5 Rules of Foundation

Can you get a perfect and flawless makeup foundation? Can you really achieve flawless looking skin and still look like you’re wearing nothing at all?

With a few rules to follow you can get the flawless foundation you are looking for!

Choose the Right Product

With so many new foundation options on the market today we have a plethora of products to choose from, so using the right product for your specific skin type and skin tone is very important. And yes, there is a difference between skin type and tone!

What is your skin type? This is the question every beauty expert will ask you at a consultation. Do you have oily, dry or combination skin? This question is very important and is a huge factor in choosing the right foundation product to use on your skin. Make sure that you know your skin type before you go to the store or to a beauty expert. Below is a list of foundation products and how they relate to different skin types.

Mineral Powder Foundation: Used on normal, oily or combination skin. Mineral powder foundations give a medium coverage with a matte finish and will have an oil absorbing effect to keep you looking fresh and oil free all day. The downside of a powder foundation is that they can dry out your skin, don’t provide as much coverage as liquid foundation and can enhance the look of wrinkles.

Liquid Foundation: Used on normal, dry and aging skin. Liquid foundations give a medium to full coverage depending on the product and give the skin a dewy appearance as they help to conceal skin imperfections and discolorations. They provide more coverage than a powder and as an added bonus they often contain emollients to help nourish the skin while they do double duty as a foundation. Liquid foundations are the most popular foundation product on the market.

Cream Foundation: Used on all skin types. Cream foundations usually provide total coverage and often times can be the answer to those skin conditions we are trying to conceal. Cream foundations usually come in a compact form and provide the best coverage of all the foundation options as they can hide many skin flaws such as birth marks, acne scars and all other manner of skin conditions. The downside of a cream foundation is that if not applied properly it can look caked on or too heavy.

Select the Right Color

Skin tone does not refer to the shade of your skin but to the undertones or pigmentation of your skin, it is the color that shows through from underneath the skin’s surface and determines whether your skin tone is cool, warm or neutral. So while you may get a bit darker in the summer or lighter in the winter your undertone does not change. That being said, make sure you know if you are warm tone or a cool tone before you make your foundation purchase. Here is a great site to help you determine your skin tone. Determine your skin tone

Selecting the right color for your skin tone is probably the most important makeup decision you will make. If you choose a color that’s to light you will look ghostly if it’s to dark your skin will look like a mask so be sure you choose carefully. Matching your foundation to the inside of your wrist is a myth, you do want to match your foundation to your cheek and jaw so use this trick to get the perfect match. Run a strip of foundation from your lower cheek down to your neck if it blends in and is almost invisible then that is your perfect match. If it’s to light or too dark then you need to test more colors.

Use the Right Application Tool

This may seem like a non-starter for some but for others this is a bit trickier and knowing the right application tool to use to apply your foundation is very important, even if those tools are your fingers.

Mineral powder foundations will come with a powder applicator to dust on your foundation but we prefer a puff brush that can evenly disperse the powder and get you the best coverage.

Liquid foundations don’t come with applicators but can be applied in a number of ways.

1. Brush: Use a large firm dense puff brush to get an even and lightweight finish, creating an airbrushed look.
2. Fingers: Use your fingers, this will warm up the product and make it easy to apply on the face, just be sure to use a blending sponge after you apply it, this will minimize lines and missed areas.
3. Sponge: Use a beauty blender sponge or bud to buff and blend your foundation on your face but first make sure to dab the foundation all around your face using your finger tips.

Cream foundations come in compacts usually with a sponge or blending applicator to get even coverage. Be sure to dab on face first in all areas to be covered and then use circular blending motions making sure to cover the entire face.

Blend-Blend-Blend

If matching your skin tone is the most important part of foundation then blending it on the face is the second most important detail! Blending and fading your foundation is what separates the pros from the amateurs, you never want to walk away from your mirror with a line between your chin and your jawline, so be sure to pull that foundation down under the chin and fade into the jaw.

Prep and Prime

With all there is to know about foundation it’s just as important if the canvas we lay our foundation on was prepped to give us the most bang for our buck. Prepping your face means your skin is clean, dry and moisturized using an SPF moisturizer, then be sure to apply your favorite face primer before every foundation application. A primed face will keep your makeup looking fresh all day long and you will be putting your best face forward.

To learn more about the fundamentals of foundation join us for our Foundation Workshop