My Affordable Fully Swimmable Underwater Makeup Routine

My entire underwater makeup routine is actually very simple, very affordable, and super effective. It has lasted me 2-4 hours in a pool, 4-5 hours at the beach. And I can finish putting on my face in 15 minutes or less.
 

Photo by Steven Ansley

If you want more in depth tutorials from professional underwater performers and mermaids, I highly recommend these resources! (I am not sponsored by any of these products.) 

MerNetwork Forums 

The Magic Crafter's makeup playlist

Mermaid Zelda

 
As for my underwater makeup routine:

- First, I skip foundation, concealer, blush, highlighter, & contour. The redness in my skin gets washed out underwater and the water blurs a lot of my acne. I would do a camera test with yourself to see if you even need natural skin makeup for underwater. While it's not properly scientific, Style Theory's waterproof makeup video also showed that foundation was the easiest thing to come off. 

- Eye gel drops: I put in my gel eye drops now before I put on all the eye makeup. Presumably I won't be wearing goggles if i'm wearing makeup. I also dry off any that leak over my eyes before applying anything. The eye gel drops I use are Refresh Liquigel from my local drugstore. Gel eye drops will typically be better cause it'll form a thicker coat over your eyes.

- Sunscreen: this is especially important if you're doing an outdoor pool shoot or beach shoot. Make sure it says waterproof or water resistant 90min+ , broad spectrum, and at least 50+ SPF. If you're also swimming with marine life, I also recommend considering reef safe sunscreen as well. I usually use Skin Aqua from Japan or Neutrogena sunscreen from my local drug store.

- Primer: This will make your face sticky for the makeup to stay on. I use Elf's Power Grip primer from my local drugstore, as it is affordable and does the job. There are many others on the market that also does the job for higher price points. 

- Eye shadow: For the other color options- the professionals usually cream-based products. I have found that the eye shadow sticks are affordable and are veeery waterproof when swimming. One note of caution is that you can't blend them- they are no smudge after all, and that includes no blending. Any face and eye makeup done with these shadow sticks and the liquid lipstick are what is still on hours after being in a pool. I also use these sticks to paint other face makeup, such as cheek scales and other details. I use Elf No Budge Sticks and Maybelline Tattoo Color Eye Stix, also from my local drugstore.

- Eyebrows if necessary: I don't have any to recommend because my eyebrows are naturally shaped and thick, but if you need it, try picking a cream-based eyebrow gel or pomade.

- Mascara if necessary: Unless you use a professional grade glue, false lashes will not stay on well underwater, especially not the ones that use drugstore water-based glues. However, many mascaras are marketed as very waterproof. Brands that I've heard have good ones: Mac, Maybelline, Lancome, L'Oreal,  

- Eyeliner: I actually got this trick from one of the other youtubers above- I use liquid lipstick for my waterproof eyeliner. My eyes are Asian hooded double eyelids so I need thick eyeliner to be able to see any eyeliner at all. Waterproof liquid lipstick fills the space I need- I just need to make sure to close my eyes after application and wait until it properly dries or it might transfer onto the upper part of my eyelid. I use Nyx Lingerie XXL liquid lipstick from my local drugstore.

- Lipstick: I use the same liquid lipstick that I use for my eyeliner! Some other brands that sell waterproof liquid lipsticks that I've heard good reviews on- Maybelline, Makeup Forever, Smashbox. 

- Setting spray: This time, I would disregard the Style Theorist video since they kind of messed up the test a little. I use Urban Decay All Nighter, but because I skip on foundation/concealer, the only thing I'm worried about is eye and lip makeup, and it has worked fine for me. Urban Decay may not be sufficient for you if you do require foundation/concealer, so I recommend looking into other products. Actual professional movie makeup artists and professional underwater performers use Green Marble Selr and I plan to try it out one day myself, if I want to try more extreme underwater makeup looks. 

Additional tips: Try not to touch your face at all, whether underwater or above. If I need to reapply my eye gel drops, I try my best to only touch my bottom eye lid. Because the water will wash off your sunscreen, I reapply every 60-90minutes and I just do it to the parts of my bare skin that doesn't have makeup. 

Removal: I need to use micellar water, makeup wipes or coconut oil, my daily face wash, and a hot shower to remove this waterproof makeup. If you use Green Marble Selr, I believe they sell their own specialty makeup remover because this stuff is hard to remove. Be sure to lotion your face afterwards cause it will be dried out from both the swimming and makeup removal. If you were in the hot sun, you may want to consider aloe vera as well. 

As you can see, this is a pretty bare bones makeup routine, but luckily there's a wide range of color options even in these simple and affordable drugstore products. 

Are there any products or suggestions that you use underwater that I should try? I'm always looking for others, so let me know!