How to properly apply foundation on your face and use a foundation sponge

Many women use cosmetics every day, but not everyone knows how to apply foundation correctly in order to advantageously disguise imperfections rather than highlight them. Properly applied makeup is almost invisible on the face. To skillfully use concealers, you do not need to attend makeup artist courses; you will need a little patience, practice, and most importantly, you must follow the advice of professionals.

In practice, 3 tone application techniques are used:

fingertips;
brush;
sponge.

But controversial debates flare up between the fair sex: what is the best way to apply foundation?

Sleight of hand and nothing more

Professional makeup artists and popular beauty bloggers recommend applying concealer with your fingers for a more natural finish. This technique allows you to use the product more economically, and it falls on the face without the effect of a mask.

Proper application of foundation begins with deep cleansing of the face. Dry skin must be moisturized, oily skin must be dried with a cleansing tonic. The foundation should not contrast in color with natural skin.

The foundation should not contrast in color with the skin

Before applying, you should warm up your hands by rubbing your palms together: the warmth of your fingers helps to distribute the tone evenly. After scooping a little cream onto your hands, apply it to your face using tapping movements. You need to distribute it from the center to the temples using circular stretching movements. If you apply foundation in the opposite direction, the product will be concentrated predominantly in skin folds or wrinkles.

The disadvantage of this method is the difficulty of shading, which can cause smeared stripes to appear where the shade transitions. Particular attention should be paid to the neck and décolleté area; the tone in these places should not differ in color. It is not customary to apply cosmetics to these areas of the skin, so you need to achieve the most natural shading. If required, you can apply concealer to your earlobes.

There is another simple technique for applying tone by hand. Squeeze the required amount of concealing cosmetics onto clean fingers and rub between your palms so that the product is distributed in a thin layer over the surface. After this, touching your face with your hands, spread it well over the skin. This application looks weightless and is suitable for discreet daytime makeup.

Why foundation is the basis of makeup

Really, why? It will not erase imperfections like an eraser, and will not even be able to disguise them so that no one will notice. It has a different task - evening out skin tone. Imagine that in front of you is a clean white sheet or paper that is slightly grayish in places. What do you prefer to draw on? The question is rhetorical.

Photo by MART PRODUCTION: Pexels

The foundation can be very light and hide about 30% of the imperfections of your skin, while a thick one will remove all 90%. A concealer and corrector have been created to help with final touches.

Cosmetologists know several secrets by which they can tell that the tone has been applied correctly. Here they are:

visual skin is monochromatic;
there is no border between the face and neck;
there is no emphasis on skin texture, dryness or greasy shine.

The main thing is to avoid the mask effect. To do this, before applying foundation to the skin, it is tested in the area of the lower border of the lower jaw. This makes it possible to see the correspondence of the selected foundation color to the skin tone of the neck and face. If the difference is obvious, choose a tone that suits your neck better. In the summer, it is also customary to test the collarbones, since clothing exposes everything possible to the sun.

Is the brush the head of everything?

Finding a quality makeup tool is essential before use, but what is the best foundation brush? The following options are known:

A brush with flat bristles for detailed work on hard-to-reach areas.
With unnatural pile. A natural brush absorbs a large amount of cosmetics, so it is better to buy a synthetic one. This will reduce foundation consumption.
The brush for applying foundation should be moderately elastic to easily work on difficult areas.

After choosing the right beauty tool, you need to learn how to apply foundation with a brush.

Brush to work

For more convenient use, apply a few drops of concealer base to the inside of your arm first. Use a brush to place small dots on the T-zone, smoothly distributing from the center of the face to the temples and carefully blending the border of the tone transition. It is important to point the brush strictly perpendicular to the face in order to avoid visible strokes. Difficult T-zones can be re-worked with your fingers. The skin around the eyes requires a minimum amount of makeup, but a maximum amount of shading is required so that the foundation does not accumulate in expression lines.

Before each use, the brush must be clean, so after use, the cosmetic accessory must be treated with soap and dried well.

How to store the cream?

You can create the most favorable conditions for storing cosmetics by placing the cosmetic bag in the refrigerator on the top shelf.

