4 Ways To Keep Your Makeup Fresh During Festival Season
Summer is coming, which means vacations, bae-cations, and festivals. This year, I will attend my eighth ESSENCE Festival. Honestly, where has the time gone?
My first adult trip to New Orleans was pretty hilarious for two reasons: I didn't pack flats (I ruined my stilettos) and my makeup melted off every single day. Even being an Atlanta native did not prepare me for the New Orleans' humidity. Walk outside at 8 am. Humid. Walk outside at 8 pm. Still humid.
Lucky for me, by year four, I got my shoe game and makeup routine just right for hitting the New Orleans streets. If this is your first year attending a festival, I hope these tips help you pack your beauty essentials, and if you're a vet like me, you're well aware of what expect. Either way, here are four ways to keep your melanin poppin' without the shine all festival season long.
1.Skip Heavy Moisturizer
When Beyoncé hit the stage for Coachella and flawlessly powered through her two-hour set, we all had the same question, "How in the world does one keep their makeup in place when the temperature rises or when you're getting your life on stage?" Beyoncé's makeup artist Sir John dropped this gem, "When it's hot, an emollient moisturizer is going to lift off your foundation." Seems like a pretty straight-forward tip, but your base is essential to the staying power of your makeup.
Emollient moisturizers are known to protect the skin's barrier with ingredients like glycerin, which is a great benefit for your nighttime routine but makes you look like an oil slick during the day, especially during warmer months. Opt for a The Ordinary's Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (Amazon, $13) or primer to prep the skin before applying your makeup. The key here is making sure you find a lightweight option that not only moisturizes but that will keep your favorite beauty products in place.
2.Keep It Light
I know that keeping your makeup application light can be easier said than done, especially for those of us with hyperpigmentation, dark circles, or anything else that makes us feel insecure. I can relate to all three. I am a tinted moisturizer lover, but even that can make you look shiny in hot humid temps, no matter how well you set it.
So, I apply a light layer of matte foundation with my fingers (Fenty Beauty is my current fave), and then apply MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer (Amazon, $30) to the spots I want to cover — again with my fingers. I find that I have more control over where I'm placing my makeup and how much I am putting on, which gives me a lighter application.
3.Blot Before Touching Up Powder
This may be common knowledge, but the key to retouching makeup without it looking cakey and shiny after a touch-up is blotting the oil off of the skin first. My go-to blotting paper is Starbucks napkins. I know this might sound a little extra, but their napkins have a 4.8 rating on Makeupalley. Since I'm not in the coffee chains' store much these days, I use blotting papers.
There are blotting paper that is on the low and high end, and I find that all blotting papers aren't created equal. My go-to's are TATCHA Aburatorigami Japanese Blotting Papers (Amazon, $12) because they're made with great ingredients like 100 percent natural abaca leaf and gold flakes, and every purchase supports girls' education around the world. I also love Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Facial Blotting Sheets (Amazon, $5) —they're cheap and get the job done.
4.Set Your Masterpiece
I have historically always skipped setting spray in my makeup routine, but after trying setting spray a few weeks ago, I now understand it is the real MVP. Not only does it help your makeup last longer, but the right spray can hydrate skin. While options like Urban Decay's Chill Cooling and Hydrating Makeup Setting Spray (Amazon, $32) has time-release Temperature Control Technology to cool the surface of your makeup. Yes, please!
Whether you're heading to ESSENCE Fest, hanging out at a cookout, or lounging by the pool — these tips and tricks should help you look fresh and dewy all day long.
Bianca Lambert is a proud Atlanta native soaking up the Los Angeles sun. She is the founder of Mae B: a stationery company for women of color and a digital content creator on a mission to elevate the voices of women of color everywhere.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Some Signs Your Casual Relationship Is Getting Serious
In this modern era, establishing romantic connections has become increasingly challenging. From knowing what to say on the first date to knowing when to make things official, the rules have changed and this ain’t the same dating game that led to our parents falling in love and starting a family.
