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Tutorial: Race day hair and makeup essentials by GB International Adelle Tracey RunThrough Running Club LondonFeel good, Run fast!

As an athlete when you’re training twice a day, makeup regimes aren’t often priority. However, when I’m off the track or when it comes to race day it’s often nice to feel slightly more glamorous! According to research when confidence is high you’re more likely to perform better. However, if you are going to wear makeup its best to wear products that are going to work with your skin and hair and stay in place so here is my hair and makeup essentials for race day! Watch the tutorial to see application and follow the steps below.

1. Prime the skin

To start with I normally use a primer. Primer creates a smooth surface for your makeup to go on and holds makeup on the skin for longer than standard moisturisers. This is good when your exercising because there’s nothing worse than sweating off makeup, I’ve found this to hold my makeups in place even when exercising. My favourite primer is from Arbonne as it has all natural vegan ingredients and it’s amazingly soft on the skin, it’s also great if you have sensitive skin like me as it’s unscented.

2. Apply a CC cream or Tinted Moisturiser

I normally use a Complexion Corrector cream (CC) or tinted moisturiser to give a bit of coverage. For everyday use, I normally wouldn’t put a primer under this as its not necessary but if you exercising you want that extra long lasting effect so I would always use both on race day.  I also have fairly dry skin so a tinted moisturiser or CC creme adds moisture but If you have oily skin I would still advise these products, just finish with a matt power to set the base and hold the makeup even more securely. My current favourite is the Laura Mericer tinted moisturiser which is oil free therefore good if you have oily skin too!

3. Add a highlighter

I  like to add a bit of radiance to my makeup by using a highlighter. Just a touch of illuminator or gold deposit just adds a natural glow to the skin. The flattering places to highlight are the brow bone and cheek bones and if you like the innards of the eye and cupids bow. I love the Mac strobing cream which is great if you have dry skin or the mineralise gold deposit from Mac for oily skin.

4. Apply a Waterproof Mascara

To finish the look and open the eyes up I like to apply a mascara. An essential for race day is to go waterproof. You never know what conditions you’ll be running in and with rain, humidity and sweat against your lashes, we want to avoid ‘panda eyes’ at all costs. When applying mascara it’s best to swill the wand around in the base to load it with product as opposed to pumping the wand as this pushes air into the base and dries out the product. On application, wiggle the wand through your lashes this helps reduce clumps and enhances the length. I often don’t apply mascara to my bottom lashes as its more likely you’ll get ‘panda eyes’ if you do this. My current preference of waterproof mascara is Maybelline New York ‘great lashes’.

5. Add a lip balm

Being outdoors competing, particularly in between changing seasons in Summer to Autumn and Winter to Spring the skin on your lips can become chapped. Applying a balm when you’re outdoors can help avoid cracked and dry skin. I often apply and balm before training and racing.  One product I really like is Dr Pawpaw which is a multipurpose balm with all natural ingredients. It’s good for chapped skin but also nail cuticles, hair, skin and cracked heels.

6. Apply Hairspray

To finish, no one wants fly away hairs on race day. To keep my hair off my face, in a tight ponytail, braid or bun I like to use a bit of hairspray. On application, I often like to spray some on a brush and comb my hair back, this helps get the product all the way through the hair making sure those fly away baby hairs are pinned back. Once my hair’s secured with a hair bobble, I like to reinforce by spraying another layer to pin any escaping hairs down. My favourite product to use is Ojon Hairspay with bamboo extract, it doesn’t create flakes or leave hair feeling dry and crispy because it contains essential oils making it easy to brush out after exercise and leaving your hair feeling soft.

Tutorial: Race day hair and makeup essentials by GB International Adelle Tracey RunThrough Running Club London