The development of the beauty industry has led to the emergence of many serums, creams, fluids to solve all kinds of skin problems and mask imperfections. But the most popular product that every woman has in her cosmetic bag is foundation. Before you buy another tube, you need to carefully figure out how to choose a product so that it matches your skin tone, texture and at the same time makes your face perfect.
What is foundation for?
A rare woman has flawless skin without wrinkles, freckles, acne marks or small pigment spots. In order for the skin to be of the same color, matte with a slight highlighting effect, you must be able to select a foundation. Without a high-quality tonal foundation, it will not be possible to make a spectacular make-up with bright lips or dark, saturated shadows. An evening look also requires beautiful and matte skin so that in artificial light it does not look pale and with bruises under the eyes.
When can I start using?
Problem teenage skin withblack dots, a lot of rashes and redness makes young girls think of buying foundation and covering imperfections with a thick layer. Dermatologists and cosmetologists are not always clear about this remedy for young girls. The skin on which inflammatory elements occur may react negatively to the dense texture and poor quality of the product. Consulting a beautician will help you choose the right product for the first time. It is necessary to examine the skin, figure out what problems the cream should solve and what texture will suit this girl. Modern matting tonal creams contain not only masking pigments, but also plant extracts, essential oils, reflective particles.
From the age of 14-16, you can safely start using foundation, provided that it is a quality product with a minimum content of components that clog pores.
Selection according to skin type
Before choosing the right shade, at any age, it is important to consider the type of skin and the structure of the cream, which will not aggravate its condition and will not emphasize even more imperfections.
Owners of oily and combination skin will benefit from mattifying textures. The composition should not contain petrochemical products. It will be a plus if zinc oxide, salicylic acid is present on the label in the first positions. They control sebum production and slightly dry out the skin.
A girl with dry and flaky skin needs to pay attention to denser texturescreams with oils and hyaluronic acid in the composition. Although the foundation will go on top of the foundation, the oils will help to create an additional protective film and retain the moisture of the skin.
Owners of a problematic epidermis with redness and age spots need to choose a denser texture with a lot of pigments and reflective particles. It is important that it does not have a pink undertone, otherwise the skin in the daylight will look unhe althy and unnatural.
Older women should choose a cream containing vitamins A, E, C, coenzymes and a lifting effect. The right product should moisturize the skin, protect against external influences and mask fine wrinkles.
Choosing the right shade of foundation
All popular products are marked, and it will not be difficult to find the right shade among them:
- Girls with very light, translucent skin will use fair shade (very light). Light texture and the right tone will hide all imperfections, and in daylight there will be no mask effect.
- If a girl has light skin with freckles and is easily tanned, then a light tone is ideal, it is indicated on the package as light.
- Owners of skin with golden and light olive color will benefit from more pigmented textures with the inscription medium (medium).
- Girls with dark skin of a rich chocolate, caramel shade can safely choose products marked with the word dark (dark).
Definitionskin tone
Also consider whether your skin tone is warm or cool. There are two tests for quick identification:
- Stand near the mirror and bring a white sheet to your face. If against its background the skin looks yellowish or with a pink tint, the undertone is warm. If she has a bluish tint or light purple - cold.
- You can also pay attention to the color of the veins in the crook of the arm: if they are greenish - the skin is warm, if they are with a slight blue tint - cold.
Season of the year and level of SPF-protection cream
You need to consider the time of year and the level of SPF protection. In summer, the skin will become darker, and you will need a foundation of a rich shade. In order to use such products all year round, you need to choose 2-3 options that will correspond to the season, solve skin problems and reliably protect it from heat and wet snow.
Rules for applying foundation
Girls know that without tonal foundation it will not be possible to create a spectacular look. Choosing the right concealer cream is half the battle. But the correct application of foundation on the face will help hide pores, scars and fine wrinkles.
Before applying foundation, dry and flaky skin must be cleansed with a moisturizing foam or gel, apply a thin layer of serum or fluid with oils and moisturizing ingredients. This will help make the skin more elastic, hydrate and prevent it from drying out under the foundation.
For oily andfor combination skin, a gel with a matting effect and a fluid as a base for leveling enlarged pores are suitable. Even oily skin needs to be moisturized. A light day cream or hyaluronic acid hydrating serum is ideal.
How to apply foundation?
There is no consensus among professional makeup artists about how to apply foundation on the face. The most hygienic way is to use a professional flat brush with natural bristles. A photo of applying foundation with a brush is shown below.
It is worth considering that not every girl will be able to competently use a brush to drive a tonal foundation into open pores and smooth out crow's feet and creases. At home, the simultaneous use of a brush, applicator, sponge and fingers is suitable. Using all application techniques at the same time, you can evenly distribute the foundation on the most delicate areas of the skin.
