Lifestyle Choices

Foundation is one of the secrets of fabulous, flawless-looking skin. No longer heavy and greasy, today’s foundations are specially formulated to give you longer-wearing, more natural coverage. Your first installment in the foundation story: zero in on your skin type, then pick the blend that’s made for you.

Application

Learn to apply foundation properly for a smooth, “no-seams” look.

1. Cleanse face with a product made for your skin type.
2. Exfoliate with a gentle scrub to remove dead cells.
3. Tone with a product made for your skin type to close pores.
4. Moisturize to lock softness into skin. Hint: If you have oily or combination skin, avoid putting moisturizer on the T zone.
5. Cover blemishes, circles under eyes with concealer one shade lighter than foundation.
6. If necessary, prime skin to even out skin tone
7. Dot foundation on forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Carefully blend with a damp sponge.
8. Apply blusher, eye makeup, lipstick.
9. 9. Finish with a light dusting of translucent powder usea big, feathery brush. Your makeup will last longer, look softer, more natural.

Change your foundation with the seasons; winter skin may require a richer formula; summer, a more sheer one, perhaps with a built-in sunscreen. Also, summer skin may be darker, so choose a shade slightly darker than your winter one.

Blend makeup outward, to ears, neck, hairline. Nothing looks worse than foundation demarcations on face.

Test a foundation on your face; not your wrist it won’t be thesame color. Dab several shades on cheek or chin and examine under natural (not fluorescent) light to see which is best.

Wash brushes and sponges in a mild soap at least once a week to keep them free of bacteria. Sponges should be discarded about once a month.

1. 

Where to Brush Blush

Imagine a line extending straight up from the outside corner of your mouth to the pupil of your eye. Blush should begin where your cheekbones meet this imaginary line (never further in toward nose) and extend outward toward the ear. Always blend well with a sponge if it’s a creme blush; with a fluffy brush, if it’s a powder.

To give your powdered blush added staying power, apply with a slightly damp cotton ball, then go over it with a clean, dry, fluffy brush to soften color, smooth away harsh edges.

The Right Light

Your makeup will look better, more flattering, if you apply it under the right illumination.

The best of all possible worlds is a mirror with white incandescent bulbs on top of alternating pink, blue, and green tinted lights on the sides. This provides a full-spectrum light and counteracts the yellow of the incandescents.

The next best light is two 60- or 100-watt bulbs on either side of your face. The worst lights are fluorescent, which distort color; bathroom overheads, which cast shadows and tend to make you overapply concealer and base to compensate; and daylight, because if you spend most of your day indoors, you’ll end up wearing less color than you need. As a backdrop to apply makeup, pink, peach, mauve, or pale blue are the best; red or green seriously distort colors.

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