How to Make Your Party Makeup Last All Night

At a time when house parties are all the rage, you very well know that it means your face needs to look decent when the sun comes up. You know it will be quite a sight when the foundation slides off or the concealer dries up and looks flaky or the lipstick fades out leaving behind a not so pretty tint. But then there’s the Champagne to sip, hors d’oeuvres to nibble and most importantly the cool moves to make on the dance floor, so the last thing on your mind is to redo your makeup. So we reached out to celebrity makeup artist Bhavya Arora, who has worked for movies, ad films, print campaigns and web series and with celebrities such as Tapsee Pannu, Rasika Dugal, Chitrangada Singh, Shraddha Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Radhika Apte to teach us how to keep our makeup in place all night and beyond.

Before you do anything else, at the outset do factor in the weather. Winter is not on its way out yet, which means your skin is drier than usual. “So start a good moisturising routine at least a week before the big day. Religiously follow both day and night skin care routine. Make sure even your lips are moisturised. Use a good lip scrub or simply rub some sugar on your lips to moisturise and exfoliate them. Apply an under-eye cream and ensure that delicate part of your face is hydrated,” says Bhavya. The logic is that the more hydrated your skin is, the longer your makeup will last. 

On the day you can ice your face in the morning or a couple of hours before and then apply a hydrating mask. “Prep your skin with your normal moisturiser, under-eye cream and a lip balm. Then pack a layer of a suitable primer and let your skin soak up all of this. Don’t pack too much foundation - use as little as you need and apply powder to set your makeup,” adds Bhavya. You need powder to ensure your makeup doesn’t move and hence all the moisturising because if your skin is dry and you use powder, it will start flaking off. Continue with the rest of the makeup as you would. 

Considering it isn’t summer, you won’t sweat but if you know you do, then ice your face before makeup and you can even apply aloe vera that cools the skin down. “Keep a dab handy once you’re at the party although I like dewy skin so a tiny bit of glow will only make you look great,” says Bhavya. 

“If you’re going for bright lips, start with a lip primer and pack layers of colour - lip pencil, lipstick and finally a lip gloss or matte lip colour to ensure that the colour lasts longer. Seal the edges of the mouth using powder and your lipstick won’t bleed!” Adds Bhavya.