5 essential tips to sweat-proof your makeup from melting in Singapore's heat

With Singapore’s balmy weather all year round, it can be challenging to know how to prevent makeup from melting in the heat.

The hot and sunny weather may be great for days at the beach but before you know it, sweat and humidity are thrown into the mix and all hell breaks loose with your beauty game.

But all hope is not lost. While we can’t control the weather, there are ways to prevent your makeup from melting off of your face. On top of being a little cautious, we’ve rounded up some tips on how to look your best throughout the day while keeping your makeup intact.

1. Cleanse your skin

No matter how much makeup we can pack on, a clean base can make a world of difference to your look — which is why you should never skip your skincare routine.

In this case, think of your skin as a canvas. Starting with a smooth and clean base allows the paint to go on seamlessly and helps the pigment to show its true colours. And it’s the same exact thing with our skin.

To start, be sure to cleanse your skin thoroughly with a cleanser to remove any impurities and excess oils, before applying toner and a moisturiser to keep your skin hydrated and prepped for the perfect canvas for your makeup.

From left to right:

1. Shani Darden, Sake Toning Essence, 120ml, $75

2. Dr. Lara Devgan Advanced Revitalizing Cleanser, 200ml, $100

3. Circumference Active Botanical Refining Toner, 150ml, $102

4. 111Skin Cryo Pre-Activated Toning Cleanser, 120ml, $93

2. Don't skip on primer

Sweating is inevitable if you’re living in Singapore’s hot and humid climate. Especially for our T-zones and the areas under our eyes, we’re more prone to excreting more oils. Hence, applying a primer may do wonders in helping your makeup to stay intact.

We recommend choosing a primer that suits your skin type and also applying a different eye primer for your under eyes to help your concealer and your other products stay in place throughout the day.

From left to right:

1. Vapour Beauty Gentle Illuminating Primer, 30ml, $79

2. Suratt Beauty Perfectionniste Primer, 30ml, $160

3. Choose multi-taskers

Your best bet here is to avoid caking your face, especially in such a warm climate. In this case, try opting for hybrid products that are lightweight to limit the layers of products on your skin. Some of these products that you can opt for include tinted moisturisers and balms.

From left to right:

1. Macrene Actives High Performance Tinted Moisturiser, 30ml, $243

2. Lilah B. Tinted Lip Balm – b.demure, $56

3. By Terry Baume De Rose Nutri-Couleur, $48

4. Victoria Beckham Beauty Bitten Lip Tint, $70

5. Chantecaille Just Skin Anti-Smog Tinted Moisturizer SPF15, $145

4. Set your makeup with a setting spray

Once you’re done adding some bronzer, blush and highlight to your face, don’t forget to finish off your look with some setting spray. 

A good setting spray not only helps to lock in your look but also helps to keep your makeup looking natural. Hold the spray about an arm’s length away before misting directly onto the face, and you’re good to go!

From left to right:

1. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray, 100ml, $48

2. Hourglass Veil Soft Focus Setting Spray, 120ml, $87

5. Invest in powder formulas

While we love our liquid or cream foundations and blushes, powder formulas have proven to be a saviour, especially in the city heat.

While you may think that these formulas tend to wear off a lot faster than liquid formulas, powder products help to enhance your look when layered the right way.

For greater coverage, we recommend layering on your products starting with liquid ones then setting them with a thin layer of powder products.

From left to right:

1. Code8 Matte Velour Powder, $52

2. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush, $64

3. Chantecaille HD Perfecting Loose Powder, $131

4. RMS Beauty Tinted “Un” Powder, $60

ALSO READ: 5 easy skincare and make-up tricks to perfect that radiant, 'your-skin-but-better' look

This article was first published in Her World Online.