I was so happy to have this post requested that I decided to
do it as a little two parter, because I feel that there are two sides to
getting this right. So I’ve been asked to do a bit of ‘how to’ on getting
natural blusher, bronzer and foundation. I thought I’d throw a little bit of
highlighting in there too and do a big post about the face. As far as I’m
concerned with the flawless base you’re pretty much good to go. The second part
of this little segment will be uploaded on Saturday... hopefully. It's what I'm going to call English Rose. This look is all base. No filled in eyebrows or smoky black
eyes. This is the skin you have, just at its very best.
Blush:
This request came with the claim that ‘I always end up looking really
flushed.’ Flushed is good, flushed is, ‘oh sorry, I’ve just come from a
romantic rendezvous.’ However, ‘I just got hit in the face by a water balloon
filled with red paint’ is a little different. So keep reading to avoid what I call the 'blusher attack.'
The first big tip for blusher is finding a blusher that
matches your skin tone. I have pale, pink toned skin and therefore tend to go
for blushes like No7’s Melon. It’s a very typical pink colour, not very much
orange or yellow tones but not too on the purple side either, I want to look
alive, not like I’ve been punched. For skin with warmer undertones look at
peachy blushes and get darker as your skin tone darkens.
Once you’ve got that blush, what on earth do you do with it?
Blush can be used in different ways for different effects.
If your face is long and narrow, stay away from
your nose. Imagine a line coming down from the pupil of your eye and apply blush in a straight line from this are back towards your ear.
For an ‘out in the sun’ flush apply blush to your
temples and cheek bones and buff to blend in you’re skin. This is the only look
where I would say that you can buff the colour into your hairline to give a
more natural effect. Do not do this for the above too methods as this will make
you look unnaturally flushed.
To make the face appear narrower apply blush to the apples of your cheeks to draw attention to the centre of the face. Fight the urge to smile as when your face relaxes, you'll find your blush will drop down.
There are a few tips to follow when applying blush:
- Work with your skin. If you have dry skin and
work about it looking dull and cakey or dusty, opt for a cream blusher of a
cheek tint. This will give a more luminous effect. Alternatively if you have
oily skin, using a powder blush will help control shine and make your skin
appear matte even though you’ve worked some colour into your cheeks. (I won’t
tell them it’s a fake if you won’t.)
-
Less is more. Build up blush in layers. It’s one
of those wonderful cosmetics that builds perfectly and it is a heck of a lot
easier to add more that take some off.
-
Similar to the above, if you have product that
you need on your brush then you’re going to end up with excess product on you
skin. Not a good look with cream blushes, completely irreversible with tints
and excess fall out with powder blushes. To prevent this make the back of you
have your best friend for tapping off excess product. By depositing the spare
on your hand, you can always add it again if you need more. We don’t like
product wastage!
-
If you’re like me and prefer a little concealer
on problem areas instead of a full coverage foundation for everyday wear do not
neglect primer on your cheeks. That is if you wear primer. If you do, don’t
just do the T-Zone. Even if you’re not wearing foundation, primer will help make
your skin look naturally beautiful and keep your blush on for a lot longer.
I’m not sure if anyone does this
anymore but I will just insert it here before I move onto bronzer. Don’t
neglect taking blush with you with the notion that you’ll just pinch your
cheeks later. Pinching your cheeks puts pressure on your capillaries and can in
the long term cause them to burst.
I consider bronzer and contouring colours to be very
different things with different uses.
Contour:
For contouring you should be using a colour two or even
three shades darker than your skin tone if you have no cheek bones like myself.
This colour should be a warm brown with grey undertones. Don’t go to dark as
you’ll be left with a dirty effect. I like to use a stippling brush and a good
old duck face to hollow out the cheeks. You want to run your contouring colour
in the hollow beneath your cheek bone and blend well.
A nose tip: For a wide nose, narrow it by applying a
contouring shade in a straight line down the sides, leaving the bridge of the
nose clear.
Bronzer:
Bronzer is very much personal choice. I’ve definitely been
favouring it during the winter as my skin has decided it just wants to be
horribly washed out. A lot of people tend to use bronzer similarly to powder
and go all over the face. Hmm, I’m not a fan. Bronzer colours are all very
similar, I personally like the Lord and Berry shades but it’s very much up to
you. You want a warm colour, the amount of ‘orange effect’ is up to you but be
careful, it’s tan not tangerine.
Bronzer for me is generally used to shape the face and give
it warmth. If you have a wide forehead
apply bronzer to the temples and upwards to narrow it. For a high forehead,
apply bronzer along the hairline to lower it.
Imagine an oval on your face. It starts at the top of your
forehead in the centre, comes down to the end of your eyebrows and then
finishes at a point at your chin. Apply bronzer to your taste AND down your
neck to anywhere outside of the oval.
Nose tip: If you have a narrow nose, apply bronzer to the
bridge of your nose to detract attention from this area.
Highlighter:
Highlighter is the biggest part of my makeup base. Apply
highlighters o you cheekbones to lift the face. To widen the face, apply the Kim
Kardashian effect and apply highlighter in a triangle as shown in the diagram.
Applying highlighter to the centre of your forehead will
have a similar effect.
When highlighting the eyes be careful about the highlighter
you use. If you have hooded eyes apple highlighter with a shimmer above your
eyebrow at the end to lift the brow. If you are highlighting below the brow use
a matt highlighter.
If you have wide set eyes use a shimmery highlighter at the
inner corners to bring them closer together. Use a matt highlighter for close
set eyes to open them up and hide dark shadows.
You can also apply highlighter to the cupid’s bow (That’s
the little dip in your top lip, just in case.)
Nose tip: Apply highlighter to the bridge of the nose to
narrow it. To widen the nose, apply highlighter where you would have put the
contour colour if you were narrowing the nose.
Is anyone else thinking this is the most informal essay
you’ve ever read? Yeah, me too.
This last bit I’m going to do really quick but if you want a
full post on that natural foundation look them let me know.
The Skin:
So your actual skin is where it all starts. For a natural
skin finish on most days I just use a little powder and concealer to cover up
any bits I don’t want to see. Getting rid of redness, dark circles, and
pigmentation is the best way to look like you’re alive and healthy.
·
Don’t be afraid of BB Creams. They’re not the
real thing but here in Europe BB Creams are a happy medium between a foundation
and a tinted moisturiser.
·
Primer! Primer will help smooth the skin and
keep makeup on a lot longer.
·
The right brush. For foundations that claim to
last all day, like Revlon Colour Stay use a damp blending sponge as these
foundations can be very this and fast drying.
A stippling brush or similar larger brush should be used for light
foundations to really buff them into the skin. A paddle foundation brush works
well with foundation that has almost a liquid mousse texture. No, not Dream
Matt Mousse, awful stuff! Max Factor Xperience
and Rimmel Stay Matt are good examples of these. And tinted
moisturisers, you may as well just go for it with your fingers and melt the
product into the skin.
·
Mix a luminous moisturiser into your foundations
for a natural dewy look.
·
To avoid streaky foundation use a powder puff
and a press and roll motion to set your foundations. This will stop the
bristles of your powder brush moving the foundation underneath and making it
appear streaky.
·
If you have oily skin use a technique that can
be given no other name other that ‘over powdering.’ Use a powder puff the apply
loose powder all over the face. You want to use a about three times as much as
usual. Leave this on to absorb oil and settle the foundation as you finish your
makeup. Then, before applying blush etc, use a clean powder brush all over the
face to know of the excess powder. This probably sounds scary but trust me.
So there you go, the basic base.
Have fun, and remember that practise makes perfect!
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