Glossy fetish models in magazines always look perfect, but anyone who has had experience in a very physical scene understands the reality. Instead of the flawless face, you end up with running mascara, sweaty brow, and smeared lipstick. Working up a sweat can be a rewarding feeling, putting your full effort into connecting with your play partner. Let me give you some tips on keeping a fresh face through the fury.
Your best friend is primer, and there are tons of primers to help you keep your beautiful face budge-free through sweat and tears. I start my face with eye make-up before working on foundation. This allows you to clean up any shadow fallout. The holy grail of eye primers in my opinion, is Urban Decay’s Primer Potion. This primer helps colors to pop and shadow to remain crease, and budge-free for more than 6 hours. Apply a small dot on lids, all the way to the brows and even a little underneath lower lashes. Eyeshadow can be applied like usual as the primer dries fast.
Lashes can be tricky, especially with any sweat or tears. You want to find a mascara that you love that is waterproof, like Revlon’s Grow Luscious Waterproof Mascara. While false lashes might give a beautiful effect, it’s best to skip them to keep from finding a lash stuck to your cheek or dangling on the edge. Liquid and gel liners are your best bet to keep from smearing and resulting more in a raccoon theme.
Once finished with eyes, make sure to start with moisturized skin, then apply a primer like Make Up For Ever’s HD Microperfecting Primer all over. Primer helps to allow foundation to glide on and lengthens the lasting time. There are tons of face primer products that also help reduce the appearance of pores and even skin tone.
Foundation choices depend on what sort of coverage you desire. Though heavy foundation can be less than desirable in an active session. I recommend mineral for light coverage, like Bare Minerals, or a liquid foundation like Clinique’s Perfectly Real. If oiliness is a problem in your everyday make-up, look for a foundation that helps control oil, it will come in handy with sweat as well. When using a liquid foundation a dusting of powder can set the foundation well. Make Up Forever’s HD Microfinish powder evens skin tone and locks foundation.
Blush shouldn’t be necessary, as I hope your cheeks are flushed from torturing the poor soul on the end of your whip. But if you love a more rosy cheeked glow, creme blushes and stains are great choices for long wear. This brings us to the final step, lips. A primer can be used for lips as well, but there are many long lasting lip products. I like lip stains like Revlon’s Just Bitten and Benetint. Lipsticks like MAC’s Pro Longwear Lipcreme are made to lock into place. Longwear lipsticks tend to be drying, so apply over a primer that moisturizes or apply a balm first.
I hope these tips will allow you to keep a fresh face even through a strenuous scene. It is also best to not let them see you sweat, and with the right make-up, they’ll be none the wiser. So torture without worry.
Now, for me the runny mascara and smeared lipstick enhances the scene, however these are great tips. I can’t over stress the importance of primers, they make your makeup adhere and give you a more saturated color, closer to what the shadow actually looks like, as well as increase staying power.
I love MakeUp Forever’s facial primers too. And I do have Urban Decay’s Primer Potion but I waver between loving that and MAC’s eyeshadow primer.
Another good tip is to finish everything off with a translucent setting powder. Brush it on, wait a minute and buff it off a bit with a makeup sponge or else you risk looking a little ghostly.
I’ve actually not tried MAC’s primer, but I will have to check it out sometime. The translucent powder is an excellent tip, thanks!
I’ve never had much luck with primer, but really my biggest complaint is raccoon eyes. It’s helpful to know that liquid and gel liners help with that. I’ve only tried liquid liner once and it was a bit of a disaster. I couldn’t quite figure out how to apply it. It’s something I would like to look into, thanks for the tips.
Applying liquid liner should be considered a talent, I still haven’t grasped it well enough. With the gel liner it is a little easier to control, especially with a bent eyeliner brush.
Thanks for the primer tip! The bane of my existence is runny mascara though. Even the waterproof ones give me fits in a scene. I’m beginning to think that waterproof mascara is an urban legend or that the scientists that formulated it never had a Master Dom standing behind them with a set of canes. I’ll try the Revlon brand you recommended. My fingers are crossed! Thank you!