Humidity Ruining Your Hair and Makeup? Here’s My Summer-Friendly Beauty Faves.

Ah yes, summer in Australia: gorgeous beach days, spritzes on rooftops, and picnics in the park with your friends.

Cue the record scratch, because unfortunately, it often also comes with stifling, unavoidable heat.

There is nothing quite like peeling yourself off a leather seat or feeling the backs of your knees dripping with sweat.

While the obvious fix is often jumping in a pool, if you are like me and love to keep busy, you still have to get on with your life despite the heat.

That also means adjusting your hair and makeup routine to accommodate it, because as much as I love a glowy look, there is a big difference between hydrated and radiant and hot-pilates-level sweat.

If you are trying to tackle oil, sweat, and frizz for yourself, it helps to start with your hair and focus on getting that fresh, frizz-free look even when the weather is doing its absolute best to ruin the vibe.

I’ll cut to the chase here - I have been a long-time lover of the ColorWOW Dream Coat Supernatural Spray 200ml

In short? This product “forms an invisible coat on the hair, keeping frizz, moisture and humidity out while locking in a gorgeous glossy shine.”

You spray this product on to your freshly washed and towel-dried hair, blow dry it to activate, and enjoy the gorgeous, sleek results thanks to the heat-activated polymers.

I would categorise my hair as type 2B - mostly straight with natural waves when air dried, and incredibly prone to frizz similar to Hermione in the first few Harry Potter films. 

Despite trying a lot of products, I constantly go back to the gorgeous silver bottle to help reduce the frizziness of my hair. 

Pilates, sports, unairconditioned events - the Dream Coat Spray has withstood it all. I even refused to go without it on a recent trip, splurging for a new bottle in foreign currency after the bottle I’d travelled to New York with had run out (my own fault for not planning better, I know).

Anyway, back to recent events. I was waltzing around the office one day when I overheard talk of a new extra strength version, Color WOW Extra Strength Dream Coat Spray 200ml, and I think I broke the sound barrier running to Sam, Adore Beauty’s Senior Marketing Manager for Hair, to get all of the details. 

I promptly got my hands on a bottle and after giving it a try across the Australian summer, my verdict?

I don’t know how they could make a perfect product better, but they DID. They really, really did.

I typically wash my hair once or twice a week, and this literal dream of a spray helps me keep my hair nice and smooth between washes despite whatever I throw at it. 

Laps around The Tan, Hot Mat Pilates, even those horrid nights when it doesn’t get below 25 degrees - I can confidently say I notice a difference when I don’t blow dry my hair with it. And now I’m just not going to go without it. 

Now the next thing hot weather and humidity leads us to care about is sweat - and first we’re going to tackle what that does to your hair. 

Me personally? I am a naturally sweaty gal, and it makes my scalp immediately oily, which wrecks havoc on my hair washing schedule. And there’s only so many days you can slick back your hair before you give yourself a headache.

So here is my next solve for you - the new K18 Airwash Dry Shampoo.

No strangers to completely reinventing the wheel with their iconic little-goes-a-very-long way hair mask, they’ve done it again with this dry shampoo.

You’ll see no aerosols in sight here, this product is liquid and just like the other elements of the K18 range, you need only two or three sprays of product to reset your hair.

This dry shampoo features “patented odorBIND™ smart-release biotechnology” that “eliminates odours, absorbs oil, and supports scalp health without leaving behind a white cast or starchy buildup.” Talk about an overachiever.

This dry shampoo truly feels like nothing I’ve ever used before. I’m used to dry shampoo aerosols and powders leaving my hair feeling gritty or heavy, but not with this spray. It truly left my hair feeling so light and fluffy that it could’ve just been washed. 

I will say that you need the smallest amount of this product for it to work. Too much and it’ll make your hair oilier- but that makes it both effective and cost efficient, as it’s a bit more expensive that your typical dry shampoo product. 

Now on to the makeup tips that help your look last.

To help tackle potential makeup slippage and ensure humidity-proof makeup, we’ve got setting spray, and my current favourite is the L'Oreal Paris Infallible 3-Second Setting Spray Mist 75ml.

When I tell you - this stuff feels like hairspray in the best way possible. Whatever makeup you apply underneath it is properly locked in, without a drying or crackling feeling. 

Pro-tip: make sure you protect your hair and clothes when you’re spraying this on your skin, as it will dry quickly.

Next up we’ve got base products - and when it comes to sweat-proof makeup, I can’t go past recommending the Maybelline Superstay 24 Hour Skin Tint.

I first tried this product in 2023 (you can read about it here), and I’ve loved it ever since. I even mix my own concoction of Shade 2 and 3 to really get my perfect match - such a perfect match that every time I use this product I get comments on my skin.

It’s the perfect consistency where you can completely sheer it out if that’s your vibe, or layer it up if you’re looking for more coverage.

Speaking of coverage, regardless of what type of coverage you’re after with your base, either full or natural, if you’re looking to tackle humidity it is important to consider setting with a powder.

And it doesn’t get any better than the iconic Huda Beauty Easy Bake range. 

If you’re looking for a full coverage baking situation, the Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Powder will be your bestie as the packaging allows you to load up your brush with product to pack it on. “Baking your makeup can help it last longer and look smoother, all while reducing the look of pores and lines” - which is the ideal situation for tackling the heat.

If you’re not one to bake, then the Huda Beauty Easy Bake and Snatch Pressed Powder version is your best bet as you don’t need to brush any product off (as you do with the baking technique).

This one currently lives in my bag as it has a gorgeous big mirror and a little applicator that’s perfect for touchups. Iconic.

What: Maybelline New York Superstay Teddy Tint Lip Tint

Next up, my favourite new longwearing lip products are the Maybelline Teddy Tints. And funnily enough, they’re absolutely perfect for when you’re wanting a look that can withstand the heat.

The formula for this tint is a mix of blurring powders and bouncy polymers that combine to a formula that gives you options - you can sweep a light layer for a tinted look, or layer it up for a more opaque look.

This lip range also has a phenomenal range of colours - my favourite being 'Knee High', a gorgeous neutral that I always get comments about, and 'Coquettish', a soft red.

And last but not least, mascara! 

Ever since I was little I’ve struggled with mascara leaving marks on my eyebrows and cheeks - but not anymore.

Let me introduce you to tubing mascaras, and my current favourite, the Clinique High Impact Zero Gravity Mascara.

I took this mascara on my last trip to Europe (you can also read about that here) and not once did it let me down, literally.

No black smudge marks anywhere!