Fake perfection with your skin's new best friend
Finding the perfect foundation ranks up there with anxiety over a hot date. In fact, a study commissioned by Make Up For Ever revealed that more than 55 percent women found it challenging to find the foundation shade that suited them best. Another 60 percent didn't quite know how to apply it perfectly.
Fret not, Nykaa spoke to makeup artistes to unveil the five tricks to perfecting flawless foundation.
Choosing the right foundation
Makeup Czarina to the stars and Nykaa makeup expert Namrata Soni says choosing the right shade of foundation is the first step to a flawless finish. "Look for a foundation with a slightly yellowish cast or undertone. Whether you're pale or dark, you always have some yellow undertones in your complexion," she explains. Pink, peach or whitish shade will just make you look chalky like a Japanese Geisha girl! On the other hand, yellow-based foundation will blend beautifully into your skin tone, making it look fresh and healthy, which is exactly what the right foundation should do.
Soni says that while it's tempting to go a shade lighter, it invariably looks unnatural. "Always try to match foundation to your exact skin tone. In natural light, make a stripe of the foundation from your cheek to your jaw line, and gently blend into skin. Now do the same with another foundation that's one shade lighter and another that's one shade darker. The shade that blends in completely should be your pick, but double-check it against your forehead, since most women tend to be darker here. If it works in both areas, you've picked the right shade," she explains. Take your pick from Lakme Absolute Mattreal Skin Natural Mousse 16hr, Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation or NYX Professional Makeup High Definition Foundation.
Blend it right
Nykaa makeup expert Arshis Javeri says more than half of all women don't use a brush or sponge to apply their foundation. "There's a reason why makeup artists do," he chuckles. "It's the best way to get a flawless finish," he adds. Use a brush with a domed head like Colorbar Picture Perfect Foundation Brush to blend foundation into skin with light, circular motions. "This technique ensures you use less of the product and gradually build coverage where you need it, he explains.
However if you're planning to use your fingers, remember the idea is to look flawless not caked up. "Dab pea sized dots of foundation on your forehead, one each on the tip and along the sides of your nose, and one on your chin. Spread the color over your forehead, down the nose, across your cheeks, over your chin, and along the sides of your face," says celeb makeup artist and Nykaa expert Ojas Rajani. Always blend down or sideways, never up, she adds, so that foundation doesn't catch on the peach fuzz on your face. Then blend the liquid toward the perimeter of your face, getting sheerer as you move toward your hairline and jaw for a soft, smooth finish.
Choose your formula wisely
For extra coverage use a heavier texture foundation. If liquid foundation is what you want, choose a formula with silicone. "Avoid luminous or matte formulas because they can make the skin look too moist or too flat," says Rajani. She says you should look for the words "lightweight," "sheer," or "invisible." Try formula like L'Oreal Paris True Match Liquid Foundation and Max Factor Face Finity All Day Flawless 3 In 1 Foundation. For flawless all-day coverage instead of loading up on product use a mattifying formula such as Lakme 9 To 5 Flawless Matte Complexion Foundation.
Typically lightweight foundations don't mask every flaw. For extra coverage use a heavier texture foundation. like Lakme Absolute White Intense Skin Cover Foundation. Soni says ideally every woman should have two shades of foundation, "one for the winter months, when your skin is paler, and another for the summer months when your skin is slightly darker. For those in-between months, you can always blend the two to develop your own shade," she says.
Apply foundation everywhere .
Nothing looks more comical and unfinished than a well made-up face and naked neck and décolletage. Applying foundation on all exposed skin is particularly important if your neck is darker than your face. Also, don't forget your ears. "Fair skinned women tend to have redness on their ears. Finally, be sure to blend a light layer of foundation over eyelids and lips," says Javeri. This thin layer of foundation holds on to lipstick and eye shadow, somewhat like a primer. It also allows eye shadow and lipstick colors to look truer to their shades.
Conceal to perfection .
To mask a zit that appeared overnight Soni has the perfect technique; After applying foundation all over the face, use a concealer brush (like Basicare 2 in 1 Found.Concealer Brush-1129) to apply concealer in the exact same shade as your foundation directly on top of the blemish, blending outwards in a star shape, then blend the edges gently with your fingertips." Then press a small amount of powder on it to set it. "Repeat—continuing with concealer and powder—until it's completely camouflaged." Nykaa recommends L'Oreal Paris True Match Concealer and Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer.
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