No entourage here.

April 20, 2009 2:44 PM

How do I keep my make-up and hair looking fresh all day long?

This is my ridiculously silly question that I am embarrassed to ask, but really need help with. Tomorrow, I have a stupidly full day, where I am expected to be very nicely dressed, with nice hair and full make-up ALL DAY LONG from 9:30am to at least 11pm. I will be on-camera several times, as well as meeting with people face-to-face, attend a party and will have to criss-cross the city several times. (I drive.) I would normally choose flats and some stretchy pant ensemble, but tomorrow's events require a bit more dressing-up (dress, heels, hose.) I know movie stars have an entourage that check their hair and makeup etc., but what does a regular person do? Any long-lasting make-up or hair tips would be most, most appreciated. I have a base, so I can store products in my car, or at a location. I have access to a bathroom, and even one where I could plug an hair-dryer in or something. I don't have a lot of time between things except between 4 - 7pm. Help me not look frazzled and bedraggled.

posted by typewriter to clothing, beauty, & fashion (25 comments total)

Use facial blotting papers as often as you get the chance.
posted by jgirl at 2:50 PM on April 20 [2 favorites has favorites]

I'm certainly no expert on this, but it seems like wearing your hair pulled back or up would help it to stay neat and in place most of the day. As for makeup, I would try to keep it simple and use blotting papers or powder to freshen up on occasion, but you could always get some of those makeup wipes and just do the whole thing over in the bathroom at one of the midway events.
posted by odayoday at 2:53 PM on April 20

If I needed to be dressed up that long, I would definitely bring a spare pair of pantyhose. Nothing is grosser than pantyhose worn for over 12 hours.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 2:53 PM on April 20 [4 favorites has favorites]

Foundation primer. The Laura Mercier stuff is great. My make-up lasts all day.
posted by lunalaguna at 2:56 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

Regarding make-up... blotting papers may be a good idea for a quick fix. You could also keep some transparent or light powder on hand to fix a shiny face. I also think that lip gloss goes a long way in looking polished. You could use underarm guards in your dress to keep sweat stains at bay, if that's a problem.

Regarding accessories... you should wear some dangly earrings. That's all :)

If you have the time between a morning meeting and an evening meeting I might suggest fully removing your make-up and re-applying it. Eye make-up in particular can get greasy over many hours.

Some more details may be required about your hair, though, and how you plan to wear it.
posted by cranberrymonger at 2:58 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

No matter what makeup you have, it will fail you if you are running around and/or sweating. In the middle of the day sometime, I would take ten minutes and just re-do all your makeup. Bring makeup remover, take everything off and start fresh (esp. before any time on camera).

Bring two extra sets of pantyhose just in case. They run easily when you're running around.

If you think you're going to get wrinkly and sweaty, or should the occasion call for different levels of attire, bring two outfits and change somewhere during the day to look your freshest.

Clear deodorant so you don't mess up either outfit with white residue, but can use it to freshen up.

If none of your activities involve a meal, a granola bar or two. Toothpaste and toothbrush, or those oral-b brush ups go a long way toward feeling fresh, if not looking it.
posted by slateyness at 3:01 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks, these are great! Keep them coming! My hair will be down, chin-length, since that is how is looks best. Straight, maybe a little blown-out in the morning.
posted by typewriter at 3:01 PM on April 20

Apply your makeup in good strong light, similar to whatever you're going to be filmed under. If you don't know, then put your makeup on in front of a well-lit window. Will give you the best odds of looking the way you want on camera.

Go with a natural look, especially on the eyelids - anything heavy will probably crease unless you have the right kind of eyeshadow/primer, and you don't really have time for that. Wearing a bit of tinted lipgloss would be a nice finishing touch for your on-camera look, and it's easy to reapply during the day. Whatever hairstyle you choose to wear, finish it off with some really good hairspray and you won't have to worry about it for the rest of the day.

Might want to go for waterproof mascara for the day so it won't smudge, possibly waterproof eyeliner if you like to wear it - or just make sure it's well set with matching powder (nix the waterproof stuff if you think you want to reapply later tho). If you sweat easily and it's warm outside then maybe plan for reapplying.
posted by lizbunny at 3:14 PM on April 20

Definitely nthing taking off all your make-up at some mid-way point and re-applying it all from scratch, and freshening up as best as you can. You will feel less "gross".

Don't put too much product in your hair or it will begin to look dirty and scraggly after half a day of running around.

