Makeup Tips - Advice on Foundation

If you wear makeup you will know that foundation is probably the most important tool in your armoury. It is the base to your look and can make or break your entire look. We have put together some basic tips on types of foundation and how to apply it.

Types of Foundation

There are several types of foundation, available in a variety of shades and coverage. Your choice should largely depend upon your skin type, age, and budget. Listed below are the major types of foundation, one of which should be perfect for you.

1) Liquid Foundation

Liquid foundation is probably the most popular because it's easy to apply, is comfortable to wear, and comes many shades to choose from. Not only that, it sets well on both oily and dry skin. If your skin is oily, choose a water-based, liquid foundation and if your skin is dry, you can go with oil-based to help keep skin supple and moist. If you have combination skin, try both but begin with water-based.

2) Powder Foundation

Powder foundation goes on quickly and because it is very dry, it works well with oily skin. Using a brush, just dip, tap, and buff into your skin until you are satisfied with the coverage. This kind of foundation is a great introduction for teens or those who do not ordinarily wear makeup and gives a more natural look if applied properly. Unlike liquid or cream foundation, it supplies no extra moisture so it's not recommended for very dry skin.

3) Cream Foundation

Offering the heaviest coverage, cream foundation is usually found in a compact or in stick form but sometimes comes in a tube or jar. The texture is much thicker and will cover more noticeable flaws such as blemishes, acne scars, and rosacea. Cream will work for all skin types but can be too heavy for oily skin. If you still prefer heavy coverage and your skin is oily, try finishing off your foundation with some loose, translucent powder applied with a brush to soak up access oil.

4) Liquid to Powder

This foundation comes in a compact and should be applied with a sponge applicator or brush. You need to work fast because it dries rather quickly into a powder finish. Unfortunately, it has a tendency to settle into pores, fine lines and wrinkles, making them more visible -- particularly in bright light. Not recommended for dry skin. You'll either love it or hate it.

Application Tips

Your foundation should match your skin colour. Perfect matching foundation can only be assessed by correct estimation of skin type, natural colour and skin tone. Since most Caucasian, Latin, African and Asian women have yellow-based skin, they must buy foundation with a yellow base too so that it doesn't look like a mask. However, Asian women from the south-Asian region have skin with a yellow-greenish undertone and thus, need a foundation that has same colour of pigment as the base. Experts often use two or more shades of foundation to highlight the best features of the face and underplay the low points. To master those skills, needs a lot of practice and study. We would recommend spending time practising at home with different foundations and blending them until you achieve perfect coverage. There are a few points that can be kept in mind while using the foundation to give the best possible results:

Blend the cream foundation smoothly using a cosmetic sponge in long sweeping motions.

A cosmetic sponge will help you to manage and apply foundation more easily and gives a better and smoother result.

For perfect matching, foundations should not be tested on hands or insides of your wrist as the colour of your face definitely differs from the colour of these areas of your body. The best way is to test the foundation is on your jaw line and see whether it matches the natural colour of your neck or not. Matching under different light settings gives you a better idea about the correct foundation for your skin.

Foundation needs to be blended, properly, especially under the jaw line, into the hairline, on the ear lobes, corners of the nose and mouth and over and under the eyes.

To retouch a particular spot, reapply the foundation there lightly and blend it with the rest of the face. Then powder it lightly with the translucent powder to let it set properly.

While applying liquid foundation, it is better to put small points of foundation at different parts of your face such as forehead, nose tip, chin and cheek bones and then blend a little at a time on the face to give a more finished look.

You can use powder foundation just like the normal compact powder.

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