The temperature regime will help preserve the properties and quality of cosmetics for a long time.

The sponge needs to be changed as needed, but it should be cleaned after 5-7 days, depending on the frequency of use.

You should regularly check the expiration dates of products. Expired cosmetics can cause an allergic reaction or skin irritation.

The sun's rays can reduce the quality of creams in a matter of hours, so you should not leave jars and tubes in the open sun.

Mistakes in applying foundation

It is important to know that if you make a small error in the technique, then all the existing shortcomings will become even more noticeable, for example:

Do not apply too thick a layer of concealing cosmetics or additionally apply a second layer on top of the first layer. It looks pretentious and highlights wrinkles. A thick layer clogs pores and does not allow the skin to breathe.
More attention should be paid to shading than direct application. Correctly applied tone does not catch the eye and looks natural on the face.
When using a foundation darker than the natural skin of the face, we must not forget about the neck and décolleté area. The color contrast looks ridiculous.
The powder should match the color scheme of the foundation.
Do not apply tone only to problem areas, leaving other areas untouched. This way untreated spots will be visible.
And although powder is implied in makeup to consolidate the result, it can be neglected, paying tribute to the fashion for natural coverage.

Sponge will solve all problems

Use a foundation sponge to apply light and natural makeup. It perfectly shades transitions, smooths out unevenness and quickly distributes the cream over the face. Before use, it is recommended to moisten the sponge slightly with water. But it is worth remembering that the sponge will absorb a lot of foundation, so the tone should first be squeezed onto the palm of your hand and added as needed. So, how to apply foundation with a sponge?

Sponges to choose from

Apply the product to a cleansed and moisturized face, starting from the center of the face, spreading to the earlobes. Blend thoroughly with circular massage movements, paying attention to the hairline, while the product should not stain the hair.

The sponge must be washed with water and a detergent once a week to avoid the development of bacteria in it, which can later get on the skin of the face.

What to apply?

The foundation should be applied using a brush or sponge.

When using a special technology that provides a dense covering base, a damp sponge is used. However, this tinting technique is not suitable for thin, sensitive skin.

Using a dry sponge, foundation is applied in two ways:

After the spot distribution of the cream on the face, the surface is leveled with a disc.
The required dose of the product is squeezed onto the disk, after which it is evenly shaded over the skin.

Often the cream is applied using fingertips. The product is first distributed with light patting movements, then secured with gentle circular movements. Under no circumstances should you stretch or press on the skin.

To create the perfect base for makeup, you can use the skin tinting technique using a flat brush with synthetic bristles. The brush blends the composition along massage lines, carefully smoothing out tone boundaries and unevenness.

Regardless of the method of applying the tone, you need to adhere to the dosage. Only a thin layer will skillfully hide flaws and give freshness. A thick layer will create a mask effect, focusing on wrinkles, which will spoil the natural beauty.

Lighting

Makeup should be applied only in natural light, when the color is perceived adequately. Artificial lighting distorts the natural tone, so it is difficult to choose the right shade. The result will be a darker or lighter complexion, which will stand out against the background of the neck color.

How to apply foundation and types of contouring according to your face type

One of the main disadvantages of applying tone with your fingers is poor-quality shading of the cosmetic product, which leads to a noticeable boundary between tone transitions. The downside of brushes is that it takes too long to apply all over the face. This method is only suitable for spot application in difficult areas. The downside of the sponge is its wasteful use. I'll have to buy foundation more often.

In order not to create the effect of a porcelain doll on the skin, you must follow the advice of makeup artists:

Do makeup only in a well-lit room, where mistakes and shortcomings are clearly visible.
Different foundation textures require different application methods: liquid and cream tones are applied with a brush or sponge, while mousse is applied only with your fingers.
If there are inflamed pimples, then before applying makeup they need to be masked with special products.
At sea, you should use foundation with SPF protection. It will protect your facial skin from the harmful effects of sun rays.
If the coverage is unnatural, then by mixing foundation with moisturizer, you can achieve a natural fresh face.
During the day, you need to blot your makeup with wet wipes. A leaky tone looks unsightly.

Foundation not only hides skin imperfections, but also contours the face.

