Gina Jet Ortiz’s Summer-Makeup Survival Guide

Summer temperatures, along with higher humidity (or arid dryness), can bring about a multitude of challenges for keeping our makeup in place. If you’ve ever experienced the unpleasantries of trying to look good while mopping buckets of sweat off your face, then you know how tough it can be. I have clients that won’t go out at all during these months simply because it’s too much work keeping their faces intact. As someone who has heard every imaginable makeup horror story, I can assure you that you can take steps to prevent makeup disasters from occurring. You must think in terms of prevention versus maintenance. Being a few steps ahead of the curve with simple planning could save the day.

Before I continue with these tips, it must be said that trans women and crossdressers face more challenges in this department than cisgender women in that cisgender women are not fighting against wigs and breast forms. These two things alone cause sweating and should be addressed first. The other factor to consider is your beard-cover. If you want to attend an all-day outdoor event but you panic at the thought of wrestling with your makeup and shapewear, then these guidelines are for you. PLAN AHEAD!

1. Have a look at the inside of your wig. Is it well-ventilated? Cheap wigs will be more densely “packed” and will have more hairs woven into a smaller area. Higher-quality wigs are better ventilated simply because they contain less hair. If you take a rat-tail comb and part an area of the wig you should be able to see a sparser (or super-dense) pattern. If your wig is too dense, your scalp cannot breathe. It might also be worth suggesting that you find a wig that can be worn in an “updo” to keep you cooler.
2. Wig caps are necessary to protect your wig from your sweat and oils that, over time, can break down the elastic inside the cap. If you wear your wig a lot, then you should be washing it a lot if for no other reason than to remove dried sweat and oils that build up and “attack” the elastic. Not to mention the odor. As a service provider I can tell you that the smell of stinky wigs is burned into my nostrils forever.
3. Bring an extra wig cap or two to your event. When the sweat starts to build up and feels “icky” and damp, simply go into the ladies’ room, pull off the wig, and change out the cap. It will help tremendously in controlling your body heat. Let your head cool down for a few minutes before replacing the cap.
4. 

   Cooler foam form.

   Everybody loves the silicone breast forms for their weight and shape, but they are cumbersome in higher temperatures. Consider switching (for the day! don’t panic!) to a pair of lightweight and breathable-foam breast forms. If you’re even entertaining the idea of wearing that big silicone chest plate to your event then you deserve to drown in sweat!

5. A lace bra, instead of the densely-woven or nylon type, with lots of ventilation will also help a lot in keeping your body temperature under control.
6. Do you wear a waist cincher? Consider finding one that says “breathable” on the package. Those old-fashioned nylon ones might as well be made of saran wrap.
7. Sunscreen. Yes, you should always wear sunscreen but it contains ingredients that make the skin very “slippery.” If you’re trying to protect your makeup from “slippage” then you absolutely must find a sunscreen that is meant to be worn under makeup!
8. Primer. Even if you’re not used to wearing a primer, then this is definitely the time to use one. The job of primer is to add staying power to your makeup as well allow a more even application. You don’t have to use a primer all the time, but a hot day is one of the times that you do. Apply it with your fingers and let it dry completely before applying your foundation. This step will help tremendously.
9. 

   L’Oreal Infallible foundation.

   Your foundation should be a long-wear formula. Most companies make these now, so they’re easy to find and affordable. Even if you don’t usually wear the long-lasting formulas, this is the time that you should. The formula is designed to stay in place under “stress,” meaning sweat and/or water. They are sweat-proof, waterproof, and most of them contain a sunscreen. Placing one of these long-wearing foundations on top of your beard-cover product will also help keep it in place.

10. Powder. Now this might be the most important tip yet. You can set your initial makeup job with powder of course, but it needs to be said that powder is NOT meant to be a sweat-absorber! I’ve seen this a million times: girls whip out their powder compact and powder on top of sweat as a means to “control shine.” Nope. That’s not what it’s for and that’s not what it does. Powder sets your makeup and controls reasonable shine later on. That’s it. If you continually apply powder to a sweaty face, you will look like Betty Crocker made a cake right on your face!
11. 

    Blotting paper.

