EVELYSS / Guides / Beauty

How to Make Makeup Last All Night (Holiday Parties and New Year's Eve)

“Makeup that lasts isn't heavier makeup. It's thinner layers that are each given a minute to set. A full face put on in one thick pass slides by dessert; the same products in three light passes are still there at midnight.”Her take

Why makeup fades by the end of the night

Three things break makeup down: your skin's oil, heat and humidity in crowded rooms, and your own hands. Oil loosens foundation around the nose and chin, warmth makes everything move, and touching your face or leaning on your hand wipes it away.

Thick layers make it worse. A heavy coat of foundation has nowhere to grip and creases and separates faster. Long-wear comes from preparation and thin, set layers.

Prep your skin and choose a primer

Start with clean skin and a moisturizer that suits you, then wait about five minutes before anything else goes on. Makeup applied over skincare that's still wet slides around and pills. If you exfoliate, do it the night before, not an hour before the party.

Use primer only where you need it. A pea-sized amount is plenty for the whole face.

• Oily skin: a mattifying primer on the T-zone only, where shine starts.
• Dry skin: a hydrating or gripping primer all over, so foundation doesn't cling to dry patches.
• Combination skin: mattifying on the nose and forehead, hydrating on the cheeks.
• Eyes: a dedicated eyeshadow primer or a thin layer of concealer, set with a neutral powder shadow.

Build the base in thin layers

Apply a small amount of foundation, press it in with a damp sponge or your fingers, and wait a minute. Add a second thin layer only where you need more coverage. Pressing works better than rubbing because it pushes product into the skin rather than moving it around.

For blush and bronzer, layer a cream product first and a light dusting of the matching powder on top. The cream gives the color, the powder locks it in. Set only the areas that crease or shine, usually the under-eyes, sides of the nose and center of the forehead, with a fine powder pressed in with a puff.

Smudge-proof eyes

Every eye product lasts longer with a powder on top. Trace pencil liner with a matching eyeshadow using a small brush, and set creamy shadows with a powder shadow in the same shade.

Use a waterproof or tubing mascara if your mascara usually smudges by midnight, and keep it off the lower lashes or apply just a light touch. Pressing a little translucent powder under the eyes before mascara catches flakes and stops shadows.

Lips that last through dinner and drinks

Line and fill the whole lip with a liner close to your lipstick shade, then apply lipstick with a brush. Blot with a tissue, apply a second coat, and blot again. Two thin coats grip far better than one thick one.

For extra hold, place a single tissue layer over your lips and dust translucent powder through it, then add a final light coat of color. Drink through a straw where it makes sense, and press, don't rub, a napkin to your lips.

Set it, then pack a small touch-up kit

Finish with a setting spray held at arm's length, misting in an X and a T over the face. Let it dry without touching. On oily skin, blotting papers through the night beat extra powder, which builds up and looks cakey.

Keep the kit small enough for an evening bag.

• Blotting papers for shine.
• Your lipstick and liner.
• A small concealer or cotton swab for smudges under the eyes.
• A mini setting spray or a pressed powder compact.
• A hair tie, in case you need your hair off your face on the dance floor.

Questions people ask

The takeaway

Dry, prepped skin, primer only where needed, thin pressed layers, powder over every cream, two blotted coats of lipstick, setting spray, and blotting papers instead of more powder.

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