How To Make Your Makeup Transfer Proof

At the showtime of quarantine life, many of you probably left your makeup lone on your vanity. After all, many offices and schools went remote and business meetings and classes took identify over pixelated Zoom calls. Now, as some head back to the function or participate in social(ly distant) events for which they want to don foundation, concealer, mascara, and lipstick, it'due south pertinent to choose makeup that'll stay put underneath a face mask.

Of form, foundations weren't designed with facial coverings in heed, only many brand claims about not transferring onto clothing, napkins, or other skin. I sought out foundations with these claims, which led me to these five popular ones to endeavor out:

Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation
KVD Vegan Beauty Lock-It Foundation
Maybelline Super Stay Total Coverage Foundation
Covergirl TruBlend Matte Made Liquid Foundation

My aim: to find the one that won't make a mess of my mask or rub off, leaving me blotchy or blank-faced when the mask comes off.

How I tested transfer-proof foundations

The author testing a foundation to see if it stains her face mask. — Credit: Reviewed / Jessica Kasparian

I applied the foundations to the bottom half of my confront with the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, my usual makeup applicator. I also applied Eastward.Fifty.F. Cosmetics HD Loose Powder in the shade Translucent to one one-half of my face, as a ways of setting the foundation, to see if information technology made a difference in results (spoiler: Information technology didn't). Then I donned a disposable medical mask, and walked for most an hour in 60- to 75-degree temperatures. Really, I simply went through the motions of my typical mail-work routine these days, but applied foundation earlier I went out the door.

The tests weren't perfectly controlled: The temperature fluctuated some and I had more pep in my step from day to solar day, causing me to sweat more or less. As a whole, though, I saw how each of these foundations wore on my face with the express amount of air circulation a mask provides and with me working up the same kind of sweat I used to when I walked to work pre-pandemic.

I realized that the story isn't what gets on your mask, it's what doesn't stay on your face up.

Originally, I thought I was testing these foundations' transfer-proof ability by looking at my mask afterward and taking notation of the makeup stains, but after my experience with one of these, I realized that the story isn't what gets on your mask, it's what doesn't stay on your face. Ranked from best to worst, here's my experience.

1. Most transfer-proof drugstore foundation: Covergirl TruBlend Matte Made Liquid Foundation

The author after wearing the Covergirl TruBlend Matte Made Liquid Foundation under a mask for an hour-long walk. — Credit: Reviewed / Jessica Kasparian

This production, which is the foundation version of our best drugstore concealer, claims to be "transfer-resistant" and have "flexi-concur engineering that creates a potent, yet flexible film on skin for immovability and comfort."

It rubbed off onto my mask a petty bit during my walk on a 61° evening, simply y'all wouldn't know that from looking at my pare. The foundation faded slightly around my nose and chin, where the mask rubbed the most, only it looked similar the typical article of clothing-off you'd run across after wearing a foundation for several hours, instead of obviously patchy.

Both sides of my face looked the same, despite the powder I used to set up the foundation, and both remained matte-looking—I accept normal-to-dry pare, so you may have unlike results with oily skin, but this withstood sweat and looked great later on testing, so I'd recommend giving it a attempt.

Become the Covergirl TruBlend Matte Made Liquid Foundation on Amazon for $7.25

2. A great high-end foundation: Estée Lauder Double Wearable Stay-in-Identify Foundation

The author after wearing the Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation all day with a mask on and off. — Credit: Reviewed / Jessica Kasparian

This department-store foundation claims to final for 24 hours on the skin (which we didn't test for) and should, as the name suggests, stay in place. Information technology also claims to be "transfer-resistant" and "sweat- and humidity-resistant."

I went to the Reviewed function on the day I tested this foundation, so I wore blush and bronzer on elevation of this during testing, and again practical powder to i half of my confront. This foundation got a full-day habiliment test, which included me going for curt walks and sitting in the office with no AC). When it passed with flying colors, I decided non to bother re-testing for the hour-long walk.

