5 Tips to Flawless Looking Foundation
The one question I always get asked about by my clients and friends alike is how I get to make my foundation to look really smooth, glowy and look like second-skin. For the longest time, I’ve always attributed it to the fact that I’m lucky enough to have fairly decent skin that’s not prone to breaking out, nor do I have any real issues with texture on my skin apart from having the occasional random small bumps and some larger pores on my nose that I’ve managed to smooth-out with primer. The only real problem I have is that I’m very oily, and extremely so during the Summer months, which can affect the way certain foundations look on me throughout the day.
But then it got me thinking, my foundation didn’t always used to look this good and I’ve also had clients that would come to me again and again insisting that I just do their foundation (and makeup) better than they do themselves even if they used the same products as I have. As an artist, I am aware that getting lot of experience doing makeup for others can cause us to disregard tried and true little techniques and tricks that makes a big difference in the final outcome. And so, in the past year, I really zeroed in on some of the little things that I do to make my clients’ and my own makeup looking flawless.
Make sure that you are taking care of your canvas.
Yes, I’m talking about your face and your skincare routine! You know that saying the product is only as good as its canvas? That is definitely true when it comes to perfecting the look of your foundation. It is important that you are regularly cleansing, moisturizing and using necessary treatments on your face. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to do a Korean 10-step skincare routine to get good skin, but some good ol’ cleansing and moisturizing will significantly improve the condition of your skin. You’d be surprise how many of my clients tell me they don’t really do a good job of at least washing and moisturizing their face. Having a canvas that is in decent condition will be a big part of the battle when it comes to making your foundation look really good. No, I am not saying you have to have the best looking skin, but staying on top of your skincare routine will really go a long way into giving you a beautiful looking complexion with our without foundation. It doesn’t have to be so complicated, just use skincare products that your skin needs regularly. Whenever I’m doing my client’s makeup, I always make sure to prep their skin by using MAC Wipes to clean out their skin and applying an appropriate moisturizer for their skin type (and serum if needed) before I go ahead and start putting any makeup products on their face. I love using Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre for dry skin and MAC’s Oil Control Lotion for combo/oily skin. Sometimes, if time permits and their skin can greatly benefit from it, I even have them do a quick exfoliating or hydrating mask!
Primers are a must!
Now, this is still something that a lot of my customer and other makeup artists talk to me about. Are primers really that important? To me, it’s a definite yes! Not only do they offer a barrier in between the skin and foundation, but they also help create an even smoother canvas to make the foundation glide effortlessly on the skin and settle really well. There are also a lot of primers out there that address different skincare needs like mattifying ones for those with oily skin, hydrating for dryer skin, illuminating for added glow, smoothing for those with larger pores or have skin texture concerns and tinted for color-correction. My go-to ones are Make Up For Ever’s Step 1 Skin Equalizer Smoothing Primer, and if you’re feeling fancy Tom Ford’s Illuminating Primer is phenomenal!
Pick a foundation that is suited for your skin type and needs.
A mistake I see a lot of people do is that they tend to use foundation that a blogger or a friend is using simply because it was recommended to them and/or looked good on said blogger or friend without really considering if it suited to their skin type and needs. I know that most of you are aware to avoid doing that, but I know that sometimes the hype is so real we can’t help but get carried away and buy the product anyway! But we all must face the fact that sometimes it’s not easy to make a moisturizing foundation work for someone who is very oily without it melting throughout the day, and use a mattifying foundation on dry skin without emphasizing skin textures. I’m a big advocate for grabbing a sample of a particular foundation before buying it. Test out how it wears throughout the day where you’ll tend to wear it and see if it holds up. Trust me some foundations can look really good for the first few hours after application but looks terrible after a full-day of wear. This is why testing it for a full day of wear will come in handy.
Play around with the application process!
Something I always do is play around with how I apply my foundation. Some days I put them on with a damp sponge like a beauty blender, the next I’ll use my favorite foundation brush and then some days I’ll use my fingers. I find that this is helpful with seeing the different ways I can make a foundation look on my skin. Certain application process can really change the level of coverage and look of a certain foundation. Usually sponges can sheer out a foundation, while depending on which brush type you use it can either sheer out or layer on foundation coverage.
Consider setting sprays and powder for long-term wear.
While these are optional, I highly recommend using a setting powder and/or a setting spray to help your foundation not only last longer, but also help it look as good as when you applied it for a longer duration of time. As I’ve said, I’m very oily, and I find that setting my foundation with a light dusting of Laura Mercier Translucent Setting powder not only makes my foundation wear better but also helps control my oiliness. For people with dry skin, depending on how dry they are, I might do a light-dusting of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish on them because it’s the powder is so fine and undetectable and then spray them with Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist or MAC Fix+.
So as you can see, a lot of the tips I have are more about tailoring a combination of products that will work well for your skin type and needs. I think that if you did any of the tips, it won’t matter as much if you’re using drugstore or high end foundation, but rather how you prep your skin, that will make more of an impact to the overall look and wear of your foundation. Just like anything in beauty, finding the right routine and combo that will suit you might take a bit of trial and error and some time to perfect, but that does not mean it has to cost you a significant amount of money, the beauty about mid-high end makeup is you get to ask for and try out samples before you buy them, so definitely take advantage of that. Sephora, Ulta and department stores also have generous return policies that you can advantage of, if you need to. I would highly discourage you from buying a product to sample and test it out, only to return it, just because it can be so wasteful as in my experience, all used cosmetics are pretty much damaged out and thrown, even if you’ve only used it once. Obviously, there are circumstances where products don’t end up working further down the road, in that case feel free utilize the return policy of the store.
Are there any tips/tricks that you swear by use to make sure foundation looks amazing? How about favorite products for your skin type? Let me know in the comments below!
