Foundations, Concealers & Powders
Foundations
Someone recently asked me if I was using an eyeshadow primer. I was not. The reason? Well I didn’t need it with the foundation I was wearing. The type you’ll want will depend on they type of skin you like and the finish you’re looking for. I like the color stay types as with all the makeup I wear. Years of being a dancer has taught me that a good sweat proof foundation beats a new pair of jazz shoes anyday. Aside that the older shoes always feel better anyway. With the foundation I would use a drugstore brand back then since I was pinching pennies. Revlon Colorstay was my goto for on the job face. On off days I’d wear No. 7 or Rimmel Stay Matte. Both are very good. The Revlon one was excellent at staying put but was much like paint and if I made a mistake that was that. Wiping a teensy spot of eyeshadow fallout off my cheek would result in a giant unfixable mess. The foundation would dry and crumble as I wiped it but if left untouched made for a perfect face and a perfect canvas to apply the rest of my makeup. No.7 is way more forgiving and light. It goes on nice and has a decent staying power. Rimmel is the least expensive of the three and comes in a tube not a bottle. The reason is because it’s so thick. It would never pour out of a bottle. It’s a good foundation though. It’s thickness allows for a small amount to be used since it will spread out as you put it on your face. These days I prefer a more high end foundation and don’t use it everyday because I don’t need to. I love SmashBox. They have a great line of face primers, foundations and mists. Studio Fix Full Coverage 24 Hour Foundation is a perfect and even better alternative to the All Day Color Stay. On those days when I don’t wear foundation the SmashBox Photo Finish primer is a very good base. I’ll use that then use a powder. Either MAC or Sephora Collection. Which we’ll take about later.
Concealers.
What can I say about concealers except that they are useful in the right situations and even helpful. They have that extra coverage that we all look for from time to time. usually on the day after that mid week concert that ran a many extra songs long or when you just couldn’t sleep because your mind was flooding with ideas or social media. We’re all guilty at one time or another of having full intention of going to sleep when that notification goes and we get sucked right back into that black hole known as facebook. No worries that’s what concealer is for. And even better color correcting concealers. NYX makes a palette of the different colors so whatever you’re dealing with on any particular day you’ll have just what you need on hand. The best part of that is it isn’t expensive at all. NYX is one of those high end drugstore makeups. Best of both worlds. Smash Box also makes good color correcting primers. They really seem to have cornered the face base market.
Powders
Powders have many uses. There are so many different kinds too. Lets start with pressed powder compacts. Sephora Collection makes one I continually go back to. Sephora Mattifying Compact Powder and Sephora Cream Powder. I also Like MAC Studio Fix powder. Another good powder when you want to save some money is Loreal True Match. For a drugstore powder it’s pretty good. Not too dry. It actually works good enough that I can use it when i’m not wearing foundation. When it’s hot it’s humid and when it’s like that foundation is just too heavy. In the winter it gets cold and the foundation helps protect the skin. Then I’ll pat some powder on top. that’s where loose powder comes into play. It’s much better for that finishing move. The best thing to do is to get a nice big brush. A kabuki brush is great for this and brush the loose powder on with it. Dip it in but tap it before putting it on your face or you’ll end up in a cloud of powder. Some powders come with a little puff. those are ok but the big brush is best. if you don’t have a kabuki brush a huge brush from your brushes kit will do as well. The big brushes are best for applying foundation as well. For foundation you should use a flat top big foundation brush. The brushes will give a better application for both the powder and foundation as well. Using the brush will keep the application from being too heavy and won’t cause a heavy concentration of the makeup in one spot. You’ll get a nice smooth airbrush look.
Magik’s Mirror 