Extra pantyhose, extra outfit, just in case.
posted by Grlnxtdr at 3:15 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

Use that 4-7 time to re-charge. in addition to re-applying your make-up (and wash your face with cool refreshing clear water) and maybe changing clothes to be a little fresher, I'd also set aside 15 minutes to lay down and de-compress. You'll feel much better. Stay hydrated during the day, even if it means more bathroom breaks. Your skin will look and feel better. Carry some loose translucent powder to lightly touch up your face.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 3:19 PM on April 20 [3 favorites has favorites]

Some additional things I didn't see mentioned:

- Makeup primer under your foundation/ eye shadow is fantastic for preventing fading during the day. Here are some products you might look.

- If you use an ultra-fine mist hairspray, a quick mist over your face will help set your makeup. (Eyes and mouth closed please!)

- I always have problems with my mascara/ eyeliner flaking and smudging under my eyes, leaving me with dark circles. My favorite quick-fix tool is to swipe a Q-tip with a just a touch of moisturizer/ cold cream/ make up remover on it under my lash line. Also good for fixing eyeliner mistakes or quickly removing eye makeup to reapply with out having to redo my whole face.

- Even if you plan to have your hair down for the day, bring your favorite hair clips a brush and some spray with you so you can put it up later in the day in case you find it's starting to wilt.

- Bring a pair of comfortable flats to change into when you're driving or any other down time that you have. If your feet hurt you will be miserable all day.
posted by platinum at 3:40 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

Two eye products that will help you immensely:

Urban Decay Primer Potion will keep your eyeshadow in place for hours and hours.

Kiss Me mascara (it forms those little tubes around your eyelashes) will also stay in place for ages. I use the cheaper drugstore version, L'Oreal Beauty Tubes - don't bother with the white "primer" side, it's unnecessary. Normal mascara smudges on me after a while, but I've fallen asleep with this on and woken up smudge free.
posted by Metroid Baby at 3:41 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

In the car, keep:
A bottle of water
Q-tips - dip in water, sqeeze almost-dry, then tidy up your eye makeup. Also use to remove any powder from your eyebrows after fixing the rest of your face- darker brows look better on camera.
Baby wipes - you can freshen up pits mid-day, or wipe arms & neck if you feel hot & gross
Deodorant
Toner + cotton pads (the disc shaped ones leave less fluff on your face) - use to gently take off any excess cakey foundation & powder without disturbing eye makeup
Cat hair roller if needed

Clothing:
I'd change clothes a few times during the day because you'll probably feel rumply & sweaty... you might even want to look different for each appearance for strategic reasons?
Bright colours look nicest on camera. White and black are not great colours to wear and avoid fine patterns that will moire. If the pattern is scaled larger than a coin, you should be fine.
If you tend to get wet pits, think about what fabrics to wear to hide this. Sweaters are good, coloured cotton shirts are bad, etc.

Makeup:
To each on-camera thing, bring makeup stuff in a large white or clear plastic grocery bag (so you can see inside quickly to find things- the little zipper cases are a nightmare to juggle when you're in a rush). Bring powder, lip goss, blush, mascara, hairbrush, mirror, etc, and before the camera starts rolling, just fluff yourself right there on set. You'll have a coupe minutes while they get levels- take advantage of the time!
Make sure to use powder before each shoot! Apply with a clean sponge instead of a brush, since a brush gets powder in your mascara & eyebrows and that looks weird on camera. Use a damp Qtip to keep brows dark- I'll lick one right there on-set if need be!
Lip gloss

Food:
Keep easy to eat, non-messy, non-tooth-sticking snacks in the car. I like
yogurt (throw a towel on you as a bib, murphy's law dictates that you *will* spill)
a package of smoked deli turkey slices
cheez strings
chewy granola bars (crunchy ones shatter oily crumbs on your clothes)
banana
COFFEE
gum

Sanity:
Eat a good, high-protein brekky & lunch
Stay caffienated
Brush your teeth and take a full 10 minutes at lunch to tidy up your makeup.
Play soothing/energizing music in the car between things (I like Feist and Regina Spektor for this)
If you wear heels, switch to flats in between. Do you really need pantyhose? I hate them.

I personally find it's easier to "KEEP GOING" all day rather than stop & start. If that's true for you too, maybe consider trying to stay sort of upright & alert & present & "on" more rather than less- for me, I can maintain top speed all day but you give me a nap and I'm toast, you know?

