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So you’ve mastered your makeup routine—but the day isn’t slowing down, and neither is your schedule. Cue the art of makeup touch-ups: A few thoughtful tweaks can revive your glow, veil away midday shine, and keep your look feeling fresh from morning coffee to evening cocktails. The trick isn’t just repetition—it’s precision, choosing products that layer seamlessly over your existing base while enhancing your natural finish. Think of it as a mini reset for your complexion, a way to maintain a polished, camera-ready look no matter how long the day stretches.
Vogue’s Makeup Touch-Up Essentials
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First things first, it’s best to know your skin type to plan your makeup refresh accordingly. “The best way to go about touch-ups is to learn how makeup typically performs on you throughout the day—you’ll start to notice a pattern of what things fade or start looking less fresh as time goes on,” says celebrity makeup artist Melissa Murdick, noting that if you’re out and about in the heat, you can expect your glam to have a shorter life span. So when should your glam refresh begin? Whenever your look goes from airbrushed to a little too lived in—think smudging, creasing, and product settling into fine lines. Murdick suggests taking a gander at yourself in your phone camera every so often to see how your makeup look is holding up.
But say you like a hard-and-fast rule—while there’s no pre-packaged makeup touch-up kit, there are some general guidelines. “Go as long as you can before reapplying, though around three hours after initial application is when touch-ups are usually needed,” says pro makeup artist Kasey Spickard. “Overall, less is always more when you’re touching up. If you overload on more makeup products, you run the risk of creating a cakey complexion.” Below, Murdick and Spickard give us step-by-step guide to quick makeup touch-ups, easy enough for beginners, with pro tips and hacks along the way.
Step One: Start With Oil Control
“When it comes to managing oily skin, you want to avoid caking your makeup at all costs,” says Murdick, who recommends always starting a touch-up routine by blotting away excess oil. “This keeps your makeup from getting heavy and patchy-looking.” She reaches for Paula’s Choice Shine Stopper Gel, gently tapping it onto oily areas for an instant matte finish.
Spickard agrees, adding that using a mattifying primer before your initial makeup application helps to “stop shine before it starts,” reducing makeup slippage throughout the day. When it comes to mid-day touch-ups, she prefers blotting papers—Chanel and Tatcha both offer luxurious options. As for the viral Revlon volcanic roller, Spickard advises a careful hand: “While it’s great on the go, too heavy a touch can cause makeup to lift.”
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Step Two: Spritz on a Hydrating Mist
Before moving on to color cosmetics, there’s one skin-centric step worth prioritizing: Swap the setting spray touch-ups for a hydrating mist. “Refreshing your face with a hydrating mist reactivates makeup and allows for movement without patchiness—it should also revive any setting spray already applied, so less is more,” says Spickard. “After a few spritzes, I’ll take a damp Beautyblender—though any sponge will do—and buff everything out across my client’s face.” Murdick agrees, noting that setting sprays are best left for the initial application only.
Spickard’s go-to is Jouer’s hydrating mist, while Ilia offers a similar formula with the added benefit of blue light protection. Chanel’s antioxidant-rich essence, meanwhile, leaves foundation looking like second skin. For a more natural approach, Kora Organics’s option delivers a cooling blend of mint and aloe for hydration with an aromatherapeutic boost. Best of all, any of these picks add an instantly glowy finish.
Step Three: Get Targeted With Concealer
Whether it’s disguising a rogue blemish or refreshing the under eyes to veil signs of fatigue, concealer remains an essential step in any pro-worthy touch-up—so long as it’s applied sparingly and with precision. “When I’m touching up, I like to refresh the under-eye and buff out any fine lines or laugh lines where makeup may have settled,” says Spickard, who always follows the less-is-more philosophy. “Next, I’ll take a tiny dab of concealer on the back of my hand and load up a small dense brush before applying.”
For staying power, MAC’s concealer delivers medium coverage with a long-wear finish. Hourglass’s Airbrush Concealer offers a weightless, full-coverage option perfect for stubborn dark circles. Kosas’s brightening formula—a Hailey Bieber favorite—adds luminosity in all the right places, while Maybelline’s iconic Eraser remains a drugstore hero beloved for its seamless blendability.
Step Four: Refresh Your Flush
When it comes time to refresh your blush, pros recommend reaching for liquid and cream formulas—both for their ease of blending and their ability to layer seamlessly over existing makeup. “The key is to keep yourself from going overboard. You already have some pigment on your cheekbones, so use much less than you would normally apply at the beginning of the day,” advises Murdick, who prefers using the wider end of a makeup sponge to diffuse a natural flush. Spickard agrees, noting that a dense buffer brush can work just as well for blending. For liquids, Victoria Beckham Beauty and Saie offer cult-favorite options. On the creamy side, Chanel’s lip-and-cheek balm proves a multitasking staple, while Rhode’s pocket-sized blush stick wins points for both convenience and viral appeal.
Step Five: Lightly Powder Your Face
The experts advise against going overboard with setting powder touch-ups—though they differ slightly on whether loose or pressed formats are best. Spickard swears by loose powders for their finely-milled texture and seamless finish, while Murdick notes that pressed powders are far more practical to toss in a makeup bag when on-the-go (since loose formulas can easily get messy). Regardless of which you choose, one rule is universal: Keep it translucent. “Stay away from powder foundations or colored powders because they will build up too much on the skin—you want a powder that is as lightweight and invisible to the eye as possible for touchups,” says Murdick.
When it comes to application, less is more—use a featherlight touch and focus only on areas prone to shine. For loose formulas, cult-favorites from Laura Mercier and MAC are beauty staples, while Westman Atelier’s pressed powder is a Vogue-editor favorite. For a more affordable pick, Revolution Beauty’s translucent powder has racked up over 18,000 glowing reviews—and counting.
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Step Six: Reapply Your Lip
Whether from eating, sipping, or chatting, lip color is often the first to fade—Murdick reminds us that a pout requires the most frequent makeup touch-ups. Luckily, refreshing your lip look is one of the simplest ways to revive your entire face. For a your-lips-but-better effect, Charlotte Tilbury’s lip liner remains an enduring classic with its versatile neutral tones. Meanwhile, Make Up For Ever’s artist pencil is a multi-purpose lining wonder—a long-held favorite of Vogue’s Kiana Murden. Prefer something with a featherlight feel? Clinique’s lipstick offers a sheer wash of color that feels effortless (especially in the universally flattering Black Honey). Those seeking long-lasting impact will love Victoria Beckham Beauty’s lip tint, which delivers a just-kissed flush that stays put. And for the gloss devotees, Chanel’s pearlescent formula strikes the perfect balance—hydrating, gleaming, and never sticky.
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Meet the Experts
- Melissa Murdick is a Los Angeles–based celebrity makeup artist. Her clientele includes Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Lizzy Caplan, Devery Jacobs, Kim Petras, Blair Imani, and Rosalia.
- Kasey Spickard is a professional makeup artist based in New York and Los Angeles with more than 10 years of experience in the beauty industry. Spickard has worked with clients such as Jenna Lyons, Kamie Crawford, and Brynn Whitfield.