    Blotting tissues are designed to control reasonable shine (not buckets of sweat) by soaking up the oils on your skin and not adding unnecessary layers of product to your makeup. You can buy them in little, portable packages that slip right into your purse or wallet without adding bulk. However, you can use lots of other things for this purpose. Blotting tissues are just that: tissues. You can keep actual tissue paper folded up in your purse. This might sound crazy to a normal person, but makeup artists know tricks that might surprise you. You know what else you can use for blotting tissue if none is available? Donut tissues from the bakery section of the supermarket. Grab a few of those the next time you’re at the grocery store. I probably shouldn’t mention that those thin-paper toilet seat covers in public restrooms work too…but I’ll deny it if you tell anyone I told you this.

12. A bandana? Yes, ma’am! A regular ol’ bandana is a great way to mop up sweat and can also look cute with your outfit if you tie it around your neck like a scarf (think pink!). Not into that? Ok, then keep it in your purse and mop away when you need to. NOTE: a brand-new bandana is “crisp” and non-absorbent when you buy it and should be washed first to remove the protective coating from the factory. At least give it a quick hand-washing (and drying) before you expect it to do its job. 
13. Makeup. Finally! I mentioned that you should be using a long-wear foundation but you should also wear as many waterproof products as possible. Waterproof mascara will stand up to even profuse sweating, but you can also use waterproof eyeshadow, eyeliners, and lip colors!
14. 

    Waterproof eye shadow.

    Waterproof eyeshadow and eyeliner? Yup. Most makeup companies are making liquid eyeshadows and “gel” liners that have built-in primers and are waterproof! They’re everywhere now and so easy to find and affordable.

15. Stay-on lip colors. These are liquid and come in a tube with their own little sponge-wand applicator. The key to their ability to stay in place all day is that you must let them dry completely and then apply a second coat (and let that dry too) before touching it.
16. Setting spray is your friend. After all the makeup is applied, mist a layer of setting spray on top of it all and let it dry. Setting spray, when combined with all the other long-wearing and waterproof products, will work wonders in keeping it all together. Some of them even have sunscreens built in!
17. Keep it light! It needs to be said that all of these measures will indeed help keep your makeup intact, but you should also be keeping the makeup itself to a minimum. I know this is hard for some girls because they want to look glamourous. However, summertime and summer days in particular call for makeup that is light and sheer and sun-kissed. You can wear a lightweight (and waterproof) shimmery liquid eyeshadow instead of the dark and heavy powdered shadows (bye-bye, smokey-eye!), and replace the black eyeliner with a brown, taupe, or plum (waterproof) eyeliner. Skip the blush and replace it with a shimmery bronzer swept across the apples of the cheeks and the bridge of your nose. Lastly, skip the thick, opaque lipcolor and instead use a lightweight and sheer (long-wear) lip color. 
18. Last but not least, invest in a good little handheld fan and some extra batteries. I keep one on my makeup table for speed-drying lash glue, eyeliner, and liquid lipcolor, but they also come in handy for the back of my neck when I’m working hard!

I do realize that this all seems like a hell of a lot of work but it’s actually just a matter of replacing a few of your normal products. I don’t expect anyone to do every single one of these things, so if I had to emphasize the most important steps I would say the primer, long-wear foundation, and the setting spray are among the highest priorities. The trick to enjoying yourself at outdoor summer events is prevention and planning ahead! Stay cool!

My Top 5 Long-Wear Foundations:

Revlon Colorstay 24-Hour

Maybelline Superstay 30-Hour

L’Oreal Infallible 24 Hour

MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof

NARS Natural Radiant Longwear

Helpful links:

Longwear Foundations (pricey):

https://www.byrdie.com/best-sweat-proof-foundations

Sunscreens for wearing under makeup: https://www.whowhatwear.com/best-sunscreens-for-under-makeup/slide3

Primers that contain sunscreen: https://www.makeup.com/skin-care/skin-care-products/makeup-primers-with-spf

Setting sprays with sunscreen: https://www.health.com/best-spf-setting-sprays-7503525

https://www.byrdie.com/best-setting-sprays-with-spf-7484127

Tags: crossdressing, featured, makeup

Category: Makeup, Transgender How To