Tips and Tricks: Foundation

My Dearest Beauties,

Let’s talk foundation! I have some tips and tricks when choosing, applying and wearing foundation. I don’t have the most experience; evidently, I am not a professional makeup artist but my struggles with acne and very oily skin have taught me a thing or two.

1.      When choosing foundation make sure you go for the right color and the right formulation. The right color is critical. You do not want your face to look shades lighter or darker. Try always to match your forehead, nose and chin to your chest and shoulders. A lot of people say that, we should match the color of our foundation to our neck. Personally, I find that my neck is lighter than the rest of my body and choosing a foundation to match it, is not the right thing to do. Now, formulation is very important as well, because if you are an oily girl like me you do not want to go with a super dewy foundation as you will see that as time passes it will either melt off or it will start to shine like the sun! The same is true for dry skins, do not go for a mattifying foundation on dry skins as it will sit on your dry patches and make you look a bit off and older. The absorbing properties it has to control oil will only make your dry skin drier and dull. Whether it is liquid, cream or powder foundation, please make sure it is the right formulation for you.

2.      There are three ways to apply foundation. You can either use your fingers, brushes or sponges. There is no rule for application. Go for the technique that gives you the most satisfying results. I like to use my fingers, it is the least problematic (no washing of brushes or sponges). Sponges and brushes get really dirty and are high maintenance. If you do opt to use brushes and sponges make sure to wash them and keep them bacteria free (wash sponges more often than brushes as they tend to accumulate more dirt and bacteria).

3.      Whilst wearing foundation keep in mind that, for it to look its best you need to prime your face properly and set the foundation properly. Whether you like to prime with your regular moisturizer or with a special primer, well, do it, because it will allow your make up to last longer and go on more beautifully. You can only prime or only set or you can do both simultaneously. As for setting your foundation, use a powder or a setting spray. Another very important tip is: if you know that you will have a lot of pictures taken then make sure to choose a foundation that is SPF free to avoid flashbacks. SPF tends to make your complexion lighter when it comes in contact with strong lights (E.g. camera flash).

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below and I will be glad to answer or even have a whole post on your question.

Hope you find these helpful,

Samar xox