Rainy Day Makeup

If you're a serious BB, you probably don't leave your house without makeup. Ever. Right? Because no matter how tired you are, or how short on time you are, or what the weather is like, you want to make sure you look your best!

But a look that might work on a normal basis for you may not look as flattering if it's very overcast or raining outside because the natural lighting changes (from sunny to cloudy, of course) and shadows and lines that aren't typically visible become a lot more visible when rainstorms approach. This is especially true for olive skin tones, that often have to deal with dark under-eye circles.

So to look like a bombshell when the weather is blah, you need to adapt a new makeup routine! Here are a few tips I've discovered that will help you shine in bleak weather:

1) Do a warm or neutral eye. When it's cloudy outside, it's best to use neutral to warm tones on your face so that your makeup doesn't look dark and bruise-like. With the recent rainstorms we've been having on my campus, I've been rocking a lot of pinky-gold eye shadows that brighten my eyes instead of making them look garish or hollow.

2) Avoid heavy liner. If you're like me, you probably won't leave the house without eyeliner because without it, your eyes don't stand out as much. But if you're going to rock eyeliner on a rainy day, keep it as close to the lashline and as thin as possible. I'd also recommend using a brown liner because it doesn't look as harsh in low lighting.

3) Use a waterproof mascara. So you walk out of your first lecture of the day and into a torrential down-pour. Oh, no! You forgot your umbrella! It's only a quick run to your next class, but you're definitely going to get wet. While your hair might be 'ruined' and your clothes are going to be soaked, there is absolutely nothing worse than mascara unintentionally running down your face in thick, black streaks. To save yourself the embarrassment, use waterproof mascara especially on days when there's a high chance of rain.

4) Rock the ballerina bun. No matter how much product you use in your hair, no blow-out or hot tool-styled hair can survive the slightest hint of humidity, let alone a rainstorm. To keep your look as polished as possible, simply pull your hair back into a ponytail and then wrap the ponytail around itself to create a bun (which you can secure with a hair tie or bobby pins). To frame your face better, give a little volume to your bangs before you pin them back.

5) Use a setting spray. Overcast days often bring humidity and heavy mists. To prevent your makeup from sliding all over your face, spray one to two pumps of a setting spray over your makeup before you leave the house. This will not only make your makeup look a little more natural (it helps blend it into your skin), but it'll also keep it from running in the fog.

In case all else fails and the weather ruins your makeup, carry makeup wipes with you so that you clean up whatever makeup is left on your face. Do you have any tips for rainy day makeup? If so, leave them in a comment!