TheGirlsLife
Last year, I attended a holiday soirée and was feeling stunning. Before the party started, I was fully glammed up, wearing a fun party dress, and ready to take on the night. Fast forward through an evening of dancing, chatting, and sipping some gin and tonics, and boom: I’m in front of my mirror at 1:30 a.m. staring at my face and wondering where the gorgeous, sparkly eyeshadow look I had spent the better half of an hour creating went. For most of us, keeping our makeup on our faces for a full day during winter feels like an Olympic feat. Suppose it’s not melting off in overheated rooms or steamy parties. In that case, it’s flaking away in the chilly wind, regardless of whether you have dry or oily skin, love a glam look, or like to keep it simple; if there’s one thing we all need to know how to do, it’s how to get our makeup to last all day (or night).
To avoid a repeat of last year’s post-party memory of under eyes caked with flaking mascara and rogue glitter flecks, I reached out to professional makeup artist Emily Gray Higgins to get an expert opinion on how to make makeup last all night long—even if your night includes sipping cocktails and mingling in a crowded room. She spilt insider secrets on ensuring your makeup stays put until you decide to take it off.
Emily Gray Higgins
Emily Gray Higgins is a professional makeup artist who has worked with Sheryl Crowe, Lily Aldridge, Maren Morris, and more. Emily splits her time bouncing between Nashville, Detroit, and Los Angeles.
Prep, prep, prep according to your skin type
According to Higgins, getting your makeup to last during the winter starts long before you start applying your makeup. For her, skin prep is the most essential part of a makeup look that truly lasts. “If you have a long day of holiday parties ahead of you, prep your skin according to your skin type,” Higgins said. This means choosing products for your entire skincare routine—from your cleanser to your moisturizer—that work well with your skin type to ensure your skin doesn’t get too dry or oily before applying your makeup.
In the wintertime specifically, Emily suggests leaning into hydrating and moisturizing products, even if your skin is naturally oily during other times of the year. “Most skin types tend to get drier in the winter months, so an extra burst of hydration in your skin prep routine would be ideal,” she said. She suggests a hydrating, non-fragranced cleanser, followed by a serum like a snail mucin and topped with a facial oil for ultimate moisture retention once you have applied all your makeup products.
Use a primer—on both your face and your eyes.
Nope, we still haven’t gotten to the actual makeup application yet! Skin prep may start with your skincare routine but ends with a skin-gripping primer to help your products adhere to your skin. According to Higgins, primers should also be catered to skin type, with drier-skinned folk-leaning into hydrating primers and those with oily skin opting for more mattifying ones. And if you struggle with eyeshadow getting flaky or creasing during wintertime festivities? That’s when an eyeshadow primer, and even a mascara primer, can be the final step in your skin prep routine.
Invest in great setting products.
Cream blushes and bronzers have been all the rage as of late, and for a good reason: they tend to be more hydrating and look more natural than their powder counterparts. But the unfortunate reality is they don’t have much raw staying power. “It’s no secret that powder products will last longer than cream, specifically in the winter,” Higgins said. If you want your cream products to last through a night of holiday parties, Higgins suggests investing in a high-quality setting powder that you can use to set the oilier parts of your face.
“I’m sure the typical answer to choosing a long-lasting formula would be to avoid cream and dewy products, but I believe there is a way to set those products to last all day and night. You need a great setting powder,” she said. Her go-to powders? She recommends the Laura Mercier Loose Powder and believes the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray is worth the hype. With the combination of a setting powder on the oilier areas of your skin and a quality setting spray, even the creamiest blushes will stay put throughout a day of holiday festivities. If you want to double down on staying powder, you can also set your cream blush and bronzer with powder versions before using your loose powder and setting spray.
Ultimately, getting your makeup to last through a long evening of holiday festivities starts with educating yourself on your skin type and having a solid prep routine that works for you. With the combination of a well-thought-out skincare routine, a gripping primer, some reliable powder, and a good setting spray, your holiday looks will be thoroughly un-meltable this party season.
