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Homecoming Makeup That Made Me Feel Like a Completely Different Person
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items You have one night, one dress, and zero room for your makeup to slide off during a sweaty gym dance. If you're staring at tutorials wondering which products actually show up in photos and last past the first slow song, I spent three homecomings figur...
Sections
6
Skin Prep That Kept My Makeup On All Night
Foundation and Concealer That Photograph Well
Eye Makeup That Actually Showed Up in Photos
Blush and Bronzer That Gave Me Dimension
Lip Color That Survived Dinner and Dancing
Setting Sprays and Final Touches That Lock Everything In
Skin Prep That Kept My Makeup On All Night
Sophomore year my foundation was gone by the second song. Junior year I figured out that prep matters more than the actual foundation. These kept everything locked in from photos to afterparty.
Slather this on about 30 minutes before you start your makeup. My skin used to look flaky under foundation every single dance, and this fixed it in one use. Perfect for anyone whose skin gets dry under layers of product.
The Dewy Skin Cream
Swap to this if your skin leans oily. It sinks in fast and doesn't leave that greasy film that makes primer slide around. I gave this to my friend who always complained about her T-zone melting by 9 PM.
Bedazzled Drunk Elephant Makeup Melting Butter Cleanser: Rhinestone Bling Skincare
Grab this one specifically. My foundation survived a mosh pit situation near the DJ booth. It grips everything to your face without feeling tacky, and photos came out smooth instead of patchy.
Hydro Grip Hydrating Makeup Primer with Hyaluronic Acid + Niacinamide
Use this under your primer if you're doing outdoor photos before the dance. Nobody thinks about sun at 5 PM but I got a weird tan line from my corsage once. Never again.
Unseen Sunscreen Body SPF 40
Mix a drop into your moisturizer for that lit-from-within thing. For anyone who wants to look glowy in photos without shimmer sitting on top of their skin like craft glitter.
Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops
Keep this in your clutch for mid-dance refreshes. I spritzed it in the bathroom and my makeup looked freshly applied. Wish I had known about this before I ruined my junior year look by touching my face constantly.
SOS Rescue Spray
Foundation and Concealer That Photograph Well
Flash photography will expose every cakey spot and weird color match. I looked orange in half my sophomore year photos. These actually matched my skin and held up under every phone flash.
Try this if you want coverage that doesn't look like you're wearing a mask. My skin looked like actual skin in every photo, even the unflattering ones my mom took with flash on.
NARS Light Reflecting Foundation Sample Card
For anyone who hates heavy foundation. One layer covered my redness and a few blemishes without feeling like I was wearing anything. Lasted from 5 PM photos to midnight without separating.
Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation
Dab this under your eyes and on any spots. I used to use the original formula and it creased into every line I didn't even know I had. This version stays smooth for hours. Stock up before dance season.
Tarte Shape Tape Ultra Creamy Concealer
Switch to this if Shape Tape feels too thick for you. It brightened my under-eyes without looking like I caked on product. My friend who barely wears makeup borrowed this and looked incredible.
Kosas- Revealer Super Creamy + Brightening Concealer
Press this into your T-zone and under your eyes with a damp sponge. I learned the hard way that skipping powder means raccoon eyes by hour two. This one doesn't make you look dusty in photos.
Translucent Loose Setting Powder
Toss this in your bag as backup. It's tiny, cheap, and does the job for touch-ups when you're crammed in a bathroom with six friends. Blot then press, don't swipe. Trust me on that.
High Definition Finishing Powder | NYX Professional Makeup
Eye Makeup That Actually Showed Up in Photos
I did this soft neutral look once and in every photo it looked like I wasn't wearing eyeshadow at all. These products showed up on camera and stayed put through tears, sweat, and aggressive hugging.
This palette single-handedly saved my homecoming look. The shimmers actually pop on camera without needing five layers, and the mattes blend out in seconds. For anyone who wants a smoky eye that doesn't look muddy.
Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette
Use this before any shadow or it will crease within the hour. I skipped primer once and had eyeshadow sitting in my crease like a sad line by the time group photos happened. Never skipping again.
Urban Decay Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Pair the cream shade from this as a base on your lids for a monochromatic moment. It gives a rosy flush that ties your eyes to your cheeks. Unexpected trick that got me three compliments.
Patrick Ta She's That Girl Major Headlines Double Take
Get this if your hands shake when you do liner. The tip is firm enough to control but thin enough for a clean wing. I did mine in a moving car on the way to dinner and it still came out even.
Perfect Strokes Matte Liquid Liner
Layer two coats and your lashes look like falsies without the drama of glue peeling off mid-dance. For anyone who refuses to deal with lash glue but still wants that wide-eye effect in every picture.
