Make-up that doesn’t melt in the heat – tried and tested

I initially decided to do this ‘make-up that doesn’t melt in the heat’ review in anticipation of our forthcoming holiday but with the sun continuing to blaze down on us in the UK, I’ve had perfect testing conditions at home. You see last year when we went away, it was all a bit of a frantic rush to pack. I was annoyed with myself for forgetting a few important things and subtle make-up that would withstand the heat was one of them. So this year I’ve been noting down everything that beauty editors have been recommending in magazines and newspapers and when House of Fraser asked me if there was anything I’d like to trial for a post, I knew what I wanted to do.

So this isn’t a sponsored post but House of Fraser did give me the opportunity to order lots of samples to test so that I could see what really works. I now have a really good, edited make-up bag to take away with me and these are the items that are seeing me through at home at the moment too. And I realised today that House of Fraser have 10% off beauty until Sunday (29th July).

Make-up that doesn’t melt in the heat

Primer

When you’re lathered in SPF and the temperatures ramp up, it’s easy to look more shiny than glowy so I’ve been starting with a mattifying base which seems to combat it well. Don’t be put off by the fact that it is primarily designed to target open pores, I don’t have those either, it just works well as a base particularly on the t-zone to help stop shine breaking through. I’ve been using the mini travel size because with my dry skin, shine isn’t a problem that I usually have, it just comes with the hot weather and the extra SPF.

Matte rescue mini

Foundation

My usual favourite foundation is Diorskin Star and I wear it all year round but in the heat, it doesn’t stay well on my skin. I saw five different beauty editors recommend this Chanel Sheer Healthy Glow Tinted Moisturiser in their magazine pages for summer so I really wanted to see what the fuss was about. It delivers the healthy glow that it promises and it certainly is sheer, just adding a wash of colour to your face that evens out the skintone. It makes you look as though you’ve had a healthy weekend away with lots of exercise and good sleep. Plus it comes in a small plastic bottle that is great for travelling. However if you use foundation to cover age spots or scarring, this won’t be enough for you. I ordered the medium and it was fine, I think most of the colours will blend easily into your complexion because it’s so sheer.

Chanel Les Beiges Sheer Healthy Glow Tinted Moisturiser

Eyeshadow

I don’t usually wear make-up during the day on holiday but now that I tend to post on Instagram while I’m away, I need to make more of an effort. Plus I’m realising that I’m not quite as ‘fresh faced’ without make-up as I used to be. So, I wanted a light eyeshadow that wouldn’t look overdone on the beach.

I tried two and there wasn’t much difference between them. They are both an absolute pleasure to use, just slick them across your eyelids and you’re done. They both stayed well all day, just giving a subtle glow of colour and they survived gym workouts too.

Bobbi Brown Long-wear cream eyeshadow stick

This one is my favourite but probably because I really love the colour. At first I wasn’t sure about ‘golden pink’ but Stella magazine raved about it in their beach beauty post. Last weekend I noticed that it’s the colour the make-up artist has used in Mamma Mia 2 too (great film – never mind the reviews just go and see it). It just gives your eyelids a natural looking sunkissed shimmer.

 Bobbi Brown Long-wear cream eyeshadow stick

Dior Cooling Stick

This is the other eye shadow that I liked. If your eyes are suffering in the heat, this really is cooling to apply, it feels incredibly soothing. I have the bronze shade and I’ll use it for evenings when we’re away but there is a gold and a pink too. It’s in the sale at the moment so it’s a brilliant buy – you’ll use it all year round because it feels so lovely to apply.

Dior Cooling Stick

Eyeliner

I wanted to be able to line the top of my lashes for a little more definition so I found this waterproof eyeliner from Chanel. I opted for espresso rather than the black I usually use. I’m a bit lukewarm about. It doesn’t apply as a clean line so it requires a certain amount of blending but it is waterproof so it stays well in the heat.

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof

Waterproof Mascara

I try so many mascaras but always come back to Clinique’s High Impact mascara. I find that it adds just enough length and depth to my lashes to give me an ‘I woke up like this’ unmade-up sort of look. This time I’ve gone for the waterproof version and I’ve switched from black to a softer brown black for even more natural appeal.

Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara

Blusher

It may seem counterintuitive to go for blusher when the weather’s hot and during the day I’m finding I often don’t need to apply it. Now that I have a bit of a natural tan though, my face looks fresher if it has a little definition so I’m rolling this on to the apples of my cheeks. These aren’t new but they were recommended by both Red and Good Housekeeping as summer essentials. Although they’re called beach sticks they aren’t designed specifically for the beach so they’re not waterproof however they do accentuate a summer glow and continue to do so all year round. The thing I really love about them is their texture. They contain ceramidone which Charlotte Tilbury rather unpoetically describes as being like polyfilla and they certainly do help to fill in the crinkly smile lines cheeks and give your cheeks a plump, youthful glow. The colour that I chose is Las Salinas – a rosy glow in a stick!

Beach sticks

Barely There Lipstick

India Knight has dedicated a column to this Lip Tattoo not once but twice in The Times. This is how she describes them: