How do you look presentable in this heat?

[FTBregret]

I don’t have hyperhtdrosis but feel like I’m constantly sweating and looking a mess. I don’t have high standards just want to look clean and tidy. It’s a losing battle

I take two lukewarm showers a day, one right before bed. I apply antiperspirant both times

No makeup in this heat other than brow pencil and la Roche posay uvmune face spf. Set it with translucent powder to mattify, my face still gets shiny

I can’t wear white or light coloured tops as you’ll see sweat marks. Also body sunscreen (tried loads) always tends to stain my white clothing yellow

I like wearing black tops as don’t get any sweat marks but then I tend to get some visible lint on my black tops (even new tops, and I wash clothes inside out with similar colours).

My upper lip sweats a lot so I’m regularly blotting it. I also have a history of eczema on mouth area which can flare it a bit so goes quite red

When applying sufficient amount of body spf on my arms and legs it can separate and become a bit patchy/streaky after I’ve been out and about, random bits can stick to the spf too making me look so unkempt

I ensure to rub the body spf in well (I actually think creams are better than sprays for getting initial even application), but as the day goes on it just looks bad. I am currently using high protection spf by the brand Altruist (one of the highest ppd ratings) yet I still seem to get more sunspots (and likely skin damage)

I have tried lots of diff body SPF, all still do this to me.

& finally I’m naturally a hairy person, I try hard to stay on top of body hair removal but in harsh sunlight it’s so unforgiving and I always tend to miss random spots ffs. I epilate daily but because hairs are dark I feel you can still see tiny dots of roots growing in (too short to remove)

Meanwhile so many other people still manage to look so presentable, no sweaty shininess, very flawless and hairless smooth skin - how??

Some people do just have better skin.

i’m not one of them!

honestly in this heat make up just slides off.
i wear long floaty dresses so most of my body can’t be seen (they are also cool).

I think you’re right😅

btw do you have any recs of floaty dresses?

I could be wrong but with thin floaty dresses I think you can still be prone to sun damage as material is thin so will need to wear body spf underneath. I hate wearing body spf anyway but I’d hate it more if I had material sticking to it on top (and conscious I’d ruin dress with the greasy yellow residue)

I’m at Wimbledon with Hayfever added to the mix so not much fun!

I have these.

in pretty much every colour they do.

light cardi if necessary (not in this heat!)

https://www.uniqlo.com/uk/en/products/E482982-000/00?colorDisplayCode=38&sizeDisplayCode=003

I love a linen dress. Various lengths depending on requirements. Bit of fake tan on my milk bottle white legs, lol. Cardi in the handbag just in case. Tinted moisturiser, mascara, lippie, not really anything else. Pressed powder in my bag. Job done.

Agree with this. It's my go-to dress in the heat as it can work for smart or causal. In fact I'm going into town at the weekend to get another in a different colour!

What about all these make up fixer sprays they have nowadays? Also ‘ grippy primer’?!

I am old, so I just use spf and make up, but I see these prep and finish steps now.. could be worth a go if you need your make up to last all day in this weather!

I use cooling foot and leg gel every morning at the moment, and it is quite wonderful. My ankles are puffing less, amazingly.

Style my hair up or coiled or braided.

Nice straw sun hat

Japanese or Korean sunscreen, maybe tinted.

Tinted lip balm with spf. Tubing mascara.

Antiperspirant. I'm a big fan of mag based deodorants, but during the hottest humid swamp days, a good antiperspirant is necessary.

I wear a lot of blue and white in the summer, I like striped linen.

I carry and use a paper fan.

I wear my hair up, I cut a side fringe in, so my face doesn't look too severe when i wear a high ponytail or bun 😆
Mascara and lip balm are your friend. 💄
Flowing breathable material helps, I often have long maxi dresses or palazzo pants and a top. That way I don't need to sunscreen the legs as much. ☀️
Shades are a godsend 😎
Antihistamines are a life saver 🙌
And also controversial... crocs are now a staple in my house 😆
@FTBregret

Ooh, interesting. Please share details of the cooling gel

I stay out of the sun, near a cooling fan. I wear tiny shorts round the house and ankle length skirts and dresses going out. Arms loosely covered. I wear sunscreen 50 on my face, I don't apply sunscreen under clothes. I wear almost all white in the heat and only cotton or linen. And a large brimmed hat. And big sunglasses.

