The Best Sweatproof Makeup, According to Experts

Tatcha’s primer smooths texture, helps makeup last longer, and is made with skin-barrier-supporting ingredients. Beauty writer and consultant Kristina Rodulfo and celebrity makeup artist Marz Collins both say it’s essential for makeup prep. Collins, who likes how easy to layer it is, used it on her client Lainey Wilson for her recent music video for the song “Out of Oklahoma.”

For more mature skin, Collins prefers this oil-free Lancôme primer. It smooths out fine lines and wrinkles before applying foundation, and it mattifies skin without dehydrating it.

“Products that are recommended for sweaty skin are usually matte, and I really believe that there are some luminous-finish foundation products that are as amazing,” says makeup artist Isabel Rosado. Her favorite for natural looks is M.A.C Studio Radiant Face and Body because it’s sheer and long-wearing, comes in over 30 shades, and is good for sensitive skin. Collins has had it in her kit for 20 years. “I swear by it. Even if a client’s skin does get a little sweaty, the makeup — the bronzer, powder, everything — is still there because I started with this as a base,” she says.

For a full-coverage matte finish, makeup artist Tara Lauren turns to Cover FX. “I have used this foundation along with the brand’s concealer for clients in the unforgiving summer heat of New Orleans with no worry at all,” she says. Both products are transferproof and come in a wide variety of shades.

“Concealers as foundations are already designed to be richer, more concentrated, self-setting formulas, as they tend to be used in areas that crease,” explains Britty Whitfield, one of the many makeup artists who recommended concealers rather than foundations for full-face sweatproof looks. She fell in love with M.A.C’s formula after using it for a client’s bridal look — and for another client’s red-carpet look the next day. She says it kept her clients’ skin “perfect and polished but without looking like pancake batter — and there was no need for me to touch up two hours later.”

Makeup artist and host of the podcast The Life of a Makeup Artist Jaleesa Jaikaran put UOMA’s concealer to the “ultimate wet test” when she wore it in New Orleans recently. “NOLA in the summer is no joke,” she says, and she reports that the concealer held up in the heat. “Of course, I made sure that I stayed out all day and danced my life away to really see what its longevity was. At the end of the night, I was still perfect.”

Rosado prefers liquid blush over cream formulas because they work like a stain. Her favorite is Nars’s highly-pigmented liquid blush, and she typically mixes its peachy shade Orgasm and dusty-rose shade Dolce Vita. She recommends applying a translucent powder on top to make it more sweatproof and long lasting.

Marz and makeup artist Brielle Pollara use this waterproof Maybelline mascara on most clients. “They can literally cry or sweat, and this doesn’t come off,” Marz says. She also likes how deep the black pigment is and the precise brush. The one downside, she notes, is that it’s difficult to get off, even with oil cleansers.

For a liquid eyeliner that won’t budge, Rodulfo recommends Pat McGrath’s formula. In fact, she wore it while running the New York City Marathon, and her winged-liner look was intact after 11 sweaty hours. “I applied at 4:30 a.m., and it did not smudge or fade when I crossed the finish line at 3:30 p.m.,” she says. “In 26.2 miles, there was a lot of sweat and tears — and this PMG liner lasted through it all.”

Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner Pencils are mainstays in both Pelayo and Whitfield’s kits. “They’re very soft and very pigmented when you apply it, and it sets after a couple seconds,” says Pelayo. Plus, it comes in over 30 different colors and finishes, including matte, satin, glitter, metallic, and shimmer.

Whitfield likes Inglot’s AMC gel eyeliners for tear-duct lining with minimal to no transfer. Rosado calls out its black liner (No. 77) for being bold and super matte, and recommends mixing it with a drop of Inglot’s liquid Duraline solution to make it even more waterproof and longer-lasting. The eyeliner comes in 27 other colors.

A setting spray or powder helps keep everything in place. Three experts brought up Urban Decay’s All Nighter Spray. Pelayo likes using it on drier clients because it doesn’t bring out texture the way powders can. Jaikaran and Rosado both complete most looks with it. “Anytime I have clients that are going to events, I always make sure I have this with me,” says Rosado of this setting spray. On multiple occasions, she’s had clients come back to her saying their makeup lasted all night — through tears or dancing — and in some cases until the next day if they fell asleep with their makeup on. An added benefit is that the spray “picks up the pigment of eye shadow” and enhances the color, she says. It also comes in a powder form, recommended by Zdunowski-Roeder for being lightweight, blurring, and long-lasting.

Rae recommends this “heavy-duty” setting spray from the German company Kryolan, which specializes in theatrical makeup. She likes that it comes in an aerosol can because it goes on lightly but is still highly effective. “I did my friend’s makeup for Pride — a full beat with a rainbow eye — and it stayed on,” she says. “She was out in the sun marching and sweating, and it lasted the whole night. I wouldn’t recommend it, but she slept in it, too, and it stayed. I couldn’t believe it.”

Laura Mercier’s setting powder was also recommended by two experts. Rosado likes the universal translucent powder for very oily skin. Beauty copywriter Ruby Buddemeyer uses it herself year-round on her acne-prone, sensitive skin. “I especially love it for sweaty summer days. It’s super lightweight, non-drying, and beyond easy to apply,” Buddemeyer says. “All I do is sweep it over my face after foundation and concealer, before blush and bronzer with a fluffy brush. It helps create a smooth, matte finish that keeps my makeup in place all day — even through an NYC commute, which, honestly, says a lot.”

“Sometimes sweat is inevitable, which is why I always keep a pack of these blotting sheets in my bag,” says Buddemeyer of Tatcha’s blotting papers. She likes that the natural abaca leaf and gold flakes gently remove excess oil and shine without messing up makeup. She recommends lightly patting your skin—not rubbing or wiping—whenever you need a quick touch-up.