Look Flawless with the Right Foundation

It is the base of your make-up, the blank canvas where paints will be applied on to turn a plain looking face into a movie star… or a clown. Foundation!

The huge benefit of foundation is that it covers your blemishes and spots in an almost invisible way. It can make you look younger and healthier and smoothens your skin. Well, only on the condition that you use the right foundation and apply it in the right way. Because, who cannot call to mind one of those women who are wearing foundation like an ashy mask? Or those who looking almost ill, because of wearing the wrong colour?

The best thing about this is that nowadays there are so many different types and colours of foundation; there is a perfect one for every woman! All you have to do is know your skin type, pick the right colour and apply it in the right way. Doing this will make your skin looking perfectly smooth and on top of that no one will even discover you’re wearing makeup to look fabulous!

What’s your perfect foundation?

Step 1: Identify your skin-type

There are a lot of different types of foundation. But not all foundations fit all skin types. Looking for the right match is very important, otherwise your face will look too cakey, too shiny or the foundation will cause breakouts.

Pick your skin type:

1. Dry skin

What your skin needs, is a foundation that moisturise your skin and eventually covers the extremely dry spots. Mineral or organic foundation will do fine for you, because these foundations don’t contain the chemical elements which dry out your skin. Guard against powder-based foundation or a foundation with a matte function. These foundations will make your face look way too chalky!

Pick your desired coverage:

Minimal

The best product for your skin is a tinted moisturiser. This type of moisturises contain a lot of hydrating ingredients and will give your face a natural, smooth look.

Sheer

Oil-based liquid foundation fits best to your skin and wishes. The oil in the foundation will soften your skin and give it a modest, healthy glow.

Medium

If you have an extreme dry skin, mousse will be a good solution, because it covers the dry spots and makes your skin look smooth.

Heavy

For a heavier look, you can pick a cream foundation, which has in general more moisturising features.

2. Oily skin

You already have an oily skin, so please be aware of cream and oil-based foundation, because these types will make your face only shinier! Instead, go for a matte-based foundation and find a non-comedogenic (does not contain ingredients that cause pore blockages), preferably mineral-based version to protect your skin from the outside influences that makes your skin oily. A foundation-primer can contribute to a less-shiny skin and makes the foundation last longer.

Pick your desired coverage:

Minimal

For a minimal coverage, you can use a stick or cream-to-powder foundation in the same way as a concealer. You can also apply it on the whole face for a medium or even heavy look.

Sheer

Using water-based liquid foundation is a possibility, but you have to make sure that it doesn’t contain any oil elements. If you want a matte look, you should also apply powder on your face.

Medium

A powder foundation can offer you a shine-free appearance, because the powder reduces the oil on your face. For a heavier look, you should apply it with a wet sponge.

Heavy

For a heavy coverage, you can choose pancake. It is recommended to avoid daily use, because it clogs your pores and dries your skin, but for occasional use it offers a full coverage.

3. Acne skin

If your skin is sensitive for acne, please be careful with foundations. Especially the non-natural, chemical based foundations can contain damaging ingredients, which make your acne only worse. Anyhow it is understandable if you want to cover your spots, and that is possible. If you choose a non-comedogenic, organic or mineral foundation, your skin will not be much threatened and no one will discover the skin beneath it.

Pick your desired coverage:

Sheer

The best option for the acne prone skin is a water-based liquid, mineral foundation. The minerals don’t clog your pores, so you can use it safely.

Medium

For a medium coverage, you can use a water-based powder. Make sure the make-up is a mineral, natural-based foundation, otherwise your pores will be clogged and breakouts will appear.

Heavy

Use your mineral water-based powder and apply it with a wet sponge for a heavy coverage.

4. Ageing skin

An ageing skin requires special treatment. There are foundations with a lifting-feature, but for a natural long term effect, a mineral-based foundation is preferred. This type of foundation doesn’t damage your skin like some chemical-based foundations do and as a result your skin looks both healthier and younger.

Pick your desired coverage:

Minimal

If you only want to cover your skin a little, use a tinted moisturiser. It covers your blemishes and small wrinkles and hydrates your skin at the same time.

Sheer-medium

For a little more coverage you can use an oil-based liquid foundation. The oil in the foundation feeds your skin and makes sure your skin won’t dry.

Heavy

Cream foundation or mousse is recommended if you want to hide most of your facial lines. It will cover your skin and lines smoothly and makes you look younger.

5. Combination skin

If you have a combination skin (dry with an oily t-zone), choosing the right foundation could be somewhat difficult. An oil-based foundation will make your oily parts shinier, but a foundation that dries your skin, makes the dry parts too dry. For this reason, a mineral, organic-based foundation is recommended. This foundation type leaves your pores opened and is skin friendly. A cream-to-powder foundation is the safest choice, because it’s not oily and won’t dry your skin either.

6. Sensitive skin

If you have a sensitive skin, a tinted moisturiser is your best option. These moisturisers will treat your skin gently and don’t damage it. If you wish a heavier coverage, you can use a mineral foundation which is free of fragrance and oil. Always ask the seller if the product is tested before and check the label to make sure it doesn’t contain chemical elements.

Step 2: Look for the right colour

Once you found the right type of foundation, it’s important to know what colour you need. If you don’t wear the right colour, the foundation will look like a mask and instead of making you look natural and healthy, it will make you look like an ashy make-up doll.

First thing you have to do is identify your skin tone. The tones can differ by brands or companies, but in general the tones are formulated as dark, tan, olive, yellow, rose and fair. The tone of your skin has to match with the base colour of the foundation. So if you have a yellow skin tone, you should look for a yellow-based foundation. Within the tone-category, there will be sub-categories of different colours too. So, be prepared to spend time in finding the one that suits you. The best way is still by asking the seller for help and trying different colours.

If you try a colour, don’t put it on your hand, because the color of your hand can differ from the colour of your face. Rather put it on your jaw line and watch it in natural daylight, to check if it “disappears”, because that’s what exactly happens if you apply the chosen colour on your face.

Step 3: Consider the climate you live in

Remember in your quest to look your best, don’t simply settle for products offered during free make-up session or at a sale. Some products may not even withstand the climate of your country, e.g. tropical heat. It certainly would be awkward to have foundation caking or runny during a party or at an important function. A reputable company should be able to give a quality foundation for that desired look no matter how high the temperature soars or dips.

Nevertheless, foundations have a lot of special features nowadays, some even with SPF and most with waterproof versions. So it doesn’t matter what you like to look like or where you live, it’s always possible to find your perfect foundation!

Foundation: Background

Fatal foundation

The ancient Egyptians started the trend of looking pale. The Greek and Romans followed this trend and whitened their skin with chalk and white lead. What they didn’t know was that these ingredients were quite dangerous and this often resulted in poisoning and death. The Japanese women found a safer way by using rice powder to whiten their faces.

The whiter, the richer

In the Middle Ages, being white was a sign of being wealthy. Poor people had to leave their houses to earn a living, while rich people could stay in the house, not being exposed to the sunlight. To show the outer world they have enough money to stay inside, women painted their faces as white as possible.

Poisoned powder

During the 17th century in Italy, Giulia Tofana founded her own successful business in selling whitening face powder. She sold poisoned foundation to women trapped in difficult marriages. This resulted in an, intended or even unintended, 600 murdered husbands and an execution claim for Giulia Tofana.

Natural looks

Queen Victoria of England (end 18th century) had a clear opinion about make-up: It was only for the prostitutes and actors. According to this opinion, women stopped to wear makeup and instead picked the natural look. By the time the makeup returned, people still preferred natural looks and only used foundation and a little blusher to make them look healthier.

