Beauty Boss: Prep, prime, hydrate, conceal… and then party all night long

With tunes blaring and disco lights reflecting off your sparkly LBD, the last thing you want to do is leave the dancefloor to powder your nose.

Luckily, help is on hand to ensure your party make-up stays perfectly in place. Here, beauty expert Amy Anzel shares her secrets to long-lasting looks.

Prep and prime

One of the most overlooked steps in any skincare routine, says Anzel, is the preparation.

“Applying make-up to dehydrated or dry skin can cause the product to clump and fall into dry patches, so it pays to take time to exfoliate the morning before you apply any make-up,” she explained.

“Dermaplaning, for example, is an effective way to clear your skin while also rejuvenating and replenishing. What’s more, it also helps to smooth out uneven texture, enabling your foundation to glide on easy. The razor is used to slowly scrape off the top layer of dead skin cells, leaving a glowing base for your make-up with no peach fuzz.”

All about the base

Anzel continued: “Primer is the next important step. From mattifying, hydrating, illuminating and colour correcting, you need to pick a product that’s best for your skin. Primer acts as a base between your skin and make-up, sealing in moisturiser, and you should opt for a mineral-based or oil-free primer to avoid a slippery surface.

“First, use a face primer which smooths out fine lines, then add an additional eye primer to keep your eyeshadow in place.”

Hello hydration

After primer, most will skip straight to foundation or concealer, but Anzel recommends bringing more moisture to your face.

She said: “Moisturiser is key for ensuring your foundation and other base products sit on the top of the face. If you have oily skin, opt for a lightweight formula to prevent products weighing down on your skin.”

Keep it light

“Choose an oil-free foundation to smooth your complexion then continue with your concealer and powder in thin layers,” said Anzel. “This will provide coverage without making the skin look cakey, and light layers also prevent creasing. Try stippling powders onto the skin rather than buffing, as tapping the products will keep liquids from moving. And when it comes to touch-ups, opt for a beauty sponge – the patting motion won’t lift the foundation and it helps base product seep into the skin.”

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