip, says Fine of the near-invincible matte formulas. It’s an unexpected move, given the current vogue for lip oils, and can deliver a statement-making punch of color. A classic full lip is another way to go. First, set your liner by “putting a tissue over your lips and powdering really generously,” he says, and then apply your lipstick. Here, a concealer pencil can come in handy, adds Aharon: “They're great for acting as a reverse lip liner and giving a cleaner edge.” Determining the lip direction is, after all, a chance to consider the full picture. “You’ve got to choose what should glow,” says Fine.