Because times are hard and dating is harder, we had to look to an expert to help us understand when that casual fling becomes something serious. So we chatted with Karina F. Daves, a relationship coach who has made it her mission to teach women how to enjoy more satisfying partnerships.
As a relationship coach, Daves leverages her experience as a former social worker and adjunct professor of women’s studies to teach women how to strategically evaluate their personal identity, values, and standards so that they can elevate their relationships and themselves.
She tells xoNecole, “You should not be with somebody for their potential. The key is being with somebody for their patterns. Instead of looking at it as one specific milestone, look at it as there are multiple patterns at which this person is showing you what role they want to play, what their values are.”
"You should not be with somebody for their potential. The key is being with somebody for their patterns."
Daves’ work has amassed more than 240,000 followers across her social media platforms, and her videos have reached close to 25 million and half a million alone this month.
According to the relationship coach, some key indicators that a relationship is going from casual to serious are:
“You talk about it going to a serious level, and you talk about intentions. Intentions are very clear in a relationship that is serious. At this point, you intend to date each other either for fun or you're dating for marriage. This is something that is very comfortably talked about.” She adds, “You enter each other's worlds fully. This means that you meet people in each other's world, but you also become part of their routine. You're not a task that they have to do, you are just a normal part of their day-to-day life."
“You're not a task that they have to do, you are just a normal part of their day-to-day life.”
In terms of how partners can communicate effectively about their expectations and intentions as a relationship becomes more serious, Daves shares:
“You will want to become serious by being vulnerable and having this conversation. Before the actual communication part occurs, you have to identify what it is that you want this relationship to be. What is it that you want out of a future partnership?”
Daves emphasizes the need for clear communication and suggests doing away with the potential you see in the person and instead focusing on what you want in love. "This is an opportunity for that person to say that's not who they are and that they can't give you that."
"Relationships should also be fun. We do not want to forget that these conversations can be serious, but also a source of fun and joy. They do not need to feel heavy. If you see that they are joyful, this can be a good indicator of what the rest of the relationship would be like when you're getting ready to have serious conversations," Daves concludes.
We know that specific milestones or stages in a relationship can help signify its deepening commitment; Daves has these tips for navigating these transitions:
Introducing one another to each other's worlds can be a big indicator that the relationship you share is getting serious. "When you start meeting each other’s friends and families, this is a big milestone and a vulnerable place to be." Another sign that things are getting serious is openly professing the "L" word. "Communication is significant as far as proclaiming that you love your partner. These are really big milestones that shouldn't be forced."
Speaking of communication, Daves adds that “another big indicator is how you overcome your first moment of misalignment. This is a huge indicator of the rest of the triumphs that you will face. Were you both open? Did you both feel safe sharing? Did you respect each other's point of view? How did you resolve the issue?”
"Communication is significant as far as proclaiming that you love your partner. These are really big milestones that shouldn't be forced."
Lastly, Daves suggests assessing one another's level of emotional investment:
One of the ways Daves suggests we assess the level of emotional investment is by doing a simple activity called “eggs in a basket.”
This activity involves discussing important and valued aspects of a relationship. Daves explains, “The way to assess the level of emotional investment is to test their heart posture. 'Heart posture' is referring to where their heart stands when it comes to this relationship and how it logically has made sense of it all.”
In those instances, ask each other the following questions:
- Do you feel clear about our intentions and where our relationship is going?
- Do you see me as a life partner?
- Are we past potentially seeing us together to understand each other's patterns and choosing to make that commitment?
- Are we a part of our life’s plan?
- Do you still have individual goals?
“This isn’t just about seeing their investment in the relationship but also how they’re choosing to invest in themselves as people. You don’t want a partner that will lose themselves in the relationship because you won’t have a partner anymore, you’ll have someone to parent,” Daves said.
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Featured image by xavierarnau/Getty Images