Summer’s in full swing here in the tropics. And it’s especially scorching this year with El Nino and all FML. Time and again, I have expressed my disdain for sunny weather. I like sunny weather don’t get me wrong. But if it’s 39 degrees and it’s humid as fuck, everything’s sticky and I just can’t stand it.
And so, one has to adjust his/her makeup routine. How do you wear makeup and not get all cakey in this heat? It’s tricky, I know. For me, it’s summer time when I ditch all kinds of liquid products except for sunblock and primer. I want to keep the layers in bare minimum because the last thing I want is to accidentally touch my face and feel the stickiness. Ew, no.
I busted out two things from MAC, my Studio Fix foundation powder and the Blot powder. I’m usually an NC30, but I have a tan right now so NC35 is what I use. For the Blot powder, I’m a medium. These products are my go-to in hot, humid climate. As long as you don’t overapply, your makeup won’t be cakey.
I start with a clean face and spread a generous layer of sunblock. Usually, my skin isn’t dry during the summer so I don’t use any moisturizer. If I did my foundie will slip and slide. My sunblock is hydrating enough but if you have dry skin you have to prep the skin properly.
I wait for a couple of minutes for the sunblock to dry down then dot the primer. I use a primer sparingly. I just apply the product on areas where I have large pores, which is basically the entire inner face, hahaha! After primer, I start concealing. Now, my usual routine is foundation before concealer but since I’m using a powder foundation, I feel that my concealer works better when applied before it.
After concealing all the brown spots, freckles or pimple scars, I get a buffing brush,Ā then work the powder foundation. I do so in thin layers because 1) I don’t want to mess my concealer and 2) don’t want to overdo it and look cakey.
Once I’m done with the foundation, the face is spot free but somewhat flat. So with a bronzer, I bring color back to the cheekbones and hairline. I also apply bronzer on the jawline to slim down my face. Yes, I contour my face every day. It’s an essential step for me, hahaha!
After the base is done, I start the usual routine: brows, eyes, cheeks, lips – in that order.
I usually wear light eye makeup in neutral tones, but I’m feeling this look š It photographs really well! I contoured my eyes with a cool-towned brown, patted bronze eyeshadow all over the lids and lower lids. Then, finished up with a deep aubergine powder liner. Everything from Smashbox!
Back when I was but a poor student, I poured most of my monies buying essential oils by The Body Shop. In fact, I collected almost all of their scents back in the day. I still have my collection even now! My favorite will always be the Moonflower. TBS discontinued both the essential oil and cologne, but I still have two bottles of the former.
The air-o-matic comes in different colors. I wanted to get the black one, but it was out of stock. Got the dark green instead. They also offer different scents. Since I am hopelessly allergic to my cat, I decided to get the Eucalyptus one.
The unit also comes with one free essential oil and for that I got Lavender Garden. Operating the unit is easy. You just fill it with the right volume of water, add the desired amount of essential oil and switch it on. The unit will disperse the scent for a good 30 minutes to an hour. 
Because PH is in the middle of summer (El Nino, no less), I’m getting frequent allergy attacks thanks to my ever dependable cat. When the air is wetter, airborneĀ irritants like dander or pollen are reduced. I can feel that the air-o-matic minimized the sniffles and helped me uh…decongest? Hahaha!
The small bottle costs PhP700 while the bigger ones cost PhP1,200. I got the bigger bottle and have no plans of getting the smaller bottles in the future because I feel the bigger bottles are more economical.