Pancake

With the rise of photography and movies, cosmetics became more and more desired. At the beginning of the 20th century, Max Factor developed a non-dangerous foundation that was initially used by actors. Because of the reflection of their costumes, they had weird colours on their faces and the new so called pan-cake prevented this. The actors and viewers were so much impressed by the new make-up; they started to wear it in daily life and that’s how the foundation we use nowadays became popular.

Organic foundation

Although the present-day foundation isn’t by far as dangerous as our ancestors’ versions, it still contains ingredients that could damage our skin. Fortunately there has been a good progress in the development of natural-based make-up in recent years. Thanks to new findings and improvements, we are in luck of having a wide choice of organic, natural-based and mineral foundations which even take care of our skin; something our white lead applying ancestors could only dream about!

Ready To Look Your Best?

Once you settled for the right foundation, you’re halfway there. The steps below will explain how to finish with a fabulous smooth skin model-look.

1. Wash your face with a gentle cleanser. A clean face makes the makeup last longer.

2. Start with a moisturiser or primer that is proper to your skin-type. If your skin is hydrated by a moisturiser or primer, the skin won’t absorb the nutritions in the foundation and will make it difficult for the foundation to be applied on more smoothly.

3. Wait until the moisturiser is absorbed by your skin. If there is still some crème on your face after 10 minutes, remove it with a tissue. If the moisturiser isn’t absorbed by your skin, the foundation won’t last long on certain spots.

4. Blur dark under-eye circles, blemishes and spots with a concealer. Instead of gracing, tap it on your face for a natural looking result. Be careful with too much concealer, because that makes the spots look different from the rest of your face, which will only attract attention.

5. Now it’s time to apply the foundation. If you’re using a liquid version, shake it first to make sure all ingredients are mixed well.

6. Apply the foundation by making dots on your face and spread it out by your fingertips, a brush or a sponge.

7. Start at the forehead and proceed to your cheeks, nose, chin and neck. A common mistake is to forget the neck, hair- and jaw line, ear lobes, mouth or the corners of the nose, which make the foundation looks like a fake mask. So pay special attention on these parts and no one will be able to discover you’re wearing foundation.

8. To make the foundation last longer, you can apply loose powder on top of it. You should do this directly after you applied the foundation. During the day you can repeat this to get a fresh look and prevent a shining skin.

9. If you’re looking for a tan or more glamorous look, you can use a bronzer after you put on your foundation. Loose the shimmer powder on your cheekbones, nose, shoulders or other parts you want to highlight to gain extra attention. For a more unobtrusive glow, mix the bronzer with your own powder.

10. For the final check, view your face under a natural light. For example, take your mirror to a window to make sure all your blemishes are covered, you didn’t forget parts and you’re still looking natural.

Benefits of natural-based foundations

One of the hottest trends in the make-up-world is natural-based make-up. The progress and innovation of natural-based (also known as organic or mineral) foundation goes hand-in-hand with this trend. But why is this specific type of foundation becoming so popular?

Natural-based foundation won’t dry out your skin. The reverse is true: it hydrates the skin in a gentle way.
It’s not more expensive than chemical make-up and could even be cheaper, because you don’t have to pay for the expensive, artificial elements of the regular foundation.
It contains minerals and vitamins that keep our skin elastic as we become older.
Elements like dioxan, which can cause damages and allergic reactions, are not added in the natural-based versions.
Natural-based foundations usually contain more moisturising ingredients than regular foundations.
Your pores will not be clogged when you’re using natural-based foundation! The minerals will stay on top of your skin and because of this, it won’t cause breakouts.
People with acne can use it safely and the foundation can also take care of the acne! The titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in natural-based foundations are anti-inflammatory.
The foundation protects your skin against UVA and UVB radiations as a natural base, because minerals don’t absorb water.
It forms a protection cover for your skin. The anti-bacterial properties make it impossible for outside chemical dust to enter your skin.
Foundations that contain the mineral mica reflect light; so your wrinkles will be hidden in a smart way.
The companies that produce natural-based foundations are on the whole environmentally aware. They don’t test their products on animals and make the packages of recyclable products.
And Finally: it lasts longer!