Makeup Foundation tips, applying foundation, matching foundation to your skin tone

Types Of Foundation

Liquid Foundation: Offers light to medium coverage. Available in moisturizing formulas with a satin finish for dry skin or oil-free versions with a matte finish for oily skins.

Cream Foundation: Offers light to medium coverage, slightly heavier than a liquid. Great for dry skin. Avoid using if you have oily or combination skin.

Stick: Foundation sticks also double as concealers. The new gel or powder finish formulas are not as heavy or greasy as the older "pancake" formulas.

Dual-finish compact formulas (liquid to powder or cream to powder): Medium coverage Great for combination skin, but should be avoided by those with excessively dry skin or who need heavier coverage. Can tend to dry out your face.

Tinted moisturizer: Can be used under foundation or alone for minimal to no coverage. Almost like a liquid bronzer.

Mineral Powder Foundation: Offers light to full coverage. Comes in every shade and tone imaginable. VERY easy and fast to apply. Longer lasting than most foundations. Controls oil and most are waterproof with a natural SPF!

Choosing Your Foundation Color to match your skin tone

Foundation Tips:

If you wear foundation on a regular basis, your best bet is to spend the extra money and purchase it from a cosmetic counter that allows you to test the color first. Or you can purchase foundation at a drugstore like CVS, which allows you the option to return any product you don't like.

Test foundation along your jaw line. It should blend easily into your natural skin tone. Beware of winter pales. You might find you need a slightly darker shade of makeup for summer.

Amount of coverage is a personal preference. Use cream or longwearing foundations for heavier coverage. Use lotions or tinted moisturizers for lighter coverage. A tinted moisturizer works well for summer but may not last as long.

Moisten fingertips and blend makeup along the jaw line so there is no demarcation line.

If oil surfaces during the day, blot the area with a tissue then apply a light dusting of powder.

Always apply powder to set makeup and reapply throughout the day to prevent shine.

Apply foundation 10 min. after moisturizer. If you don't allow the moisturizer to absorb into the skin, your foundation will "come off" in a matter of hours.

Foundations and powders with pink undertones make your skin appear older

If you want a tan look, don't use a darker foundation, use a bronzer as your last step of makeup.

Liquid, cream and tinted moisturizer should be applied with fingertips or a damp sponge. Mineral makeup should be used with a kabuki brush and applied in a circular buffing motion. Start at the forehead and work your way down. Always apply powder to neck.

Makeup Foundation is the first step to creating the perfect canvas for the rest of your makeup. But where do you start? There's liquid foundations, mineral foundations, cream and mouse foundations. Not to mention trying to choose a shade to match your skin tone can be tedius! Use these tips to choose the correct foundation shade and know what's out there in the world of foundations.

Makeup Foundation tips, applying foundation, matching foundation to your skin tone

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HOME > MAKE UP >> Foundation, How to apply foundation, choosing a foundation color

Does you foundation rub off during the day and looks greasy hours later? Here's what you need:

Makeup Primers. Gone are the "dewy" looking,natural faces of last season. Matte, flawless, made up faces are what's being seen on the runways this year. Makeup primers help achieve just that.

What are makeup primers and what do they do? Primers are just that. They get your face ready for other makeup. It can take the place of moisturizers. They'll even out skin tone, help your makeup stay on longer and absorb oil.

When do I use a Primer? Right before you start with any makeup. There are 2 types of primers. Facial and ones made specially for the eye area. Facial primers, create a blank, smooth oil free canvas for makeup to stick to. Eye primers do the same, but for eye makeup. They truly keep eye makeup where you put it, keep the creases away and make makeup virtually smudge proof. Below we have a few primers, recommended by top makeup artists and consumers:

Primers made for the face:

Makeup Primers... What they can do to perfect your makeup!

If you can try it on, always test foundation on your jaw line. Allow foundation to dry. If you see a spot or the color, it's not right for you. It should be invisible. I know, why wear something you can't see right? Well, you must factor in contouring, blush, concealer and powder. All these makeup steps cover what you want to cover. Foundation is like priming a canvas. Don't try to darken your skin too much with the foundation step. That is where contouring and bronzers come into play.

The truest shade of foundation to most human skin is yellow based. However most makeup companies stock the shelves with pink and orange shades. Why? We don't know. If you truly want a best matched foundation, stick to ONLY brands that tell you the base color.

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First, pick the type of makeup you want. In my opinion, mineral foundation is the easiest to match for all skin tones.

Next, choose the shade level. The shade level is just how dark or light you need it to be. I personally like a foundation to be slightly darker than my pale skin tone. But that's a personal preference.

Finally, choose the base color. This is the tone of the foundation. You'll see beige, ivory, tan, nude beige, pale, medium. the list is endless! And to top it off, every cosmetic lines' terms mean different base colors. Beige in one line can be pink and in another it can be neutral with a yellow base. Hold the bottle or compact to the light. What's the tone you see? Does the foundation look pink? Or yellow? Or a basic neutral tone? Then hold your arm up to the color. Does it match your skin tone? Most will tell you to hold the color to your wrist. But with blue veins and pale wrists, this can throw the colors off. I say use the top of your arm, above the wrist. Also, find a cosmetic message board. Ask others what lines they like and how the undertones of the foundations are. More prestige brands say from sephora.com or beauty.com will offer a base explanation that lets you know if a color is yellow or pink in tone.

Type, Shade Level, And Base

Unfortunately, cheaper brands like covergirl, almay and such do not give us this information. Some Higher end brands with great yellow toned foundations, like NARS , bareMinerals and Urban Decay, will tell you the base. Spend the extra money for a yellow toned foundation. After all, if your foundation shade is off the rest of your makeup will follow in bad pursuit.

Now that you are aware of the types of forms that foundation comes in you're ready to select a color. I'm sure you know that choosing a makeup foundation shade and tone is not so easy. All these makeup companies talk about exact match and this is the right color for you. Don't fall into the makeup hype. With a few basic tips, you can choose a foundation shade that works for you.