Applying makeup for a race day event requires a little more attention than your average lunch date.
Your face has to battle all kinds of weather, the up close and personal scrutiny from other contestants, and it has to be photo-ready.
So, makeup has to be carefully applied for maximum impact, ensuring it complements your outfit.
Below, I share the basic steps I use to get my face race day ready.
Start your Makeup with the Eyes
Doing your eyes first means that any fall away eye shadow can easily be wiped off without ruining your makeup.
Also, in the case of an eye-mergency, you can wash it all off and start again without having to re-do your whole face!
The general rule for daytime events is to keep your eye makeup light, but for a FOTF contest, it’s important the judges are able to view your overall look from afar.
Always prep your eyelids with a base before applying eye shadow. It makes the shadow stick and the colour richer. And keep your eyes colours neutral, if going for a bold coloured lip.
Use a blending brush to apply a darker shade to the crease of your eyelid. I like a chocolate brown or earthy tone.
Brush along the eye crease until blended in- and use less rather than more, building up as you go.
Then, use a lighter colour on the lid- I use a gold or beige, with some shimmer.
I like to finish my look with a shimmer in the inner corners of my eye. I apply my eye primer first to the corners of my eye then wet a small brush and choose a glitter. It really makes my makeup pop.
The next step is your eyeliner. Not necessary, but does open up your eyes when applied correctly. If you have shaky hands, the day of the race is not the day to try it out-practice before hand.
Apply liner from just after the inner corner to the outer corner, then flick upwards and out. Don’t make it too thick. Next, apply a layer of mascara.
Eyebrows frame the face, so it’s important to get them perfect. If you’re going to spend any money, spend it on a professional eyebrow wax and shape. It’s easy to maintain their shape yourself after that.
If yours are shaped already, go over them with a pencil to make them more defined, fuller and darker.
Brow gel is a great product to keep those pesky hairs in place and it helps fill them out.
Something I’ve discovered is that by using foundation on a small angled brush, I can make any stray lines along my brows straight and the edges more defined.
The last step? Fake lashes. I always wear them. They make your eyes stand out more and look great in photos. If you haven’t worn them before, you’ll want to check out my 7 easy steps to apply fake lashes.
Prep and Prime; it’s Face Time
Before applying your foundation, use a good moisturizer and primer. You need a smooth base and it reduces redness and uneven skin tone.
I use a foundation brush to buff foundation onto my skin in small circles.
If you prefer to use a sponge or your fingers, do so, but remember the same goes for foundation- less is more. No cake faces.
Start in the middle of your face and blend outwards as you don’t need as much coverage there.
Set your foundation with a translucent powder or foundation powder.
After powder, use bronzer in the hollows of your cheeks. Suck in your cheeks and lightly apply the bronzer where it is concaved, then sweep it outwards.
Use a blush on the apples of your cheeks and sweep it back along your cheek bones, taking care not end up with a bright pink hair line. Less is more. Did I already say that?
And my personal favourite step at the moment? Highlighter! Apply highlighter with a soft brush above the cheek bones, on the tip of your nose and cupids bow.
The Grand Finale- Lips
Find a lipstick colour that ties in with, or complements, your outfit.
Either choose a colour already in your dress, or choose a colour to contrast the colours in your dress. For example, a teal blue dress looks amazing with an orange lip.
Also be mindful of the season. In winter, wear a darker tone. Summer, something bolder and brighter.
Moisturise with a lip balm, then pencil the outline of your lips. Apply lipstick, using a lip brush if you want more precision.
To Finish…
I finish my look with setting spray so that my makeup lasts all day and stays in place.
Make sure you pack your lipstick and powder, as they will need to be re-applied throughout the day. You can see what else I pack in my race day handbag in this post.
One final tip is to go and have a makeup lesson. Many makeup stores offer a service whereby they apply your makeup for you, teaching you how to do it as they go.
Then you get to buy products to the value of the cost of the lesson.
You can ask as many questions as you like, get an expert opinion on what suits your face and spend the money on a couple of decent products to get you started.
So now that you have your makeup sorted, your probably wondering what you’re going to do with your hair? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered for that too with these popular race hairstyles.
BONUS: Want to know which makeup products I use? See below to get a list showing the brand and name of all the products I use.