I shave legs and under arms every morning.
My face moisturiser is spf and same as all year around. I don’t apply any other spf but I wear long sleeves and stay out of the sun at all times.
Today I’m in a thin long sleeve shirt dress which is a Vinted buy originally from mango.

I don't! I just can't and don't look good in heat.

I have extremely frizzy hair which almost stands on end at the first hint of heat, and NOTHING will help. So that gets scraped into a bun. Zero makeup as what's the point, it just slides off. So I curl my eyelashes and that's it. I don't really suit summer clothes either, never have. I prefer winter where I can wear big jumpers and boots.

Linen and cotton only. Nothing with fancy frills, tiers or "extras". Keep jewellery smart but minimal.

Long wear foundation on a good base, pressed version in bag to top up. Plus small carry round deodorant.

Comfortable sandals, or summer shoes.

Decent sunglasses.

Hair is always a mess at this time of year so tied back. Use leave in conditioner also helps reduce the frizz.

Someone recommended in these threats megababe black soap (armpits) years ago.
I only use it in my underarms but a friend uses it all over her body during the summer and says it’s a real life-changer.

I use anti perspirant deodorant so I don't really sweat unless I sit with bare legs on plastic furniture.

I only wear natural or light fabrics, or those with wicking properties. I wear usually wear chub rub shorts under dresses, which are cooling.

I only wear eye make up, I never wear foundation, whatever the weather. Best to leave skin clean and natural.

Could weight be contributing? I noticed I don't get as hot and sticky since reaching a healthy BMI. I forgot to put chub rub shorts on today, and it has been absolutely fine even though it's in the 30s. I would have struggled if I forgot when I was overweight/obese

I think keeping things simple helps as well. The less 'fuss' there is, the less things I can make look scruffy 🤦‍♀️😂

I wouldn’t bother with face powder in this weather. Doesn’t it just start looking claggy when you mop your face?

What sort of fabrics are you wearing? (It must be awful to be restricted to black.)

Linen is obvious but best if reasonably good quality. I’m sitting on the grass in my city’s botanic gardens in an ancient pair of Toast linen trousers inherited from my mother, and they’re just barely crumpled.

Broderie anglaise is a wonderful material for sweaty days - you absolutely could wear it in white and look and feel perfectly comfortable.

And any densely printed cotton dress makes sweat invisible.

Where are you buying your summer clothes?

You are worrying unnecessarily about dark hair roots or n your skin. Clearly you care but absolutely no one else does. You’re human, you look human. Pointless to hold yourself to impossible standards.

Presentable, in the heat?

Does not compute.

I'm not saying I'm any good at this but my strategies are sticking to natural fibres only and changing my clothes during the day if I get too sweaty, it's not like it's hard to dry my washing. I've been doing IPL so I don't need to shave my legs every single day which helps.

If you have Caucasian skin and worry about being hairy, I’d recommend getting an IPL machine

People recommend linen dont they, as someone has above, but I find linen quite hot, I dont know why

Viscose I have discovered has a nice airy feel to it.

Hair up and I use p20 sunscreen which isn’t too shiny and only needs applying once per 10 hours. I think it can stain light colours though. I just try and wear as little as possible and don’t worry too much about the missed hairy patches 🤪.

I use a zinc based suncream from Moogoo which doesn't make me look as shiny or sweaty as normal chemical based suncream does.

I put my waist length hair up so its out of the way and then my neck is cool. Big sunglasses. Floaty dresses long midi length, or balloon trousers.
I am quite a dry person. I hardly sweat at all so I guess Im a lizard person like Prince Andrew 😂
I go straight brown and never red so I expect that helps.

I just don’t sweat that much tbh.