By now, I’ve sort of worked out what sort of makeup works for me, and what doesn’t. I work well with neutral and cool shades, and maybe slightly sheerer colours. Warm and very pigmented colours make me very accident prone and I could do without the stress in the mornings 🙂
However, some days, I put on my makeup, especially foundation and I think “Hmm… something doesn’t look quite right.” Well, I play by the 10 minute rule.
In case you’re wondering, there’s no “rule” per se. Its just something I tell myself. Essentially, I wait 10 minutes to see if its me or if its the makeup that has to go.
The reason I give it 10 minutes is because from what I’ve experienced, sometimes some products don’t look like much when going on the skin, but after a while, when its had time to oxidise and blend with the oils from your skin, it looks better (or worse). This is true for me, especially when working with foundation.
Some powder foundations go on a little powdery. So giving it 10 minutes allows it to meld with the oils and look more natural. If it doesn’t, I make a note of that and make sure I compensate accordingly the next time I use it. In the main, I find that powder foundation works best with this 10 minute rule.
I find also that powder eyeshadow and even blush sometimes is the same. I have on countless occasions put on blush, think its not enough, pile on more, then 10 minutes later have someone wondering why there is a clown in their midst. And so, the converse to my rule is of course true. What looks good now, could look like disaster 10 minutes later.
This is the reason why if I have somewhere important to go, I don’t put my makeup on and run out the door. I give myself at least half an hour so I have time to fix mistakes (usually too bright blush or powdery/oily foundation or even mascara that does not dry quickly enough). In the mornings of a work day of course, I just have to play it safe and go with something I’m familiar with 🙂
Have you noticed the 10 minute effect on your makeup? Have you put your makeup on and a little while later wonder why it looks better (or maybe even worse) than you originally thought?
Paris B
Cool tips Paris, thanks for sharing 🙂 Now, I will learn to wake up earlier to sit still for a while to see if it’s a masterpiece or otherwise haha. I noticed on rainy days my face doesn’t oil up so much on sunblock alone but my hair will be havoc. Face just need to stay away from the sun and the lesser I rush to places or get stressed up, oil ducts will behave too 🙂
Haha yeah no pain no gain hehe 😉 cool days definitely are better for makeup. On hot humid days like these few weeks when I’m out for lunch, I can almost feel my makeup start to melt. On cool days or on days when I stay in the office makeup will look much better. Staying out of the sun is good too 😉
I’ve recently started noticing this (although I wear very little make up) and it certainly rings through for me. I think Laura Mercier recently launched a product called Secret Finish which is supposed to help instantly set make up … have you heard of or trialed it by any chance? Sounds like a possible solution, especially for days when you’re in a rush!
Hmm I haven’t heard of the Laura Mercier product but will be sure to take a look if I’m by a counter. I tend to overlook Laura Mercier for some reason 😛
I thought I was the only one to observe this rule 😀
Hope you’re having a great day. x
Yay for noticing this too! *high5* I had a good but busy day. Hope yours is better!
LOL, my Mom takes a short 10-15 min nap after applying makeup!
She’s the first one who introduced that trick to me 🙂
Wow seriously? I guess it would make sense – rested skin looks better right? 😉
Absolutely right, Paris B!! Excellent advice for all of us … thank you. xoxo Beth in Pgh 😉
Glad you found it useful, Beth 🙂 hope you’re having a great day, it’s the middle of the week, yay!
Well, I must say that my makeup does change after a while, though not sure how long it takes to change 😛 Not much difference with my foundation (I actually just use BB cream as they are lighter and less cakey), but I surely have the same experience as you with blushes!! At times I also wonder it is the lightings while putting on makeup. We may look differently under different indoor lights or just the natural light~
Lighting definitely makes makeup look different. I put on mine in natural daylight. But in fluorescent lighting, I can look terrible! So I try to avoid looking in the toilet mirror at work. Gah! 😛
Ooooh this is quite true and I’ve noticed the phenomenon too. For me, it’s most obvious when I use the Marie Veronique Organics sunscreen in Light- it applies on my skin just right, but right after application and blending in makes my face look slightly more brown than my neck. Then after about 10 minutes it settles in and looks natural! Also very true for foundations 😛 I use a lot of powder foundations (Though right now I’m a liquid foundation convert thanks to RMK Liquid Foundation) and you can tell if you’ve over-applied or under-applied or if the finish is powdery/matte/dewy after about 10 minutes or so 😀 Ditto for liquid haha!
Great of you to bring this up, though! 😀
Oh I love the RMK liquid foundation 😀 I just tried it quite recently and really like it. I think this is why people shouldn’t buy makeup based on what they try immediately, but wait a bit. Never know how it’d really look till you’ve let it settle 🙂
Yes I’m loving the RMK Liquid Foundation a lot! I’m also just trying it quite recently (I think a week or so?) and I really like it too!
Yeap yeap, never judge a makeup by its first impression I guess haha! 😛
I do this rule! And yes, sometime my makeup will look better and sometime it will look so bad after 10 mins. But due to my oily skin, I’ll wait a little longer *like 15-30 mins* when I use a heavy makeup.
Agreed! It tends to blend in more with your skin after a while, normally at first it looks a bit off and blotchy, but it blends in after, yes, around ten-fifteen minutes.