Bare Escentuals,
Bellapierre,
Benefit Cosmetics,
Bobbi Brown,
Dior,
Laura Mercier,
make up,
Philosophy,
Shisheido,
skin,
Smashbox,
style,
Urban Decay
Onto the Next
11:41 AM*Ladies and gentleman, I would love to introduce to you a very special person in my life. She is my fashion soul-mate; she is my label spouse. We both share the appreciation for art and share the importance and devotion to all that is style. She is a former model, certified fashion journalist, and the art director of Daily Star. She is one half of S&M (no, not that s&m), my better half. She is S.
Sabrina will be, from time to time, contributing to this blog. Her knowledge should be taken to effect so I recommend the words you read from her should be put into practice. This specific piece is strictly for the ladies, but gentlemen, this is definitely something you can share with the women in your lives.*
Click image captions for more info. (for the first part of makeup post click here: Back to Basics)
Click image captions for more info. (for the first part of makeup post click here: Back to Basics)
Bases Covered
To use foundation, or not to use foundation, that is the question that plagues most of us, even seasoned make-up users. This is pretty much the ‘first base’ of make-up, and probably one of the trickiest to get right. The fact that the market is glutted with a variety of options doesn’t make picking the right one an easy task. Before you head to the stores, ask yourself these questions, and it could save you a lot of time and money and help you maximize your make-up mileage.
- What is the occasion?
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| Philosophy's The Supernatural |
Unless you’re working in television or customer relations-related jobs there’s no real need for full-on make up on an everyday basis, and it’s perfectly alright to skip the heavy artillery and go for a simple gloss and mascara combo.
Philosophy’s ‘The Supernatural’ oil-free tinted primer with SPF is the perfect thing to have in your handbag for carefree, on-the-go coverage. It multitasks as a primer base for foundation, but can stand alone for a sheer finish, evening out your skin tone, minimizing pores and wrinkles and minor skin flaws. And it gives you sun-protection!
High-profile jobs and events require a little more make-up, and foundation is necessary for a polished, finished look.
- What is the right formulation for my skin type?
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| Mineral Powder SPF 15 |
This one is a no-brainer. You want to pick the formula that best suits your skin. If you have oily skin, look for words like ‘oil-free’, ‘oil-control’, or ‘mattifying’. Your best choice would be something with a matte or powder finish, like Laura Mercier’s Mineral Powder, or Shisheido’s Sheer Mattifying compact. For those with dry skin, you’d be better off with moisturizing foundations with a creamy base, and words like ‘hydrating’ on the bottle. Bobbi Brown and Benefit Cosmetics both have very popular cream foundations. People with combination skin would benefit from a cream-to-powder base like Urban Decay’s Surreal Skin, but if you have sensitive skin, look for something that is oil-free, fragrance free, non-comedogenic, and hypo-allergenic (phew! try saying that with your mouth full!). Personally, I have sensitive, oily skin, and I swear by mineral makeup, which is actually suitable for all skin types. Bare Escentuals bareMinerals have a great SPF 15 foundation range, and if you want a great bargain buy, get their Starter Kit, with all the brushes and primers you’ll need.
- How much coverage do I need?
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| Diorskin Airflash |
This also depends on your skin. If you’re blessed with good skin, but want to even out a few problem areas, you want light coverage. If you’re not a ‘make-up girl’, you might even get by skipping the foundation and using tinted moisturizer such as Laura Mercier’s SPF 20 tinted moisturizer, or Philosophy’s The Supernatural. Light coverage foundation usually comes in a liquid base, so Dior’s Diorskin Airflash Spray foundation is a good choice, and Sephora has its own hydrating and smoothing foundation in its collection.
Not all of us is blessed with flawless skin, and that’s why we have medium coverage foundations for really uneven skin tones or blemish-prone complexions. Smashbox has a great Camera Ready Full Coverage compact, with SPF 15. Again, I just go for mineral make-up because it takes coverage concerns out of the equation for me. Bellapierre’s mineral make-up works as concealer, foundation, sun protection, setting powder and finishing powder.
- How do I pick a foundation color?
This is the most crucial part of choosing your foundation. Get it right, and you have a flawless face. Get it wrong, and you end up looking like a Halloween freak-show. Luckily, a little trial and error at the make-up stand is all it takes to find the right color for your skin tone.
Foundation colours come in three undertones: warm, cool, and neutral. Warm tones are orange-ish, cool ones are pinkish, and neutrals are yellow and beige. To find out which one fits you, on a clean, scrubbed, make-up free face, pick a foundation colour close to your skin tone, in three different undertones. Paint a stripe of each along your jawline. The one that seems to disappear into your skin is the one that is the correct one for you. Keep experimenting with shades darker or lighter until you find one that completely disappears into your skin. This is the one you want, the one that will give you that flawless coverage you seek.
Once you ask the right questions, the choice is much simpler, and that sleek, polished perfection is totally achievable.
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