In Times of Tears - Making Your Makeup Last

Have an event coming up that you are pretty sure will be emotional? I know lots of people that have said, "Oh, I won't be crying at this wedding!" I bet. Even the best laid plans for holding back your tears are out the window as soon as you are around people, caught up in the moment.


from dailymail.co.uk

So what to do? The biggest worry of course is your eye makeup. Eyeliner, mascara and dark eyeshadows are all prone to smudging, smearing and running as soon as you get teary eyed. The first big thing to think about is trying to wear as little eye makeup as possible for the situation. You don't want to do a big multicoloured or smokey eye look if you are going to be blotting your eyes constantly.

You also may want to integrate waterproof or water-resistant formulas into your makeup routine for the day of the event. Waterproof mascara may be something you already have used, and if you have one that works for you then that should be part of your arsenal. There are also makeup sealing products, like Benefit SheLaq, that you can brush on over your normal makeup to seal it (eyes, eyebrows, lips). You need to be a little careful with these kinds of products until you are familiar with them, as they can really sting if you get them into your eyes. Practice with these if you want to use them. If you are worried, do a run through of your makeup look a few days in advance to make sure it looks good and stays in place. Try cutting some onions or watching a tearjerker.

One great trick I have for creating beautiful eyelashes with low maintenance is to use full strip eyelashes INSTEAD OF MASCARA. Make sure you take your time and use a good eyelash glue (Duo Adhesive from MAC is great, just seal it with shadow to disguise it). Curl your own eyelashes before you put your false lashes on so that they blend into the strip more easily, or if you are really careful you can curl them after (and I mean REALLY CAREFUL). You can use a mini eyelash curler to make sure all the little lashes are blended into the strip. If you have blonde/light coloured eyelashes, try black-brown strip eyelashes, and you may want to add on a coat over top of a good, non-clumping waterproof mascara so that they blend. Even if you need to put on some mascara to disguise your lashes with the false strip, you will need much less to get that same impact, so less worries for running/smearing.