How To Master Trending Makeup Techniques: Sandbagging

Erin LukasInStyle Staff
Updated


Credit: Serena Becker

Whether you use liquid, powder, pencil, or gel, runny eye makeup is one makeup blunder no one is spared from. Luckily, there's a simple, pro-technique to ensure your smoky or shimmery eye stays in place throughout the day: Enter sandbagging.

This move does for makeup what sandbags do for water: keeps it in check. "Women always ask me how to prevent their liner from running," says celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic, who explains that by fashioning a type of border with loose powder (the "sand" in this case), your makeup will last for hours. First get your smoky eyes done. Then deposit a healthy dose of loose translucent setting powder such as Maybelline Face Studio Master Fix Setting + Perfecting Powder ($9; target.com) around your makeup (we're talking visible piles here). Let the dust settle for a few minutes while you buff in your foundation and gloss your lips.

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Then, take an oversize brush and flick away the excess. Dedivanovic also likes using a BeautyBlender ($20; sephora.com) makeup sponge for this as well. If you're using a sponge, he recommends dabbing the powder away when it's wet and expanded to ensure an extra light touch. The powder that's absorbed by the brush or sponge will create a barrier and keep your look from going south.

Dedivanovic's key tip for mastering this technique: Don't leave the powder on too long. Although it may seem like the longer the translucent powder sets, the longer your eye makeup will hold up, letting it sit for more than a few minutes could alter the color of your concealer.

Photo by Serena Becker/AK/Kruse; hair: Nathan Rosenkranz/Alterna Haircare/Honey Artists; makeup: Lisa Garza/The Wall Group; manicure: Yuko Wada/Dior Vernis/Atelier Management; model: Alyona Subbotina/Trump Models.