It’s music festival season and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Whether you’re a regular festival-goer or a festival newbie, being prepared is super important to getting the most out of your experience.
Festivals are home to bright and bold fashion choices and makeup styles, but deciding what to take with you can be the tricky bit! Today we’re going to break down our top festival makeup choices and what we recommend you bring with you.
Base Makeup
The most important factor to consider when applying festival makeup is longevity. It’s important to pick products that are going to last the long days, full of dancing and singing your heart out! For us, a lightweight and breathable base is essential.
Primer is our favourite base makeup product. It effortlessly glides across your face, creating the look (and feeling) of smooth and poreless skin. Not only does it enhance your natural radiance, but primed skin also helps the application of foundation and increases your makeup’s longevity throughout the day.
Primer
Whilst we’re suckers for the MAC Prep & Prime spray, we think for the purpose of festival makeup, Rimmel London’s Fix & Perfect Primer is the go-to. At only 30ml, this handy primer packs a punch. Its 5-in-1 formula is designed to smooth skin, minimise pores, brighten your complexion, mattify and eliminate shine, and protect your skin from harsh environmental aggressors.
How to Apply:
Apply a small amount to clean skin. Gently pat it into your face before applying foundation. The velvety formula will fill and smooth over pores and mattify skin, leaving it feeling smooth and oil-free.
SPF
After primer, we recommend adding high-factor SPF to your face. If you managed to read our blog post on “Is Your Makeup Really Protecting You From the Sun?”, you’ll know that it isn’t enough protection. Rather, the best way to guarantee full protection from the sun’s harsh UV rays is to apply SPF underneath your makeup.
We know this might not be an exciting part of your glitzy, festival makeup look – but it is an important part.
We recommend two SPF products in particular. The first is Nivea’s UV Face Shine Control SPF50. Its delicate mousse formula is easy to apply and instantly protects you against sun damage. This product also has a moisturiser in it, which will leave your skin feeling smooth and ready for another day outside.
A second recommendation for SPF, when you’re out partying at a festival, is the Garnier Ambre Solaire Over-Makeup Mist. At SPF50, this fresh and ultra-lightweight mist is highly protective whilst remaining invisible on the skin. We can’t think of a more perfect sunscreen for festivals. It’s quick and easy to use and you can simply spray this product over your existing full-face of makeup and it will work perfectly.
How to Apply:
Shake well. Close your eyes and mouth. Spray generously and evenly across the whole face in a horizontal movement. It is recommended to apply it at a minimum of 15cm away. Ensure you apply enough product, as an insufficient amount will result in reduced levels of protection. Re-apply throughout the day, every few hours.
Foundation
Now that you’re primed and protected from the sun, it’s time for foundation! Foundation can be a tricky product to get right. With so many shades, brands, and coverage available, it can be hard to find a foundation to match your skin perfectly. When picking a foundation to wear at a festival, we recommend aiming for three things.
Firstly, light-to-medium coverage. Thick and heavy foundations will only cause you hassle at a festival. It’s better to play it safe and keep it lightweight. Then, if you need to apply more throughout the day, simply add a tiny bit of foundation to your beauty blender and dab it across your face as a ‘top-up’.
Secondly, aim for a mattifying feel. Whilst we love a dewy makeup look, when you’re spending most of the day sweating outside (!) the last thing you want is to feel your makeup smeared across your face. It’s better to choose a foundation which has a strong, dry hold.
Thirdly, choose a foundation which has additional SPF. Nowadays most foundations come with some level of sun protection. Pick one which has at least SPF10. You might be thinking this is excessive on top of your already applied sunscreen, but the truth is sun damage is no joke! It’s easy to forget when you’re out dancing and enjoying the music, but when you’re outside enjoying nature you have to be sure to protect yourself from everything that comes with it.
Concealer
After foundation, we recommend applying some concealer on areas that require a little extra coverage. For example, we often apply concealer under our eyes, chin, and on small blemishes. A must-have concealer for festivals is the Maybelline Eraser Eye Concealer. It’s the perfect size and application for when you’re out and about.
Setting Powder/Spray
Lastly, it’s time to set your makeup! This step is super important for festival makeup. After all the effort of applying your base, you don’t want it to smear off a couple of hours later. We recommend using Maybelline’s Lasting Fix Setting Powder first. Simply use a big brush to dab this matte-finish setting powder on top of your foundation and concealer. Then we recommend using the NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray. At only 60ml, it’s a festival makeup bag must-have. It’s lightweight, breathable, and ensures your makeup stays put all day and night – no matter how much boogieing you get up to!
We hope you enjoyed this post! The next post in our festival makeup series discusses eyes, brows and glitter… you won’t want to miss it!
