8 Foundation tips and tricks

Foundation is, as the word suggests, the foundation of all the makeup you are going to put on your face. Get it wrong, and like a house, it all falls down around your ears. Here are 8 tips and tricks when it comes to foundation.

• Always test your foundation colour in natural daylight where possible.
• Test foundation on your jawline not on the back of your hands. Your hands are usually a little darker than your face. Alternatively, use the inside of your arms where the skin is usually lighter and a closer match to your face.
• Do not get pressured into buying a colour or foundation type just because the sales assistant said it suited you. Test run it out in natural light and if you can’t, make sure YOU are happy with it as a match or with its texture.
• Where possible get the best match for your skin tone. This means that the colour when applied on your skin melts into your skin and you cannot tell where your skin ends and where the foundation begins. Foundation is not meant to cover or conceal. It is a means to evening out the colour tone of your face. A good foundation with good coverage will never look cakey or thick, but will look natural on your skin.
• Never get a foundation colour that is lighter than your skintone, hoping to make yourself look fairer than you actually are. A colour that is too light will cause your skin to look ashy and grey. Not a pleasant sight.
• If you want to look a little tanned, get a foundation shade that’s a little darker than your skintone. Make sure that you apply it on your neck as well or you will end up looking very strange.
• If you bought a liquid foundation color in summer when tanned and find that its too dark for you in winter, try mixing in some moisturiser or sunscreen to lighten it. You need sunscreen in winter too.
• If you have a powder foundation that is a little dark for you, apply it with a large powder brush or kabuki brush. It will cause the powder to go on more sheer and you don’t have to toss your foundation.

Foundation and mascara are two items in a woman’s makeup arsenal that people find the hardest to get right. I myself have been experimenting with both liquid and powder foundation from different brands and with different textures. I’m dipping my toes into mineral powder foundation again to see if it works for me this time.

I’m happy to read any other tips or tricks with foundation if you have any.