I am always surprised by the amount of people and clients I meet that are too frightened to wear or buy foundation and don't have the confidence to apply it.
A few weeks ago I met a lovely lady, who was probably in her forties and had never touched the stuff. She approached me sheepishly at an event, and was interested to try and learn, but was pretty convinced that it 'would not suit her skin'.
I was over the moon when I saw her face light up after looking in the mirror. She felt as though her face had been airbrushed but couldn't see or feel the product on her skin.
This is how foundation should always make you look and feel, so I thought that I would share my tips and tricks on here.
I'm sure that lots of you are amazing at applying and choosing makeup, but for anyone that is a little nervous, I hope this helps.
Choosing the Correct Colour
This is probably the most important step and one that so many people struggle with. We have all seen that girl out and about who has an orange face and a very obvious line ending on her jaw and hairline, only to continue into a very different colour neck and hands. Not a good look!
The best advice that I can give to you is to swatch the foundation in the shop before buying. However, do not test the colour on the back of your hands....your hands are always a different colour to your face. This is where many people go wrong. The place to test the product is on your jawline. This way you can see how it matches against your face AND your neck. The right colour will blend in seamlessly and once rubbed in, you should not be able to see it.
The Purpose of Foundation
A lot of people who want to look a little more tanned, will be tempted to buy a darker foundation than their skin tone, to 'tan them up'. This is a big mistake. The purpose of foundation is simply to even out your skin tone and give a flawless base for the rest of your makeup. This is why you must choose a colour that matches your true skin tone, not your desired one. Remember your hands are always on show too, so the difference will be noticeable.
If you want to warm your skin up afterwards, that is where bronzers come into play.
Application
I was always taught during my makeup training that the best makeup is when someone says 'wow you look amazing today', not 'wow your makeup looks great'.
The difference is learning to enhance your natural features, and skin in particular, so you look radiant and fresh, not caked in product.
The key to achieving this finish is, surprise surprise, not applying too much foundation and blending well. You can always add, but it is much harder to take away.
Remember, you are simply trying to even out your skin, so these are the places where you mainly need the product. On myself and my clients I always work from the centre of the face first and then outwards. Generally, most of your redness and blemishes will be in your t-zone, so using a brush or fingers, work some product onto and around your nose, on your chin, forehead and around your eyes. Then, with whatever is left on the brush, blend outwards towards your cheeks and hairline. This way, there will be no build up around your hairline or jaw, as the concentration of foundation will gradually thin out.
If you do need a fuller coverage everywhere, then make sure to bring the brush down your neck a little too, to match it up, and not forgetting on your ears too.
Also, bear in mind your own skin. Are you wearing a base purely because you think you should? If you are lucky enough to have pretty even skin naturally, then maybe just look at using a tinted moisturiser or just concealer to pin point any small areas.
To round up, you want your skin to look like skin. The best makeup artists usually won't want to fully cover and create a mask. They will cover what is needed but still leave freckles and a little glow to show through. It is in fact ageing to have a completely matte face.
So have fun, play and enjoy creating the best version of yourself.
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