Lengthening + Volumizing Mascara - Tower 28 Beauty
Fill in sparse spots with tiny strokes. I used to skip brows entirely and then wondered why my face looked unfinished in photos. This pencil changed everything without making me look drawn-on.
Mini Precisely, My Brow Pencil Waterproof Eyebrow Definer
Blush and Bronzer That Gave Me Dimension
Flat lighting in a gym is brutal. Without some color and dimension your face disappears. These gave me cheekbones I didn't know I had and a flush that looked natural even under fluorescent lights.
One tiny dot per cheek. I'm not exaggerating, I squeezed too hard once and looked like a clown for 20 minutes before I could blend it down. Start small. This stuff is wildly pigmented and lasts forever.
Joy Soft Pinch Liquid Blush - Rare Beauty
Sweep this on your cheeks, lips, and eyelids for a pulled-together look in under two minutes. For the person running late who still wants to look like they spent an hour getting ready.
ILIA Multi-Stick AT LAST
Dust this along your cheekbones, temples, and jawline. It warmed up my face without turning me orange, which is more than I can say for the drugstore bronzer I used sophomore year.
Fenty Sun Stalk'R Face and Eye Bronzer and Highlighter
Try this for a dewy, just-pinched look that photographs beautifully. It melts into skin instead of sitting on top. I wore it to three events before anyone realized I was even wearing blush.
Saie Dew Blush Chilly
Contour with the darker shade and highlight with the lighter one. Two pans, whole face sculpted. I looked like I knew what I was doing even though I watched a YouTube tutorial 10 minutes before.
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Contour Duo
Grab the original if you want something foolproof. It blends easily and doesn't have shimmer that catches weird in photos. Saved me when I accidentally over-highlighted and needed to tone things down.
Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Matte Powder Bronzer
Lip Color That Survived Dinner and Dancing
Between dinner, drinks, and talking to every person you've ever met, lip color disappears fast. I reapplied six times at one dance before I found products that actually stayed through the night.
Wear this if you want a your-lips-but-better shade that goes with literally everything. It lasted through dinner rolls and a full meal. I didn't have to think about it once after applying.
MAC Matte Lipstick Chili Orange Red Hot
Layer this over any lip color for shine that doesn't feel sticky. It faded gracefully instead of peeling off in chunks. For anyone who wants gloss vibes without their hair getting stuck to their mouth.
Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil
Swipe this on when you want maximum shine for photos. It catches light perfectly and the shade works on literally every skin tone. My whole friend group passed one tube around before the dance.
Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminiser
Pick a shade close to your natural lip color but one step deeper. It felt comfortable all night and didn't dry out my lips like matte formulas sometimes do. Reapplied once after eating, that's it.
Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist For Ever Matte Lipstick
Use this if you want something sheer and low-maintenance. It gave my lips a pretty tint without me worrying about smudging. Toss it in your pocket for the easiest touch-up of your life.
Tower 28 Lip Jelly Pistachio 1.34 ml
Line and lightly fill your lips before any lipstick. This kept my color from bleeding and made everything look more polished. I used to skip liner and my lipstick would feather within an hour. Problem solved.
Pillow Talk - Lip Cheat - Nude Pink Lip Liner Pencil
Setting Sprays and Final Touches That Lock Everything In
All that work means nothing if it melts off during one fast song. The last step is what separates looking great at 6 PM from still looking great at midnight when someone pulls out their phone for one more photo.
Spray this in an X pattern over your whole face after everything is done. My makeup survived humidity, dancing, and crying during a slow song. Not one smudge. This is the thing that ties the whole look together.
All Nighter Waterproof Natural Finish Setting Spray
Switch to this if All Nighter feels too heavy. It gives a softer, slightly dewy finish that looks beautiful in close-up photos. I used it for senior year and the difference from junior year was embarrassing.
Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray Duo $78 Value
Press this onto areas that tend to get oily, like around your nose and chin. It blurred my pores without adding cakey texture. For anyone whose nose gets shiny the second they walk into a warm room.
Kosas Cloud Set Baked Setting & Smoothing Talc-free
Spritz this before primer and after setting spray for a double lock. Sounds excessive but my makeup literally did not budge for seven hours. Worth the extra 10 seconds.
Always an Optimist 4-In-1 Mist
Keep this compact in your bag. One press on your T-zone between songs and you're back to matte without disturbing anything underneath. Saved me from a shiny forehead in at least four photos.
Invisimatte Instant Setting + Blotting Powder
Dampen this and use it to press in your foundation, concealer, and powder. Brushes left streaks on my face that showed up horribly in flash photos. Switching to this sponge was the single biggest upgrade to my whole routine.
Beauty Blender Sponge Set