Writer: Ken Boylan
The great thing about my job as a makeup artist is that I travel to lots of fun places and venues.
My job is very varied and fun (most of the time). When I’m working in a hot climate or on a hot day, maybe on a photo shoot or a wedding party, it is crucial to make sure the makeup stays on all day and looks as fresh as possible. Or at least until you get to the bathroom to touch it up. You may not have a makeup artist on hand to keep you looking camera ready, but here are some tricks of the makeup trade for you to look fresh and fabulous.
1 – Lighten up on the amount of moisturiser and/or serums you will use. The more you have on your face; the greater are the chances it will slide off into a greasy puddle! If you are on your holidays, use your moisturiser at night; as you sleep, you will get the full benefit of the product while you sleep, then wash off the following day in the shower and use your SPF as your moisturiser.
There are some excellent face SPF creams, such as “Shiseido sun care expert SPF 50” at 30€ or in your local Pharmacy “La Roche-Posay Anthelios hydrating sun cream SPF 30+” at 13.50€. “The Inkey list daily sunscreen in SPF 30” at 14.99€ is light and feels lovely on the skin. There are tons out there, and it is easy to find the right one for you to suit your budget.
I apply them to the skin by putting a small amount into the palm of my hands, rubbing my hands together to warm the product up and pat onto the face so its not too heavy before your foundation. Give it 5 mins before you apply the foundation or BB cream.
It is great to lighten up your foundation on your holidays, especially in warmer climates. When you come from a more temperate climate, you tend to use heavier foundations to make your skin look more flawless, fresher, and darker. However, there is no need to do that on your vacation or wedding day; after all, you want to show off your tan, not hide it. So, using a lighter texture product will enhance your suntanned skin and while on holidays, most people only ever wear makeup at night or at a wedding!
I always see it when ladies do what they do for a night out at home; their makeup looks way too substantial or is the wrong colour and looks sweaty! I would suggest a BB cream or tinted moisturiser if you want a lovely nighttime glow to your skin. Make sure it matches your tanned skin! You don’t want to use a base that is too light in colour or one that’s too dark! Ken Boylan – Makeup/Play award-winning BB cream is great for holiday skin at 25€ in my online store www.kenboylan.net or Charlotte Tilbury unisex healthy glow tint at 40€ also gives a lovely glow to tanned skin.
If you feel you get too shiny on your holidays, a matt foundation can work well; lightly applied, it can look amazing on sun-kissed skin. MAC Face and body foundation at 32.95€ is a firm favourite and has been for years. As the name suggests, you can use this on your face and body to give light, flawless skin coverage.
NYX control drop foundation at 14.00€ gives a sheer stunning matt coverage available online. And Ken Boylan – Makeup/Play matt mousse foundation at 25.00€ looks sublime on a tanned face, N5 and N7 are lovely in the summer light.
I would apply all these makeup bases with a foundation brush or with my fingers and then blend with a beauty blender to even out the finish.
To keep your skin looking as fresh as possible, be it at night or at a wedding event. It works the best to de-shine the skin. It’s always lovely to glow the cheeks, but it’s not a good look when the glow is above the lip or dripping down your forehead.
Loreal pressed powder in “true match” at 9.99€ works well to take the shine down available in most good pharmacies. Or Clarins ever matt compact powder at 29.99€ is lovely to soften the glowing skin.
If you want to enhance your tanned skin, add lustre to your makeup, and even more glow in all the right places, there are some lovely bronzers and shimmers, but be careful how you use them as you don’t want to look like a Sweaty Betty! Apply then with your brush or sponge depending on whether they are a cream (sponge) or powder (brush). Shimmering bronzer can look stunning on the face and body if you want to go all out with your holiday glow; it is the makeup trend for the under 25s! Charlotte Tilbury’s world-famous “film star bronze and glow” kit at 65.00€ is simply stunning on the face; it gives a lovely light sheen on the skin, lasts all night, and glows in the candlelight.
Apply one side as a bronzer or blush and the other as an all-over shimmer.
Ken Boylan – Makeup/Play cream shimmer in “Oh Glow” at 15.50€ is gorgeous on the skin; use it on the cheeks as a cream blusher. Pat it on with your finger on your cheeks and on the bridge of the nose to give a stunning apricot glow to your tan. And there is always the “shimmer bricks” from Bobby Brown at 45.00€! A holiday staple on your makeup bag, you can use this as an all-over shimmer or part of it as an eye shadow or just as a blush. They come in lots of shades my favourite is the bronze one.
So, wherever you are going this summer and whatever your budget is, you too can have holiday skin that stays on your face and looks stunning, be it for a night out or a special occasion.
Ken Boylan lives in the Algarve and is now available for weddings and special events in the Algarve and nationwide. Please get in touch with him on his Instagram @Kenboylanmakeupplay, on his website www.kenboylan.net or through his email address [email protected].