Have a great day and kick some butt out there!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 3:45 PM on April 20 [8 favorites has favorites]

If you are planning on wearing a sweater or other long-sleeved shirt over the dress, try to make it one that can be taken off easily if you get too hot. Sweat will make both your face and hair look greasier.
posted by amicamentis at 5:46 PM on April 20

Wow, there are some good tips on here. Agreeing with pseudostrabismus: don't forget to eat & drink. And bring a few ibuprofen, which are as helpful with "my feet hurt and I'm getting cranky" as they are with a basic headache.

A secret of my own (which I have never shared with anyone!): if you tend to get sweaty pits, stick a thin maxipad to the inside of your shirt or sweater. This is obviously best if you're wearing a jacket, and out of the question if you're wearing something sleeveless! But it is totally doable with a nice sweater, as long as it's not paper thin. Positioning can take a bit of practice & futzing, but you'll figure it out.

Nothing with wings. And it's gotta be thicker than an everyday pantyliner -- it needs the absorbent core. But not too thick, or its bulk will show. Throw a spare pair in your bag, and replace 'em at some point.

I know it's weird. But it totally saves me during public speaking engagements.

Good luck!
posted by kestrel251 at 6:00 PM on April 20

If your hair starts to look greasy later in the day, put a dusting of baby powder in your hair and comb or brush it through.
posted by All.star at 7:07 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you have time, consider getting a professional hair blow out in the morning or even night before. My hair always stays looking neat for longer after I've had it professionally styled.
posted by pluckysparrow at 8:47 PM on April 20

nthing primer. If you have a Sephora near you, you can get Smashbox Photo Finish for your face and Urban Decay Primer Potion for your eyes in small quantities in those little bins as you approach the register. Actually, I'm not sure about the Potion, but I definitely saw the Smashbox primer in those bins at Sephora near me just yesterday, and I bought both of these products from those bins in August. I wore both of them for my wedding, which featured a lot of sweating and pressure and seriously not a single bathroom break and yet I put on my makeup at 9am and it looked better and better as the day went on...except for my lipstick, which was gone by the afternoon.

They also seem to have a lot of instant hair cleaning sprays in those Sephora bins lately, so that might help you freshen up in your 4-7 interval.

Honestly, if you have a Sephora near you that opens early I bet if you stopped there and asked them this question they would be able to fix you up with the right stuff...and possibly even do your makeup.
posted by crinklebat at 9:14 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

I've heard good things about Model in a Bottle.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:57 PM on April 20

Seconding Metroid Baby....L'Oreal Beauty Tube Mascara is AMAZING!! It's the only mascara I've ever used that doesn't end up smudged under my eye by the end of the day. I too have fallen asleep with it on (bad, I know) and it's still on in the morning. It literally doesn't come off until washed, but it doesn't feel stiff and isn't tough to remove like a waterproof mascara is. I even wear it mountain bike riding and still...no smudges. Good luck tomorrow!!
posted by hollygirl at 11:17 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

The maxi pads in armpits thing totally works. If you have time to plan ahead next time, get dress shields at a fabric store & tack them in with a stitch or two in the seams of your tops. Or use those tiny gold safety pins (in the seams where they won't show).
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:37 AM on April 21

In a pinch, Milk of Magnesia can be used as a primer. The folks at MakeupAlley rave about it. I've used it with some success.

Let us know how it goes for you, Typewriter!
posted by lucyleaf at 1:22 PM on April 21

I swear by Face Stockholm's Magic Wand for undereye concealer. It melts into your skin and is incredibly light. It makes me look awake like nothing else. (And it was recommended by a local makeup artist who does a lot of TV/movie work.)
posted by mdiskin at 7:47 PM on April 21

Okay, I made it out alive! (I knew there was a reason I usually hang out in yoga pants all day.)

Here were the absolute essentials in my bag/kit that worked for me:
comfy outfit
nice black dress WITH POCKETS
ballet flats that still worked with both outfits
3-hour heels
blotting paper
make-up bag
hairbrush
lint remover thing

Tips that worked for me:
Re-doing make-up from fresh halfway through the day
Water, water, water
Hair out for most of the day, then bangs pinned back for evening (No product until evening, as it tends to weigh my hair down a bit too much)
Chilling for a bit in the afternoon
Eating, but not eating too much

Thanks all!
posted by typewriter at 6:27 AM on April 22

Oh, and I didn't use primer, because I went with a tinted moisturiser for my face which was a bit lighter.
posted by typewriter at 6:29 AM on April 22