12 Best Summer Makeup Tips in 2023 for a Sweat

Nov 15, 2023

By Sarah Kinonen and Gabi Thorne

With the weather heating up, a new season of opportunities to try out all those summer eye, face, and lip looks you've saved on Instagram and TikTok is upon us. But if you're not careful with your product selection, you risk your makeup slipping and sliding off your face when you enter the sweltering summer heat. (Thanks for that, sweat.) If you don't know where to start with your regimen, don't fret, because we tapped a few professional makeup artists to find the best summer makeup tips to ensure your look locks in place all day long.

For this same reason, almost every makeup artist in the game swears by super lightweight, sheer, creamy products in the summertime — think tinted moisturisers and cream blush — as they lessen the chances of your makeup turning into a sweaty, cakey disaster the second the sun hits. Instead, they meld into a naturally dewy glow. Sweatproof, water-resistant products are also key to ensure any oils or sweat from the day won't melt away your makeup. Multitasking makeup will come in handy, too, for easy, midday touchups.

But most of all, impeccable makeup — no matter the season — always starts with hydrating skin care. In fact, when Allure tapped several professional makeup artists to find out their best summer makeup tips, all stressed the importance of proper exfoliation with some handy tools and prepping skin with sunscreen. Curious to know what other summer makeup tips they've got up their sleeves? Keep scrolling to find out.

Before makeup artist Vincent Oquendo paints the faces of his supermodel clientele, he shaves them — no, seriously. "One of my secret weapons to creating the perfect summer makeup look is to dermaplane my clients' skin before I start makeup," he says.

Dermaplaning exfoliates by scraping off the top layer of skin and peach fuzz with a blunt scalpel-like tool. Oquendo is a fan of the Dermaflash Luxe+, but we're loving the lo-fi Versed Instant Gratification At-Home Dermaplaning Tool lately, too. Then, he follows up with a lightweight foundation or BB cream.

In addition to exfoliating, prepping your complexion with primer helps makeup last through brunch, a beach day, and a picnic in the park. New York City-based makeup artist Joseph Carrillo rubs in the Smashbox Photo Finish Control Mattifying Primer to stave off shine as much as he can before layering on any other base makeup.

The only tool you truly need for primer application is your fingers. After rubbing on a small, dime-to-nickel-size amount, let it sit and dry for a minute, according to Los Angeles-based makeup artist Allan Avendaño.

Walking around in 100-degree heat with sticky, stuffy humidity can do a number on a full-face beat. All the smudges, smears, and sweat — gross. To avoid the weather-worn mess, Hollywood-based makeup artist Molly R. Stern recommends lightening up your routine for the season by only reaching for what you need, like a concealer to cover shadows and spots. Dab a creamy concealer, like the Uoma Beauty Stay Woke Concealer, under eyes and on areas of concern with a tap of a finger.

New York City makeup artist Amrita Mehta agrees. Her summer base pick is the iconic Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Concealer. The featherlight fluid blends with ease and offers ample coverage for any discolouration or blemishes.

If you can't bear to go bare (pun intended), blend a light layer of tinted moisturizer, like the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Skin Perfector, into the skin for a sheer glow. Or, you could always whip up your own barely-there base, says makeup artist Robert Sesnek. "Mix oil-free moisturiser with [your favourite] foundation for a softer, sheerer appearance," he says.

"Most of us like to have a light base just to even out our complexion during the summer, but if not properly applied, it will slide off the face and end up looking like an oil slick," says Los Angeles makeup artist Monika Blunder. To avoid a makeup landslide, buff your tinted moisturizer into the skin with a synthetic buffing brush, like the Best of Beauty-winning Sigma Beauty F80 Flat Kabuki Brush. "This technique helps foundation last much longer and keeps it from looking oily," she says.

Work with a product that does it all — for lips, lids, and cheeks, Sesnek says. Multipurpose makeup keeps your bag light and creates a soft, monochromatic focus for your look. We're fans of the 2020 Best of Beauty-winning Live Tinted Huestick because of its buildable pigment available in a variety of gorgeous shades, like the rusty orange Rise or bronze Change (shown above).

Allure associate news editor Gabi Thorne loves these as cream blushes. "When I'm looking for a quick wash of colour on my cheeks, I like swiping the plum hue, Free, onto the apples of my cheeks before blending out with dense, fluffy powder brush," she shares. "It adds a beautiful flush to my brown skin."

Nothing's worse than midday mascara or eyeliner blunders. Avoid the raccoon-eye look by swapping in a waterproof version of your favorite eye product — especially, in the dead of summer. "With the heat from the body and the summer's high temperatures, most eyeliners end up either running or have to be reapplied all day," Sesnek says. "A waterproof eyeliner won't smear, run, and can even handle the swimming pool." We highly recommend the multiuse, Best of Beauty-winning Danessa Myricks Beauty Colorfixes, especially the vibrant hot pink Freedom (shown above) and bright orange Carrot Top.

Instead of pigmented eye shadows for sweltering days, try gluing on gems, pearls, and chunky butterfly glitter with Kiss's Strip Lash Adhesive. The aloe vera-infused glue prevents anything from sliding off skin with its waterproof formula, so your embellishments are sure to outlast sweaty summer activities.

By Hayley Spencer

By Chloe Laws

By Ali Pantony

There's never a wrong time to play with colour, but something about the hot summer air makes experimenting with bright hues more fun. For Carrillo, orange is the color of the summer, and he recommends focusing the shade on lips and cheeks instead of eyes to avoid potential creasing or running. For lips, Dose of Colors x Nyma Tang Coral Lip Set gets his stamp of approval with its two rust orange lipsticks designed for multiple skin tones, a shimmery gold-toned lip gloss, and coral lip liner.

He's also a fan of the Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Divine Blush in Paradise Venus (terracotta) and Electric Bloom (coral) to brighten up cheeks. Orange can be intimidating, but, he says, "for fair skin, peach is the perfect way to go. Coral [works better for] a more olive tone." If you have a deeper skin tone, look at your undertones first. Golden undertones should lean into true orange blushes while red undertones should lean more towards red-based oranges, he shares.

Fact: a long-wearing matte lipstick surely outlasts any summer plans. A formula that doesn't fade, move, or leave behind markings is exactly what you need. Carrillo swears by the budge-proof Best of Beauty-winning Maybelline SuperStay Ink Crayon Lipstick. "Take that sip, give a kiss, or leave your mask on," he says. "It won't transfer."

If you're not into the matte effect, opt for something more hydrating, like a tinted balm, lip oil, or gloss, for a gorgeous sheen. You won't have to worry about keeping those formulas as nice and neat as they wear throughout the day. Mehta's favourite is the Dior Lip Glow Balm because of how it "adjusts to the pH of your lip, so it complements every skin tone."

Believe it or not, setting spray works. Los Angeles-based cosmetic chemist Victoria Vohland broke it down for Allure's Beauty Detectives — a setting spray is comprised of three ingredients (water, alcohol, and film formers) that work to form a barrier to keep your makeup in place. Carrillo is all about Huda Beauty's Resting Boss Face Setting Spray, while Mehta recommends fan-favourite, three-time Best of Beauty-winning Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray for the warm season.

By Hayley Spencer

By Chloe Laws

By Ali Pantony

By Fiona Embleton