It is 10 a.m. in the Coachella Valley and the sun is already doing what it always does in the desert: everything. By afternoon, the UV index will be officially classified as “extreme,” and the temperature will keep pressing. While the desert may be indifferent to highlighter, setting powder and the most meticulously blended contour, it does respect sunscreen—applied without negotiation.
Content creator Ashley LaMarca understands this. She has been doing her makeup for festivals long enough to understand that the most glamorous thing you can put on your face before the lights and the dust and the relentless afternoon heat is a solid SPF. So, she starts there.
“SPF is a non-negotiable for me— the real foundation to any makeup look,” she says. “You can invest in great skin care, but without daily protection, you’re not actually preserving your skin. I like to reapply with an SPF setting mist throughout the day because it’s an easy way to ensure my skin is always protected without messing up my makeup!”
On her must-have list for the weekend: Kosas DreamBeam ($40), which she says “gives the glowiest base.” Over that, she applies Armani Luminous Silk Foundation ($69)—a trusted formula that behaves beautifully over sunscreen, blending seamlessly without pilling or sliding. Next up, the Dior Bronzing Stick ($52), which she describes as going on “like butter and blending out like a dream,” warming the cheekbones and the temples. Her unwavering testimonial: “The Dior Bronzing Stick really is that girl!”
Then there is the blush, YSL Make Me Blush ($46), the Naked3 Palette ($59)(LaMarca considers it “still undefeated,”) the blue eyeliner in the waterline via Tom Ford ($51), and the perfect nude lip, thanks to MAC in Whirl ($25). To finish it off and round it out, four spritzes of setting spray, with one boasting built-in SPF, natch.
