Learn to apply your foundation

Foundation for the airbrushed effect

It’s a vicious trap, but a necessary evil. Learn to apply your foundation with this guide

    One of the main reasons people prefer to skip base makeup is because it is one of the trickiest to pull off. Anything can go wrong while applying foundation, finding the right shade in itself is a humongous task, taking too much or too little product on the brush or not moving the brush in the right direction can all send your look for a toss. Unless you have really flawless, blemish-free skin (how we wish we had Kareena Kapoor’s skin) there’s no way you can skip applying foundation. Here’s a detailed explanation of how to go about it without making a royal mess of your foundation. 

 
1 GETTING THE RIGHT LIQUID FOUNDATION
Getting a foundation that is made for your skin tone is a tedious job. It might require some trials under various lights. You might also have to mix a few shades to get one that matches your skin. However, there are a few things that you might want to consider while grabbing a foundation. Choose one that is full coverage instead of something that gives only medium to minimal cover since the airbrushed effect of applying foundation will make it sheer anyway. Squirt a little foundation on the back of your hand. Don’t pump out too much as that will lead to product wastage. 

 
2 GRAB A DENSE, FLAT-TOP BRUSH
Buying the best makeup brushes is a worthy investment. You will need a dense, flat top brush to work your foundation. Dip it in the foundation and dot your nose, cheeks, the corners of your face and your chin. Don’t dip the brush in your foundation repeatedly. Dot all the areas only with what you have picked up in a single dip. 

 
3 LET’S GET STARTED... WITH THE NOSE Start stippling at the nose in small areas. Don’t move your brush with a flourish. You will work in tight circles. From your nose move towards your cheeks, the corners of your face, stippling product inwards towards the centre of your face. Do this on your cheeks as well. You have to move in quick, easy, light strokes. Remember you must feel the bristles of your brush only lightly.  

 

4 USE THE LEFTOVER PRODUCT TO...
There might be some product left after you are done with your nose, cheeks and chin. Use whatever is left on your brush to stipple above and below your lips. Leave the smile lines for now. Concentrate only on the area between the nose and lips and under your mouth. Remember light, swift strokes. 

 
5 FOUNDATION UNDER THE EYES
Is using foundation under the eyes with or without concealer a must for you? If it is, this step is for you. The rest can skip this step and move onto the next. Squirt some more foundation on the back of your hand. For this step you won’t dip your brush in the foundation but just pick up a little product on the edge of your brush. Dot lightly under the eyes, the focus being the inner corners since this is where the eyes are the darkest. Stipple lightly moving from the under eye towards the eyelid and brow bone.  

 

6 MOVING TOWARDS THE FOREHEAD AND INTO THE HAIRLINE
You will use only one quarter of the foundation for your eyes. Dip your brush in the rest without taking up all of it and start stippling across your forehead and into the hairline. An oft neglected area, pay as much attention to your hairline as you would to the forehead. Remember how people stop applying foundation below their jaw line making it look like their face doesn’t belong with the rest of their body? Not doing your hairline looks as tacky as a mismatched face and neck.  

 

7 GETTING TO THE JAW LINE
Dot your jaw line with the left over product. Start stippling upwards towards the face to connect your jaw line to the face and then stipple downwards fading it into your neck. Connect your ears to your face by stippling with the leftover product. 

 
8 TACKLING THE SMILE LINES
This is when you use the left over product over the smile lines. Remember it is the only area that is untouched. Using minimal product ensures that there won’t be any product build-up that will lead to creasing. Give the entire face a once over, stippling with deft, light strokes. Use the leftover product to go over areas that look uneven. This step distributes foundation smoothly. 

 
9 BUFFING IN SMALL CIRCULAR MOTIONS
Covering the face with foundation is just half the job done. You must stipple all over the face with the same flat brush. You know the drill. Use the same deft, light strokes
and move all over the face in small circular movements. This step is very important since it ensures that all areas are covered evenly while removing excessive product from certain areas and spreading it across the face. You must buff over and under your eyelids and into your hairline for a seamless finish. You might have to go all over at least twice or thrice. 

 
10 OVER TO THE BRONZER AND BLUSH
This is the perfect time to apply a bronzer, blush or contour your face using creambased products.  

 

11 SETTING THE FOUNDATION
Making sure that your foundation and the other products set is a very crucial step. You must give your foundation three to five minutes to do so. Take a tissue paper and dab all over your face to blot out excess product. Avoid doing so on your nose, if you have large open pores. Excess product tends to settle in the inner corners of the eye, eyelids and the under eye. Pay special attention to these areas. Lightly buff around the smile lines if your see any creasing.  

 

12 SETTING FOUNDATION WITH LOOSE COMPACT POWDER With another brush, lightly dust some loose compact powder This is very important for girls with an oily skin to ensure your foundation doesn’t budge for hours. 

 
13 USING OTHER POWDER-BASED PRODUCTS You might want to finish with a brush or highlight certain areas. This is when you can use your powder-based products.

on your face.