The How To Guides: Flawless Foundation
Foundation is an essential step in our makeup routines, but it’s also quite hard to get right. There are so many different shades, types of coverages, and brands to choose from. How you apply your foundation also has a large impact on how it looks and feels on your skin. In this blog post, we discuss our top tips for applying foundation.
Preparation
The first, and arguably most important, step is to ensure your skin is prepared. I’m sure you’ll have read before how important it is to look after your skin and keep it healthy and smooth. Many dermatologists and beauty professionals suggest that to get the most out of your makeup, you must first get your skin into a good condition. This is because makeup coverage is always better when it’s applied to looked-after skin.
The best way to prepare your skin is to have a skincare routine. Whilst the routine itself isn’t a one size fits all approach, there are still common steps you should ensure you take. Firstly, it is important to exfoliate. We only recommend exfoliating once to twice a week. Your body naturally exfoliates itself weekly, but using a gentle exfoliator can help speed up the process and ensure maximum effectiveness. However, if you exfoliate too often or too harshly, you risk doing more damage than good.
The next step is to cleanse. Using a daily facial cleanser in the morning is a perfect way to start your day. It will help rid your skin of built up bacteria and oils from the night before. We have recently been using the Biore Rose Quartz and Charcoal Daily Purifying Face Wash Cleanser.
The next step is to tone. We recommend avoiding any toners that use alcohol, as this can be quite drying. It’s better to use toners that feature natural and organic ingredients. Simply dash a little toner onto a cotton wool pad and wipe gently across your face.
Lastly, we recommend applying a thin layer of moisturiser. Try to get a moisturiser that’s lightweight and not likely to feel greasy. We also recommend using moisturiser sparingly, as sometimes using too much will result in your makeup sliding off and not lasting the day.
Primer
If you’ve read our previous posts, you’ll know how much we love primer! We recommend the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Primer. This priming gel will help mattify your skin, transforming your skin texture and reducing imperfections, pores and shine. It glides seamlessly across your face, perfect for everyone.
Selecting the Foundation Shade
The most common mistake people make with foundation is choosing the wrong shade. The idea of foundation is to even and perfect your existing complexion. Therefore, you should aim to purchase a foundation which matches your natural skin tone. The best way to do this is to go into a store and use the testers on the back of your hand. If you can speak to an expert at one of the makeup counters, they will be able to give you a hand with this.
Choosing the Best Tools
Some people use brushes, some people use sponges… and some even use their fingertips! I am guilty of using my fingers to apply foundation. Personally, I find that using my fingers is quicker, and easier, and actually warms the product so that it glides on better.
That being said, our team at MakeupLabs love a good makeup brush and sponge also. Sponges are the best for blending. They give your foundation that flawless finish look. However, sponges are known to soak up more product than necessary – making you more likely to waste foundation using them.
Brushes on the other hand are great at not wasting product and help you to effortlessly apply foundation. With so many different sizes of brush heads, it’s easy to reach smaller areas of your face (for example, under the eyes or the sides of your nostrils).
Don’t Use Too Much Foundation
A big tip we can offer is to not overdo it. Foundation is best when it’s lightweight. Too much coverage can cause your foundation to look ‘cakey’ and this will likely result in quicker oxidation also. This is when ingredients in the foundation mix with oxygen in the air, which causes the foundation to change colour.
Set Your Foundation
An important last step is to set your makeup look. For setting foundation, we recommend using a setting powder. Using the big fluffy brush in your makeup set, dab it into the powder and light tap it all over your face. Some setting powders are tinted, which can add a nice tan-like finish. Otherwise, most setting powders are a translucent colour. This shouldn’t change the shade of your foundation overall, but be sure to not use too much! Otherwise you might end up with a white-cast.
We also recommend using a setting spray (on top of the powder). This just seals in all your hard work and makes sure your makeup doesn’t smudge or streak off throughout the day/night. We recommend the MAC Prep & Prime spray.
Thank You
We hope you enjoyed this blog post. The main goal of MakeupLabs is to encourage people to get into makeup. By sharing tips and tricks, we can all better ourselves and our makeup skills. We would love for you to leave a comment and let us know which foundation you like and any tips or tricks you have.
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