I tested every summer makeup trick — here’s what actually works in high humidity

Switch to a lightweight moisturizer

Most of the year, I rely on rich morning and night creams to keep my skin hydrated. But when the temperature rises, heavy creams trap sweat and cause makeup to slip right off.

Trading your daily cream for a oil-free gel moisturizer keeps your skin hydrated without adding weight. I love the weightless feel of CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Gel — it absorbs instantly, leaves a dry-touch finish, and works brilliantly for all skin types under hot-weather makeup.

Layer on a lightweight sunscreen

Before reaching for any makeup, applying daily sun protection is a non-negotiable step. The golden rule is to apply your SPF right after your moisturizer dries down, but before you put on your primer.

Heavy, greasy sunscreens will instantly break down your makeup in high heat, so I always opt for a lightweight, fast-absorbing fluid that sits invisibly under cosmetics.

Two of my absolute favorites for wearing under makeup are Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun, a cult-favorite K-beauty formula that feels like a weightless, hydrating lotion. If you're looking to splurge a little, La Roche-Posay's Light Fluid suncreen holds up brilliantly against humidity and dries down matte.

Lock down your base with a skin-gripping primer

If you skip primer in the summer, your makeup stands little chance against humidity. To keep everything from sliding around, I always apply a gel-based, skin-gripping primer like e.l.f. Power Grip Primer.

It creates a flexible base that acts like a magnet for cosmetics, locking my look in place all day. A trick that really made a difference for me is letting the primer set for about 60 seconds before putting on any makeup.

This gives it time to tack down and stops my foundation from pilling in the heat, (where your makeup rolls up into annoying little balls instead of setting).

Swap heavy foundation for light coverage

Full-coverage foundations and high heat rarely mix. They tend to cake, settle into fine lines, and separate as soon as you sweat. During the summer, I swap heavy liquid foundation for a lightweight BB cream, CC cream, or tinted moisturizer.

To lock it in, I dust a light layer of translucent matte powder over my face, focusing on the oily areas around my nose and forehead. If shine shows through later in the afternoon, a quick blot and a tiny dab of powder on my T-zone is all I need to keep everything looking freshly applied.

Switch to waterproof eye makeup

Humidity, sweat, and facial oils will quickly turn regular mascara and eyeliner into panda eyes. During the summer, I swap all my eye products for sweat-proof and water-resistant formulas that hold up in high heat.

If you dislike scrubbing off waterproof formulas at night, tubing mascaras are another great option. They wrap around lashes to resist sweat all day, then slide off easily with warm water.

Seal your look with a fixing spray

Misting your face at the end is my secret weapon for surviving a heatwave. The real trick in high temperatures is choosing a fixing spray alongside a traditional setting spray.

While setting sprays use water and oils to blend powder layers into a seamless finish, fixing sprays like L'Oréal's 3-second setting mist rely on film-forming polymers to create an impenetrable, sweat-proof shield. For hot weather, I spritz a fixing spray in an and T motion, let it dry, and my makeup stays completely transfer-resistant all day.