In fact, this foundation only got meliorate looking throughout the twenty-four hours, as it looks more than dewy on my dry skin over time, and barely rubbed off on my mask at all. By evening, I noticed some shinier areas the tops of my cheeks and on my olfactory organ, but my jawline and rima oris stayed matte-looking. Considering Estée Lauder'south heftier price, I recommend the Covergirl TruBlend over this, as they boast like results with a mask, just this is a great option.

Get the Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation on Sephora for $43

three. A solid drugstore foundation pick: Maybelline Super Stay Full Coverage Foundation

The author after wearing the Maybelline Super Stay Full Coverage Foundation under a mask for an hour-long walk. — Credit: Reviewed / Jessica Kasparian

Another drugstore option, this Maybelline foundation claims to last for 24 hours without fading or shifting all day, and reviewers commented that it is transfer-resistant under a mask.

Overall, I'd say those happy reviewers are correct in their assessment of this Maybelline foundation. While it'due south true that friction betwixt the mask and the highest points of my face—chin, nose, and cheekbones—caused this formula to wear off onto my mask, information technology didn't transfer any more than the Covergirl or Estée Lauder. However, you wouldn't be able to tell that I has simply been wearing a mask if yous saw me.

My decision to rank the Maybelline below the Estée Lauder i is just based on preference. I liked how the pricier formula looked on my skin and information technology was very comfortable to wearable. That said, you may prefer the Maybelline if you have oily skin, equally it's more matte than the Estée Lauder one.

Get the Maybelline Super Stay Total Coverage Foundation on Amazon for $eight.79

4. A foundation to utilize with circumspection: Fenty Dazzler Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation

The author after wearing the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation for an hour-long walk. — Credit: Reviewed / Jessica Kasparian

This foundation doesn't brand a specific merits virtually transferability (but "longwear"-ingness), but given its popularity, and its similar attributes to other foundations on this list, I decided to endeavour it. The Fenty formula is made with "climate-adaptive applied science that's resistant to sweat and humidity" and it says it's "calorie-free as air" on the peel.

Immediately upon awarding, I noticed how dry this looked on my skin, so if you have very oily pare, you may like it. For me, it was just also matte-looking on my skin. Still, it only bled onto the mask slightly where the mask rubbed my cheeks and the overall advent of this foundation at a glance was fine after my walk.

Where I docked the almost points from this foundation had to do with how it settled in sure areas, like in the line under my bottom lip and higher up my mentum, which was non flattering. The Covergirl, Estée Lauder, and Maybelline formulas wore off in a natural way and I'd much adopt that to the foundation pooling in crevices as it wears away.

Become the Fenty Dazzler Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation at Sephora for $35

5. A foundation to stay articulate of: KVD Vegan Beauty Lock-Information technology Foundation

The author after wearing the KVD Vegan Beauty Lock-It Foundation under a mask for an hour-long walk. — Credit: Reviewed / Jessica Kasparian

This is supposedly "transfer-resistant, so y'all tin can trust information technology to stay on your confront."

It doesn't seem fair to put KVD Vegan Dazzler right afterward Fenty Beauty in this list, as this foundation presented dramatically worse results. It wore off in the most obvious way, leaving big patches of my skin uncovered and blotchy-looking effectually my jawline, upper lip, and cheeks. The shade was too low-cal for my skin tone, so it was easy to see the departure but, on the other paw, the Maybelline and Fenty were darker than my skin tone, so I would take seen obvious discoloration from those, too, if they performed similarly to this.

The KVD was a hot mess on my mail-mask face up, and it proves that you can't simply glance at your mask to check that your foundation stayed in place—the impairment on the mask looked well-nigh the same as all of the other foundations above. Exercise not wear this if you're going to wear a mask at all.

Become the KVD Vegan Beauty Lock-It Foundation on Sephora for $37

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