“You look fresh as daisies! What make up do you use?” I get asked this all the time when I meet my clients. Granted, I am a simple girl, eyeliner, mascara, a little blush and lip gloss and I’m good to go. Sometimes my clients are fanning themselves when we meet for our beach photo shoots because they haven’t adjusted to the Hawaiian climate. Sometimes they have tissue stuffed in their pockets (sometimes a hand towel!) to soak up the sweat beads… I like to call it “glisten” and “glisten” can be sexy. My clients take meticulous time and care to look beautiful in their air conditioned hotel rooms, only to be met with the humidity once they step outside and there goes the carefully applied make-up. I don’t think the humidity is that bad compared to say, Thailand, but perhaps I have adjusted my own internal body temperature AND finally found the right combination of beauty products to help me out. I’m sharing with you my must haves in my make up bag, just in case you need some recommendations for your next trip to the islands. I’m not saying that these products will work for everyone, but these products have worked for me and sharing is caring!
First off, I always mix a little face lotion with a little spf-30 sunscreen to my face before I put any make up on. I always use Benefit Cosmetics That Gal Brightening Face Primer 0.37 FL OZ
It seriously helps keep my make up on my face and brightens my skin, just a wee bit.
Then I apply Benefit Cosmetics High Beam
to my cheekbones, brow bones and nose to add a little bit of highlight, shimmer and dew. I love this stuff. As far as color to my cheeks, I don’t prefer the powder blushes because they just sweat off. I love cream blushes and lately I’ve been using this one by Nars the Multiple, Portofino ( New Without Boxed )
.. just dab some color on your cheeks and work with your fingers or use a brush and apply, use more for deeper color. It seems to last all day. I got a hold of Perricone MD No Blush Blush
yesterday at Sephora and put some on this morning. I love it, it’s light and I love that it’s natural looking on me. Perfect for my skin tone.
For my eyes, I prime them with Urban Decay Primer Potion, I don’t wear eye shadow, but I do wear eyeliner on my top lid only and this primer helps keep it on. Maybelline New York Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner, Blackest Black 950, 0.106 Ounce
, is a good stay put liner, I use the brown color. I’ve tried the more expensive kinds of gel eyeliners and they either shrivel up in the pot they came in or sweat off my lids. The best mascara I have found is Urban Decay’s Cannonball Mascara. It’s an oil based mascara AND waterproof!! Gentle enough to use everyday. It lengthens my lashes and adds a bit of volume. Being a photographer, I needed a mascara that wouldn’t run and streak down my face and this one fit the bill. I can’t live without it. To finish out my eyes, I add a bit of shape to my brows with Benefit Cosmetics Brow Zings – Medium
, frames my eyes nicely and stays put!
For my lips, I am a gloss girl. Right now I love Sephora’s brand lip gloss and this Sephora’s brand lip gloss too. The very last thing I do is spritz my made up face with Urban Decay’s All Nighter Make Up Setting Spray. This stuff is amazing. It really helps keep my make up on my face through glistening sweat and humidity, no matter where I am at… on a hike, at the beach, on a photo shoot, love this stuff.
Yes, there are times when I’m out on a shoot and I’m just dripping down with sweat and I just have to towel down and wipe my face of the icky sweat and of course, my make up will come off with it. It’s just the way it is. For the most part, if it’s a normal Oahu day and it usually is quite pleasant, I’m glistening and the cool tropical breeze helps cool me down and I know my make up is on my face. Honestly, all I really do throughout the day is apply lip gloss. Yes, these products are on the pricier end, but I know they work for me, so I won’t waste my time trying to find a drug store substitute, it’s time and money for experimentation when I don’t need to experiment.
So I don’t usually post pics of myself, because, I prefer to be at the other end of the camera… but here I am, with said make-up products at the beach right after a photo shoot. It’s a perk of living in Hawaii as a professional photographer… jump in the ocean after an hour of shooting the best clients in the world in the Hawaiian sun. Hope this info is helpful!! What’s that you ask? My hair? What do I use? How do I get it to not frizz out? I’ll share my hair products with you on another post. Hope to see you on Oahu soon looking pretty fab and you’re welcome ladies!! Warmest Aloha, ~j
Jennifer Brotchie Photography is based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jennifer enjoys blogging about all things Oahu for vacationers seeking out things to do and places to eat on Oahu. She is also a professional family and wedding photographer specializing in photographing awesome people worldwide. Contact jenniferbrotchie@gmail.com to schedule your professional beach photo shoot today. Disney Aulani, Turtle Bay Resort, North Shore, Waikiki, Honolulu, Sunsets
