Top Tips To Make Your Make Up Last All Day

Looking for tips on how to bulletproof your make up? You've come to the right place. 
As the Abu Dhabi Summer creeps in, so does 'sweaty weather,' with off the scale humidity and soaring temps. Measures need to be taken in order to stop your face sliding into your handbag by lunch time so here's some of my top tips to make your make up last all day.

Primer - First and foremost, always, always use a primer. If you're looking for a base that's going to stick around past midday, applying a good primer is key. There are heaps of primers out there that target specific needs and help increase the longevity of your foundation. I have dry to normal skin so often look for hydration as a staple in my primer choices. The Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water is one of my most-used. I apply it directly to my skin before applying foundaton or often use it spritzed on a kabuki brush to buff out my foundation. It's silicone-free which is a plus for me as I often find silicone-based primers cause my skin to break out. The excpetion to this rule is MAC's Prep + Prime which despite containing silicone, is another great primer to use if you're looking to smooth out imperfections as well as prolong foundation wear. For a more dewy glow, L'Oreal's Lumi Magique Primer is an excellent, drug store offering. I typically like to mix this with my foundation and apply it straight to the skin for a long-lasting, fresh-faced base. 
Application - The method you use to apply your base can have a lot of influence on whether on not your make up will last the day or not. I find that applying too heavy a layer of foundation means that half of it will end up slipping off before the day is through. Similarly, a flat, traditional foundation brush that smoothes foundation across the surface of the skin doesn't give me the best results in terms of a flawless, long-lasting finish. I like to use a flat or rounded top kabuki brush and buff light layers of foundation into the skin, building up as needed. For more coverage, I apply varying shades of concealer (lighter than my skin tone on the centre of the face and matching my skin tone elsewhere) and use a damp beauty blender to dab the product into the skin. I find that doing this, rather than piling on extra foundation, not only looks better, but lasts much longer too.
Powder - Even though I have quite dry skin, I always set my liquid/cream foundations with a powder. If my skin is looking particularly flat or in need of some life, I like to go in and set my entire face with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, (a mix of all three powders blended together.) Another great powder is the Make Up For Ever Translucent HD Pressed Powder. It's light weight and practically undetectable on the skin. It doesn't cake up or give me scale face as some powders tend to do with my drier patches. Applying the powder helps to soak up any excess oils - an important step if you have an especially oily complexion, reducing any slip and mattifying the overall finish of your foundation. 
Eye Primer - I've only recently jumped on the eye primer bus but I'm glad I did as it's a great way to ensure your eye make up lasts, preventing creasing and stopping that glitter shadow from migrating downwards, giving you the kind of sparkle vision that no one relishes. I've been using the NARS Smudge-Proof Eye Shadow Base for a couple of weeks and I've noticed the difference. In addition to locking your shadow in place, a good eye primer also helps to bring out the colour of your shadow, making it stand out and apply more pigmented.  
Setting Spray - I absolutely swear by using a Setting Spray. My go-to for the longest time has been Urban Decay's Chill Setting Spray. Once I've finished applying all of my make up, I spritz this all over my face and I'm good to go. Not only does it help to fuse together your make up, making any powders you've used look more natural on the skin, it's like hairspray for the face (as described by my husband.) Setting your face with a good quality setting spray means your make up will last much, much longer, even if you're sitting outside in mega sweaty weather for several hours - trust me, I've done the leg work. 
Do you have any top tips for getting your make up to last all day or any products that you swear by? I'm always looking for new tips and tricks so make sure you leave me your thoughts below.