So as with every year, I thought I had escaped the menace of hayfever, only for it to hit like a tonne of bricks two days ago. Eyes itching, nose running, the endless sneezing: it didn't give me the warning of appearing gradually. And yes, it's partially my fault for not taking my medicine, but hey, when you think your Loratadine tablets make you sleepy then why would you want to take them during exam season,  especially when they do next to nothing anyways?! Anywho, to hail in the summer suffering of many, I thought I would put together this hayfever appropriate makeup for you all. Its quite a no-make-up make-up look which I know is not great for people with skin issues, so please just keep these tips in mind and accommodate to your own needs :)

1) Skin Prep

Now my face is dry anyways, but the extra loss of liquid from having a runny nose means your skin may get dehydrated (especially if you're me and never drink enough water...) so by moisturising your face you will help combat this.
Oh and NEVER forget your suncream because y'know hot weather = more sunny weather = more likely to burn (obviously this goes for everyone, not just hayfever sufferers!)

Soltan SPF 30 UVA 5* Protect and Moisturise Suncream

Boots Simply Sensitive Day Moisturiser

2) Concealer

Concealer is your best friend with no makeup makeup looks. Use it to cover up any problem areas such as spots, redness around the nose (though this will need touching up during the day from nose blowing) and dark circles. I have not used foundation, partly because I don't wear it everyday, and partly because when you are feeling so meh and bunged up from hayfever all day, the last thing you want to do is go through a 5 step cleansing routine to get rid of it at the end of the day - I don't know about you, but I just want to sleep! Obviously there is a danger of having pale rings around your eyes and spots, etc so make sure that the concealer you use is not super paler than your skin/is the same colour as your skin, and everything is blended out seamlessly :) Oh, and don't forget to powder to hold in place, because warmer weather = melty makeup...

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in 1. Fair

3) Brows

With a no makeup makeup look, brows are super important for looking put together and for a clean finish. Having been lucky enough to have watched youtube from the age of 11, and so have had it drilled into me by beauty you tubers for years (notably PixiWoo) not to over pluck my eyebrows, I can get away with using clear mascara to groom and hold them into place for a minimal looks. If you have more steps then go ahead and do it, but I would recommend to ease on the side of caution and use a light hand to create a natural over a bold brow - the whole point of no make up looks is that everything is at the same level of lightness, with nothing overly standing out, and that it looks natural.

Collection Colour Lash Mascara in Clear

4) To mascara or not to mascara, that is the question.

For me, mascara is too much of a hassle for most days. It is a pain to remove - though that might be cause I'm not using a great remover, any suggestions? - and when your eyes are itchy the last thing you want to do is create a grey smudge all over your eye from rubbing mascara into the surrounding skin. I simply curled my lashes and sometimes use a clear mascara to hold the curl in place (though not today, because the last time I used my clear mascara on my lashes I had a stye, and I don't really want to transfer the stye-causing bacteria back onto my eye anytime soon XD - TMI, but hey hygiene is important!)

Superdrug Eyelash Curlers

5) Lip colour

This is the time for your perfect nude lipstick to come into play. Mine is the Soap and Glory Mother Pucker lipstick in Naked Talent which has a satin sheen to add a moisturising look to the lips. It is ever so much bronzer and pinker than my grey-undertones natural lip colour and is one of my current obsessions - look out for it in an upcoming mid-year favourites! While you can use any lip colour you want, I would say keep on the neutral side, because with nothing prominent on the eyes, a bold lip can make them look tired, smaller and undone - if that makes sense. Plus, again, with a no-makeup look, no feature should stand out, but everything should be subtle enhanced.

Soap and Glory Mother Pucker Lipstick in Naked Talent

Bring on the selfies!!!!

Sorry about the wild hair going on on the top of my head, I was going to crop it out, but hey, gotta keep it real as the kids  say haha (in fact why am I apologising?)

This was taken on my front facing camera, hence the quality is different and my skin looks clearer, I included it cause I didn't have enough decent main camera pictures of my sans-glasses, but I thought I'd just mention it cause the other pics are a lot more realistic: my front facing camera gives almost a face smoothing effect...

So there you go, that is my go to everyday hayfever no-makeup makeup look. These 5 tips can be altered for your own needs and looks. A neutral-toned eyeshadow is about as safe as you can get if your eyes are especially irritated, and if you are more vigilant and less lazy than I with your makeup removal then a full face of a light coverage foundation and/or a light bronzer/blush shade to add warmth and colour to the skin could be used. Equally, to make the skin look dewier an iluminiser/highlighter can be applied to the skin (I would use either the L'Oreal Lumina's Magique primer or the NYX Born to Glow illuminating primer for the most natural, from-within-the-skin glow)

I hope this was helpful, what is your best makeup tip for hay fever ridden days?

June xx