10 Tips And Tricks On How To Apply Flawless Foundation
When it comes to applying foundation, there are some things to keep in mind to make your job a whole lot easier. Follow these 10 easy tricks to help you achieve the flawless look you’re aiming for without all the struggle!
1. Keep Your Brushes Clean
This tip may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s super important not to underestimate the value of clean brushes! When foundation brushes get dirty and weighed down with left-over product, the bristles start to clump together and can unevenly distribute your foundation, and can create a streaky finish. The same goes for beauty blenders! The longer you take to clean your beauty blender, the more product begins to build up, clogging the pores in your blender. No one likes clogged pores. So make sure you’re cleaning your brushes at least once every two weeks and replace your beauty blender every three months! Clean brushes will just make it that much easier to apply flawless foundation!
2. Prep Your Skin Properly Before Application
If you truly want that perfect fresh-faced skin, you gotta do a little bit of prep work. We’re all human, and as much as we hate to admit it, we don’t wake up every day with glowing flawless skin. We break out. We get dark circles after pulling an all-nighter to binge-watch our favorite shows. The important thing to remember when applying your foundation is that sometimes a little extra preparation goes a long way. Before you apply your foundation, moisturize and apply your primer. A good base for your foundation will save you lots of time and effort down the road. Cover up any blemishes or discoloration with your coverup before applying your foundation to help achieve that seamless uniform look you’re going for!
3. Exfoliate
A super easy tip to apply flawless foundation is to exfoliate your skin as often as possible. Throughout the day, dead skin cells, dirt and all kinds of yucky stuff builds up on our skin. Exfoliating buffs away all those impurities, creating a blank canvas for your foundation! Use a mild exfoliator if you’ve never tried one before because TBH it can be a rough experience at first. Exfoliating every night is a great way to keep your skin clean and bright, and clean skin is the first step to flawless foundation!
4. Pick The Right Finish
There are literally thousands of makeup brands out there, and the unlimited choices for foundations can make it difficult to find the perfect foundation for your skin. Choosing the right finish is extremely critical, and the wrong one can leave your skin looking cakey, flaky or just plain dull. The trick to finding that perfect foundation is all in your skin type. If you have oily skin, you might want to lean towards a matte foundation, since your skin is already on the shinier side. If you have nice skin, you don’t have to reach for a full-coverage foundation. Go for a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream to show off that naturally gorgeous skin!
5. Use A Combination Of Tools
One of the biggest tips to help you apply flawless foundation is to experiment with different tools and find the combination that works best for you. If you apply your foundation with a brush and you’re noticing the finished product isn’t exactly what you’d hoped, use a beauty blender to smooth out any imperfections or inconsistencies left by your brush. If you’re searching for that one magical tool that’s going to perfectly apply your foundation, stop. Because the best way to apply flawless foundation is by using a combination of different tools. Each tool does something different, so it would be silly to only use one, hoping it will do the work of several. Sure it’s a little bit more work and it takes a bit more time, but the results are LIFE changing once you find that winning combo, we promise!
6. Wet Your Beauty Blender
Wetting your beauty blender ensures that all of that expensive foundation you’re trying to apply to your face actually ends up ON your face instead of trapped in your beauty blender. Sponges are naturally absorbent, so anything you put directly on the sponge will end up getting absorbed. By wetting your beauty blender, you’re essentially prepping the sponge by filling it with water, so by the time you apply your foundation, less of the product is absorbed by the sponge. This way, you waste less product. Using cold water on your beauty blender is also a great way to reduce puffiness and inflammation! The cold water constricts the blood vessels in your skin, instantly reducing any swelling. It’s also a great way to wake up your skin in the morning!
7. Don’t Use Too Much Product
A common misconception with foundation is the more you apply, the better off you are. This is actually the exact opposite of what you should aim for when applying your foundation. The more product you apply, the cakier your skin will look. Your skin can only absorb so much product, so any extra product you’re applying will just sit on top of your skin which creates a layer of thick makeup that has nowhere to go. Start off with a small amount of foundation and evenly blend it across your entire face. Once the foundation is even, go back and apply more to any problem areas you feel could use a little extra. Just make sure to blend, blend blend! We want our skin to be uniform and even to create that flawless look!
8. Bake It
Yes, we’re still talking about foundation. Baking is a method in which a healthy dose setting powder is applied to certain areas of your face that tend to look extra shiny (think T-zone) and left to “bake” on the skin to make sure your skin is able to absorb the product. If you have combination skin or especially oily skin, baking is a great method to try. The powder eliminates shine and helps to create a cohesive look for your foundation. Just don’t forget to brush away the extra powder after letting it set! You definitely do not want flour face.
9. Start In The Middle
Most of us have the majority of our blemishes towards the center of our faces, in our T-zone. So it would make sense that these areas need the most concentration of product, right? Right. By starting in the middle of our face when applying our foundation and working our way out, we ensure our foundation is going where it is needed most, and whatever is leftover gets evenly spread out to create that flawless finish we’re going for!
10. Set Your Foundation
After you spend all that time making sure your foundation is literally perfect, it would be a shame for something unfortunate to happen to it. Think of setting spray as an insurance policy for your foundation. By setting your foundation, you’re basically protecting all your hard work from the elements outside of your room. When you apply your setting spray, make sure to hold the bottle about a forearm’s distance from your face. Too close and your face will get all streaky. DON’T forget to wait until your setting spray is totally dry before touching your face. A tacky setting spray can be your worst enemy!