Looking for the perfect look

There are different application techniques for each face type:

For a round one, the temples next to the hairline are painted over with foundation. The cream is selected a tone darker than the base color of the skin. It must be carefully shaded to avoid the effect of a dirty face.
Triangular is the hardest to outline. Apply a light tone to the entire face, then work on the T-zone with a shade darker.
For makeup for girls with a square face, the main thing is to smooth out the angular features. To do this, the chin is masked in a darker tone.
Oval is rightfully considered the most ideal. To highlight its beauty, a cream a shade or two darker is applied to the cheekbones and shaded, moving towards the temples. You can visually reduce a high forehead by applying a dark tone to it and not going beyond the hairline.

How to choose the right product

Skin type. The cosmetic product is designed to improve the condition of the skin. For oily skin, a product with a light texture is suitable. It is important that it contains ingredients with a mattifying effect, vitamins and substances that control the secretion of fat by the sebaceous glands. A foundation for dry skin with natural oils (jojoba, almond) nourishes the epidermis, filling it with strength. Hyaluronic acid in the product retains moisture in the cells.
Complexion. Pink skin suits the beige tone of the cream. Dark – dark beige with an apricot tint. If you have yellowish skin, apply a beige-pink foundation. You can purchase 2 shades closest to your complexion and mix them.
Age. For mature skin, the cosmetic product should include collagen, vitamins, hyaluronic acid, coenzyme Q10, and zincadone. These substances maintain the water balance of cells and nourish them. The dense texture of the cream emphasizes wrinkles, so for daytime makeup, choose light foundation mousses. At a young age, choose a foundation based on your skin type.
Season. For winter, choose cream with oils. Fats protect the skin from cold and nourish it. For summer, look for a light, easily absorbed makeup base with UV protection (SPF 20).
Times of Day. Daytime makeup should be natural. The foundation layer is minimal. For evening events with bright lighting, apply a tinted base 1 shade darker than your complexion. If you know that you will have to be in a room with dim lighting, it is better to apply lighter shades of makeup.

Makeup rules

There are several recommendations that you need to follow in order to correctly apply foundation and hide skin defects and unevenness as successfully as possible:

Before using cosmetic products, you must apply moisturizer to your face.
If you need to get a denser tone, then apply the product with a slightly damp sponge.
Apply foundation using tapping and tapping movements with your fingers.
If you apply a concealer that is a shade darker into the wings of the nose, you will create the effect of reducing it.
We must not forget about the neck area. Use the remaining product on the brush or sponge to go over the neck, smoothing out the visible transition.
After completing the makeup, the skin of the face should be lightly sprinkled with thermal water to consolidate the results.
The foundation should be a tone lighter than natural skin. This will create the effect of a fresh and rested face.
The skin above the hairline should be re-shaded again so that the presence of the concealer on the face is least noticeable.
If you plan to go to places with high humidity, it is best to use a waterproof foundation.
Makeup artists allow you to apply concealer cream to your lips only if your facial features are poorly defined.

For a girl, foundation is an indispensable product in her makeup bag. Bags under the eyes appear from lack of sleep, wrinkles come with age, and acne comes from unhealthy food and improper care. Of course, you should eradicate the problem from the inside, but if an important event is planned, and there is an unattractive pimple on your face that spoils the entire upcoming mood, then an indispensable concealer will come to the rescue. The main thing is to apply foundation in accordance with the recommendations given.

Any woman can always be on top, regardless of skin condition. Properly composed makeup will not only hide flaws and imperfections of the skin, but will also highlight the most beautiful areas of the face, enlarge the eyes and lips, make the nose smaller, and correct contouring can change the appearance beyond recognition. But don’t get carried away with cosmetics - fashion dictates natural and unnoticeable makeup.

Concealing redness on the face

Sometimes it is almost impossible to hide skin imperfections. Pimples tend to appear even through a thick layer of makeup. To be sure to mask redness on the skin, you should apply the product in accordance with certain rules.

The first layer of foundation is applied to the entire face.
The second layer is applied exclusively to areas that require careful masking.
Acne and redness on the skin can be hidden with the help of a green corrector.
For oily skin, replace foundation with compact powder of a suitable shade.