Let me start things off by making one thing clear: I am not a fitness enthusiast. I'm a strong believer in running only when someone is chasing me, eating pretzels as opposed to twisting my body into one, and sitting on the sidelines rather than sweating it out on the field. That being said, I can occasionally — very,very occasionally — be convinced to participate in physically demanding activity if it's actually fun. Luckily for me, SoulCycle is one of those workouts.
My very first class was with a group of co-workers, and despite my initial "Oh god, why are you making me do this?" attitude, I loved it. After we finished our ride, I packed up my things and headed back to the office to finish up some projects, blissfully unaware of what had happened to my makeup while I "tapped it back." How I made it to the office without passerby crying and shielding their children's eyes as I passed, I'll never know. Because when I finally peeked at the mirror, I looked like a hybrid between the matchmaker from Mulan and those guys who opened the lost ark in Indiana Jones.
After washing off the sad remains of my formerly fierce-as-hell winged liner and giving up on a head of limp, stringy hair that would make Severus Snape jealous, I got to thinking: what sort of beauty products could actually last through intense physical activity? By no means do I recommend wearing a full face of makeup to your Sunday morning pilates class, but there must be other people who fit workouts into their lunch break. Are they stuck reapplying melted makeup and redoing their hair after every single class?! How exhausting! We all can't look like Taylor Swift leaving the gym.
Inspired by these questions, what became lovingly known as "the SoulCycle Experiment" was born. My goals: (1) uncover which longwear makeup products would stay on during a demanding exercise class; and (2) which dry shampoos could revive damp, listless locks after the deed.
So, I created five individual looks featuring products advertised as "long-lasting," then booked five SoulCycle classes to test them at. Disclaimer: I am not a makeup artist, so these were truly DIY styles. I also rounded up five dry shampoos to use after each spinning session. To give each pairing of makeup products and dry shampoos an equal chance to compete, I stuck to the same routine:
putting on my makeup at the same time each day
scheduling each class for the same weekday time slot (4:30pm)
washing and styling my hair the exact same way before every class
drinking from the same water bottle and using the same type of towel during class
giving myself the same 15 minutes of "cool down" time before taking after-class photos
The results I found were surprising — in a good way. See so for yourself . . .
I was really nervous to attend my first class, so I started the experiment with a natural look. Gray eyeliner with matching peach cheeks and lips made for one of my favorite "before" looks.
As expected, my face was noticeably pinker after class, even with a 15 minute cool-down period. But my makeup stayed remarkably well! So well, in fact, that my colleague/photographer (who also attended the class) said, "I hate you." Every product that I'd used on my face maintained its quality and lived up to its "long wear" claims — I definitely would have gone back to the office or out to dinner, feeling confident in my makeup and rarely earned post-workout glow.
IRL, I’m a diehard Living Proof fan — you'll have to pry my bottle of the brand's Instant Texture mist from my cold, dead hands. After I sprayed the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo on, there was a bit of chalkiness that I'd attribute to this being my first attempt at using the product — I'm no professional hairstylist. But once I worked with it a bit by flipping my head over and massaging it in, my hair definitely looked better. Plus, the product has a time-released scent that kept my locks smelling divine until my morning shower. You can count me a happy camper . . .or cycler, in this context.
Of all the days I performed this experiment, this second makeup look felt the most secure. The matte liquid lipstick seemed like it had incredible staying power, and I would count on Supergoop's setting spray to last through anything! I could probably walk face-first through a car wash and emerge with my face in good shape (and new-car scented).
Class on the second day was the most difficult, as is evidenced by my incredibly red, still-sweaty face — even after 15 minutes of cooling down. The instructor had a fondness for early-2000s boy bands — and who wouldn't be motivated to turn up the resistance during an *NSync jam? Still, JT and JC's best was no match for my makeup! Despite literally dripping sweat while on the bike, my "after" face remained perfectly intact.
While I'd definitely give myself more time to physically cool down before meeting up with friends or co-workers, this makeup wouldn't even need a touchup before I hit the town. After posing for my "after" photos, I quickly realized that this lipstick could stand up to any challenge I threw at it . . . notably, the gigantic burrito I scarfed down as a "reward" for working out two whole days in a row.
