tattler magazine

I would love to start this article shouting, “Summer is here!” But let’s face it. Singapore IS summer. All. Year. Long. This year, it seems the heat is on. I don’t know if it’s just me, or is it especially hot lately? I was shopping at the new Tampines One the other day, and stepping out of the air-conditioned mall, I took a deep breath of fresh air and almost drowned. I swear the humidity was so high, I felt the water in the air fill my lungs.

Needless to say, somewhere between the mall and home, my face started melting off like wax on a lit candle. Surveying the damage in the mirror yielded the usual suspects: smudged mascara rimming the bottom of my eyes making me look like I hadn’t slept in days, foundation that was missing in patches and eyeliner that only lined half my eyes.

Sick of make-up that ran more often than I did, I did what all 21^st century youths do best – Google. I scanned over a dozen pages and a handful of videos on make-up tips to beat the summer heat, and brought you the best of the lot.

More than that, I gave these tips a test-drive to see which actually work and which don’t quite. So welcome to my new summer make-up routine, tried and tested. Today I went to the Singapore Zoo with my game face on, to see if my make up would last all day in 35 degree, 85% humidity weather. This is what went on:

• Dermalogica Tinted moisturizer and sunblock (SPF 25) – leave peeling to oranges please. The moisturizer dilutes the foundation for a lighter coverage which fares better when the heat is on
• Maybelline AngelFit Liquid Foundation – a teeny weeny amount, avoiding hairline where sweat happens
• Benetint Lip and Cheek Stain on lips and apples of cheeks for a healthy glow that won’t move or disappear mid day
• Clear lip balm – pinkish and sheer lip glosses are good for summer as well
• Liquid Eyeliner from The Face Shop drawn close to upper lash line with a winged tip ending. Skip the lower lashes – make up is more likely to streak in the sweaty under-eye area. I find that pencil eyeliners have more tendency to smudge so liquid and gel eyeliners are a go-to for me
• Fibrewig Mascara – they aren’t called paint-on falsies for nothing. Best of all, smudge-proof, waterproof and all in all summer-proof
• Loose powder – sets your entire face, giving it a clean matte finish

All the beauty sites I checked out recommended using tinted moisturizer in place of liquid foundation, but I felt that that the coverage wasn’t enough, so I added a little amount of foundation to the mix. The mixture made my face shine like an oily wok, but the moment the loose powder went on, it became a perfect canvas for all the other products.

THE RESULTS OF MY EXPERIMENT

I made regular checks on my make-up throughout my zoo adventure: Once at lunch at KFC in KidsWorld, once at the leopard enclosure, and once more at the end of the day while waiting for the bus out of the zoo. My liquid eyeliner which usually starts flaking off about mid-day, stayed on the entire day in the sun. Even the cheek stain which fades over the day remained pink. I didn’t have to use a single sheet of oil blotter or re-powder my face at all. Uh-mazing. Thank you Google.