5 Makeup Tips & Products for a Smudge-Free Summer Look

We’ve all experienced nasty makeup smudges at one time or another. With the notoriously humid Philippine weather, who hasn’t?

The sweltering summer sun is probably the culprit of the many instances your foundation melted. We’re all too familiar with the frustrating feeling when sweat and your skin’s natural oils mix and wreak havoc with your painstakingly applied makeup. While nothing can be done about the sun, there are thankfully a few tricks you can try to make your makeup last longer!

Pull off a smudge-free summer makeup look with the makeup tips and product recommendations below. Read on!

1. Prep and prime your skin
The best way to extend your makeup’s staying power is to exercise daily skincare with a gentle cleansing of the face twice a day and exfoliation at least once a week. Over time, this routine—along with the use of moisturizer, sunscreen, and primer before applying makeup—preps your skin with adequate hydration so that makeup lasts longer.

Must-haves for prepping and priming

Micellar Water: Use a 4-in-1 water-based cleanser like the Maybelline Micellar Water to remove dirt and excess oil, as well as tone and moisturize the face. 

Primer:  An oil-controlling or pore-minimizing primer like the Baby Skin Pore Smoother ensures your skin is a clean and smooth canvas.

2. When using a regular bullet lipstick, blot!
Unlike liquid lipsticks, traditional bullet lipsticks aren’t cut for long wear. They smudge easily, requiring constant touch-ups every hour or so—just look at the lipstick marks on the rim of your coffee cup or drinking glasses after only one sip or the messy smudges on your face mask.

What blotting does is take off excess lip color for a more even look. Notice how the edges of your lips retain more lipstick than the section closer to the center? Blotting helps prevent one area from looking darker or paler than the rest of your lips.

How to blot? Take a thin tissue, fold it into a small square, and press it lightly against your mouth closed as if kissing it.

Alternatively, you can draw a line on the edges of your lips with a lip liner, fill the area inside with lipstick, and dab pressed powder over the lipstick to help it set.

3. Use certified smudge-proof makeup
Since the goal is for your makeup to hold up the entire day, you should stick to makeup products with a smudge-proof formula. Once the makeup sets, you can forget about it and not trouble yourself fixing it up midway through the day.

Here’s a pick of Maybelline products that are budge-proof for a summer makeup look that lasts for hours.

Hypercurl 36 Hour Waterproof Mascara: Specially formulated to give you curled lashes for up to 36 hours, this mascara doesn’t melt on contact with water, heat, humidity, sweat, and tears.

Line Tattoo Impact Pen: The only liquid liner with a 24-hour tattoo-lasting formula; guaranteed no smudging with this intense black liner since it doesn’t break down on water or sweat. 

SuperStay Liquid Foundation: Lightweight but with high-impact coverage, you can wear this foundation for up to 24 hours with a flawless finish through and through.

SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick: A lip wear in a liquid matte form with a wide range of your favorite saturated shades.  

If you love this product, you’ll also love the SuperStay Matte Ink Spiced from the new SuperStay Spiced Collection. 

The SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid  Lipstick Summer Spiced Collection boasts intense pigment in 6 new shades of spiced reds, raw terracottas, and warm nudes perfect for the summer. The best part is, it’s fade-proof, transfer-proof, summer-proof, and lasts up to 16 hours! No need to retouch!

SuperStay Ink Crayon: No-fuss crayon lipstick with 8-hour no-fade matte finish.  

If you love this product, you’ll also love the new Superstay Ink Crayon from the SuperStay Summer Spiced Collection. 

The SuperStay Matte Ink Crayon Spiced Collection boasts 3 new summer-themed shades with intense pigment. You’ll get 8 hours of transfer-proof and fade-proof wear even under the heat and under the mask.



Tattoo Brow Ink Pen: Comes with a high-concentrate dye formula for a waterproof and sweat-proof tattoo effect for up to 24 hours without smudging.

Besides holding up against summer heat, these are also excellent choices if you’re looking for makeup that doesn’t rub off your face mask.

4. Use cream or tint face products

Creams and tints for the cheeks and lips are long-wearing. Unless you’re battling oily skin, cream and tint face products are your best bet for long-lasting color. They have a richer pigment, so they’re less likely to budge once they have dried on your face.

Lip tints like Sensational Liquid Matte Lip Tint are a must-have in your collection. Its intense formula and lightweight soft matte finish makes it comfortable to wear even in scorching hot weather. More importantly, the color holds up for hours. The best part is, it’s multi-purpose! You can use it as a blush for a healthy flush of color on your cheeks, and on your lids for a quick eyeshadow look.

Want to give this lip wear a try? Choose from the lip tint’s various shades on Maybelline Virtual try-on!

5. Set your makeup with a setting spray
Setting your makeup is key to seal everything in. Here are a few setting spray hacks you may not know:

Spray your skin with a setting spray not just at the end but also before applying makeup, starting with the foundation.

Once you’ve dotted the foundation around your face, spray your face with a light spritz and start blending the foundation. Spray a little more after blending and one last time once you’re fully made up. 

Last but not least, fan your face to help the spray dry and lock everything in place for a total smudge-free makeup. 

Hi Summer, Goodbye Makeup Smudges!

Hot summer days shouldn’t stop you from looking your best. Remember these five makeup tips and products above for a budge-proof summer makeup look.

Be smudge-free and summer-ready. Share this article with your friends!