After I used Klorane Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk in Natural Tint, I understood why my co-workers cried out in envy when I opened the package. It was easy to use and subtly scented — my hair was incredibly fresh after application, despite being sweaty. Plus, it is specially formulated for brunettes so it won't leave a white residue.
This purple-lipped look is my personal pick, especially because it's closest to what I wear on a daily basis. However, I was apprehensive going in to the third SoulCycle class.
"If my makeup is going to mess up on any of the days, it'll be today," I told my coworker as we clipped in to our bikes, gingerly touching my lips — they still felt glossy and wet, which isn't a good sign when you've got impending plans to rub your face with a towel. I anticipated seeing a horrendous lilac mess on my face after our final stretches.
Color me shocked! The makeup that I was most scared about actually ended up being my favorite "after" look. While there was plenty of purple mess on my towel, it didn't spread to my face . . . and the resulting lilac stain on my lips complemented my flushed skin extremely well.
The rest of my makeup held up impressively also. When an one of our editorial intern saw this "after" image, he remarked: "Do you even have pores?" Hearing this compliment ensured that the concealer and foundation powder will have a permanent home in my stash.
I definitely would have headed back to the office like this. Hell, I would have scheduled a meeting just so that I could show up and say, "Oh, me? I just got back from SoulCycle. It was suuuuch a rough ride."
I was admittedly nervous to use a dry shampoo paste — when I read that sand was one of the ingredients, I felt pretty weird about rubbing it into my hair. But my initial fears were totally unfounded! The R+Co Badlands Dry Shampoo Paste wasn't sticky, smelled divine, and gave my hair the sort of texture that I'd previously only dreamt about. If you'd put a fan in front of me, I might have actually turned into Beyoncé.
This classic, red-lipped look got the most compliments from people at the office . . . and also earned me the weirdest looks when I clipped into my bike. I could almost hear the other riders' thoughts: "Poor, ignorant child — she's about to look like she made out with a newly painted fire hydrant." Or maybe those were my thoughts . . . I was not at all confident that this look would last.
Hot damn, this Stila lipstick earned its "Stay All Day" name! It was velvety smooth and gorgeous when I walked out of the cycling studio (even though I felt on the verge of collapsing). Another big winner was the Smashbox blush and highlighter compact, which somehow made my sweaty sheen look like it was intentional.
My eyelashes clumped together a bit after using my face towel during the ride, but the Sigma mascara itself felt great and didn't flake. If I'd had after-SoulCycle plans, I'd have been able to restore them to their original state with a quick brush of an eyelash comb!
When I was spritzing Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray into my hair after class, another attendee commented on how wonderful it smelled. Seriously — I would burn a candle that smelled like this mist. It definitely refreshed my locks, making me feel less like a stringy, sweaty monster, and more like a functioning member of society. I give it a 10/10 and would eagerly use the volumizing product again.
For my last day of the test, I opted for a grungy look that featured MAC's newest Vamplify lipgloss launch — a move that I was sure would result in a sticky face smeared with the sad remnants of my formerly glam lippie. Otherwise, I was fairly assured in my product choices for the final ride.
Yet again, my skepticism proved unfounded — after class, my makeup looked (and felt) flawless. The only cosmetic imperfection following my ride was a single tear-streak of eyeshadow caused by my own sweat . . . and stupidity. The eyeshadow I chose to apply on top of my UD primer was not advertised as long-lasting, so I was basically asking for it! Let's count this as a user error, not a fault of the eyeshadow — I demanded too much of it.
Aside from the single brown tear streak, this "after" look was at the top of my list. I felt confident and pretty as I left my final class, and certainly would have returned to work . . . as long as nobody expected my sore, exhausted ass to bike there.
Overall, I was very impressed with the Drybar Triple Sec hair mist. First off, it smells like a few of my all-time favorite scents: vanilla and coconut combine with warm amber notes to create the most comforting fragrances I've ever found in a hair product. Plus, because it was designed for three purposes — texturizing, volumizing, and refreshing — the spray felt light and clean while also lending some extra oomph to my exhausted hair. I wish I could have misted it all over myself and had the same effect!