Chin, forehead and cheekbones are easier to paint with a flat brush. A thin pile will help distribute the tonal foundation evenly to the periphery. But the area around the eyes, nose and skin around the lips will be easier to process with a wet beauty blender or fingers. When applying foundation with a sponge, the product will lay down in an even translucent layer.
Make-up artist's recommendation for cream selection
When choosing another foundation, it is necessary to take into account not only its tone and manufacturer. The right foundation should be as natural as possible with the skin,creating an even tone. Professional makeup artists recommend choosing a foundation based on how it looks on the skin of the wrist, neck, and cheeks. Do not forget to evaluate the product in artificial and daylight, so as not to end up wasting your money.
What comes first: concealer or foundation?
A corrector will help to mask minor imperfections and correct large inflammations. It must be selected, focusing not only on the color of the skin, but also taking into account its structure. Best of all, wrinkles and pores are corrected by a liquid corrector with a brush. It is convenient to apply a thin layer under the eyes and close the pores. The correct tone of the corrector will close even large and dark age spots, help even out thin scars and hide inflamed subcutaneous acne. Therefore, you must first apply the corrector, and then the foundation.
Step by step instructions
Want to look perfect in a photo? Step-by-step application of foundation on the face is presented below. This method will help you mask all the flaws. Even skin with perfect tone will be the perfect base for bright or daytime makeup that will last all day. Here are the basic steps to the perfect everyday look:
- Prepare the skin for make-up and thoroughly cleanse from sebum, dead cells. After washing with foam or gel, you need to wipe the skin with a tonic or lotion, after which you can apply a day cream that matches your skin type. To perform the next step, you need to wait until the cream is completely absorbed. If you neglect this and applyconcealers on wet skin - makeup will be unstable, the effect of masking will be zero.
- It is important to choose the right lighting. If you do makeup in the evening, then you need to sit near a bright lamp or do makeup in the brightest room. Morning make-up is easier to do by the window: bright daylight will help blend all the products and get rid of the effect of the mask and spots on the face from the corrector or blush.
- Now you can apply corrector pointwise. If you need to remove redness, then a light green tint will help correct this, and a light purple tone will cope with bruising under the eyes. The agent is applied with a thin brush with driving movements. This is especially true for the skin around the eyes: if you apply a thick layer of corrector, the wrinkles will become even more noticeable.
- To make the cream softer, it is necessary to heat it with the warmth of the palms: apply a small amount of cream on the inside of the palms. Next, with a beauty blender, fingers or a brush, start driving the cream in a thin layer.
- First of all, the cream is applied to the chin, forehead, cheeks and nose. With light, patting movements, begin to gently drive the product from the forehead to the scalp. Then spread the foundation from the nose to the cheekbones. If you start to distribute it in the opposite direction, then small defects will become even more noticeable.
- Lastly, the foundation is shaded along the chin and towards the neck and ears. Smoothly blend the cream from the chin to the neck, apply a little on the earlobes and smooth the transition line to the hair.
Do not apply the product on the lips. An exception may be the case whenit is necessary to correct the shape with a pencil or make an ombre effect on the lips. With such a make-up, you will look brilliant in any photo. Step-by-step application of foundation on the face is presented above.
Finishing the perfect look
If you want the perfect makeup, applying foundation is the most important aspect. After all, a properly applied tonal foundation is the best option for a make-up of any complexity. But for high-quality correction, you need to use a full set of corrective tools to get a lasting make-up that will last in the heat or all day at the office:
- Primer is an ideal make-up base that goes well with foundation. It is perfect as a helium base for smoothing the skin relief. It has no pigment, and the light texture does not provoke the appearance of blackheads.
- Highlighter or porthole. Used at the end of makeup to highlight certain areas of the face. It can be used to give the skin a shimmery effect that can help hide crow's feet, fine lines and give the face a fresh and rested look.
- Bronzer. Bronzer can be used on top of thin lines to accentuate cheekbones, narrow the nose, sculpt the face and give the skin a light tan.
- Powder. After a thin layer of foundation, you can fix the makeup with a thin layer of this product. The light texture of loose powder will help to give an extra matte effect. She won'tlook unnatural. However, you should not replace foundation with powder, these are two different products, and a large amount of powder on top of the cream will lead to dry skin.
- Color primer. Under the tonal base, it is allowed to apply colored primers with a slight undertone. For example, a green tone will help to hide the redness of the face, a white tone will refresh the face and remove the earthy color, and pink will give the face a slight inner glow.
In conclusion
When choosing a remedy that will solve all problems, it is important to pay attention to the composition, and not to the price and brand. Not always luxury tonal foundations will help solve all skin problems. But don't overspend on your purchase. Do not forget that a beautiful appearance depends on even and smooth skin. The tonal foundation should be the first assistant and a must have cosmetic bag for every self-respecting woman.