Hello everyone and welcome to a very special guest post from my friend, Kiki, over at From Vanity To Sanity. Today, Kiki is going to share with us some makeup tips for the hot hot heat, which she knows all about as she lives in Cyprus. But, we can certainly all benefit from it with summer weather officially upon us! And, when you’re done, please make sure to give Kiki’s page some love – I’m sure you’ll all adore it as much as I do. Enjoy!

Summer Makeup: Application Tips For Extreme Heat

Ever since returning to my country, Cyprus, from rainy Manchester in the UK in the peak of summer (end of July) in 2017, I’ve been thinking of writing a blog post about the difficulties of applying makeup in hot weather as this is a daily struggle for me. I never had such issues when I lived in the UK or even when I lived in Greece.

For those not familiar with Cyprus, the small European country in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, summers here are hot and humid with temperatures rising well above 44 degrees Celsius usually in July and August. But, with climate change, recent years are seeing a bigger and bigger extension of these heatwaves in Cyprus with summer weather lasting from the beginning of May to the end of October. Just this year we had a 42+ degrees Celsius day in May! I don’t even dare think what the rest of the summer will be like.

So, when Sarah of lifewithlilred gave a shout out for a collaboration with anyone wanting to write about a summer topic as a guest on her blog, I thought this is it, I HAVE to finally write this post because who likes dripping makeup, right?

Wearing makeup for me is very important. Unless I’m going swimming (And, even when I go to the beach, I usually put on an under-eye concealer and tinted sunscreen for minimum coverage.) I like to look good wherever I go. No longer a spring chicken, this unfortunately for me means not just wearing a nice lipstick to brighten up my face. (Oh! To be young again, able to get away with bare skin and just a bright colored lipstick!). I now need the full works: foundation, concealer, mascara, lipstick, and blusher. But, if you’re a makeup addict like me, then you know those products make the bare minimum of a made-up look.

“But heat and humidity are makeup’s enemies. So, what are makeup’s friends in hot weather then? In my case, it’s tissues, sunscreen, face powder, setting spray, blotting paper, and the coolness from a powerful air-conditioner. Without them, applying makeup in extreme hot weather would just be impossible”

First things first, to be able to even start the process of applying makeup in a hot and humid environment, I personally need to be in a cool place. So, I make sure to have the aircon on full blast before I sit in front of my vanity mirror. Then, I dry my face to avoid any wetness from the humid climate using tissue paper and I’m set to go with the following products in step order:

• Under-eye concealer: As I’ve always had dark circles under my eyes this is an absolute must for me and it’s always my first step.
• Sunscreen: If I’m not going for a heavy made-up look, I’ll use a 50+ SPF tinted one and skip the foundation. Two good tinted options of mine are LA ROCHE-POSAY’s ANTHELIOS XL and SUN SENSE. I make sure to cover my face well with the sunscreen, especially the bridge of my nose and cheeks which are my features that get the most sun exposure and are prone to sun damage.
• Foundation: If I’m going for full coverage, then I’ll use a non-tinted sunscreen in the previous step followed by a good foundation. An all-time favorite of mine is the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation but I recently discovered a good alternative from SHISEIDO, the UV Protective Stick Foundation with 30 SPF. As it’s in stick form it’s very easy to apply and doesn’t need particular blending.
• Powder: Preferably in loose form, face powder is essential in setting the creamy products applied to the face before potentially adding any others such as blusher, eyeshadow, brow liner, mascara, and lipstick.
• Setting spray: This is the last step in ensuring the look stays intact. By spraying the face from a distance of about 25 cms you help everything stay put and not melt away when the temperature rises.
• Blotting paper: Essential to blot out sweat throughout the day and/or night, this product is handy to be kept in your handbag to avoid looking oily when the temperature and, more importantly, the humidity levels rise.

Today, following the above steps but also adding mascara, bronzer, and lip-gloss I created this everyday, natural look (the frizzy stray hairs are testament to the humidity):

Here’s a snapshot of the products I used:

I’d be interested to hear of any other tips for applying and maintaining makeup in extremely hot weather as, frankly, I am finding it a challenge!

Thank you so much again to Kiki for treating us to a guest post here on lifewithlilred! What are your summer time makeup tips? How do you stay cool in the warm weather? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah