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Creating a flawless finish with makeup depends on quality products and applying them with ease and confidence.
Have you ever tried applying makeup foundation and getting less than optimal results? Your foundation is uneven, splotchy, too thick, and separates from your face within an hour? It can be so frustrating you want to give up? You ask yourself, "what am I doing wrong?" "Why can't my makeup look flawless?"
Your frustration is entirely understandable. So, let's break it down into baby steps. First, we will start with the top four tools you can use to create your flawless finish.
1. Cosmetic Sponges to Create a Flawless Finish
Makeup sponges are one of the most straightforward tools to use in applying foundation flawlessly. They are readily available, and cost-effective. You don't have to search high and low for them, as you can find makeup sponges at many drug stores, beauty stores, and accessible online. They can cover a good amount of surface area on your face, which saves time. You can also multi-task with sponges by using them to soften and blend other products like blush.
Makeup sponges come in different shapes and have slightly different pore levels. It is better to work with a sponge with tiny pores than one that is too smooth with no pores or too porous. The texture of the makeup sponge needs to be soft and pliable. Remember your skin is a living organ, and it can be sensitive; you will see the rewards of handling your skin gently by using compatible tools that do not irritate your skin. Sometimes I see makeup artists overworking a product by aggressively using their makeup tools. You do not want to pull and stretch your skin because it breaks down the texture and causes wrinkles. Note: this is different from gently messaging the skin on your face to increase blood flow, like having a spa day and getting a great facial.
A technique for creating a flawless finish is to moisten your sponge slightly. Run it under fresh water, squeeze out the excess or spraying fresh water from a spray bottle, and squish the sponge to absorb the moisture. Another benefit of using a slightly moist makeup sponge is that it can limit the amount of product absorbed into the sponge pores, ultimately saving you money on your foundation product. Also, a damp sponge will glide the product on with more ease and give a little more h2o to the skin. It also gives you a thinner layer of foundation if you prefer a more natural look.
If you want fuller coverage, using a dry sponge will keep you from thinning out the product, hence giving you fuller coverage. There are foundation products designed for thicker coverage and depends on your needs or desired outcome. Also, it is better to use a dry sponge when working with an oil-based product.
The shape of a makeup sponge will affect how you achieve a flawless finish. A square or triangle sponge works great for moving products around the contours of the face. An oval-shaped sponge with a pointed end like the Beauty Blender is also easy to use and easily blends products. The edges or points of a makeup sponge also work well when applying your under-eye concealer on top and under your eye by giving you a more precise product placement. #cosmeticsponges #flawlessfinish #makeuplovers
2. Foundation Brushes
Brushes are very popular options for applying your makeup foundation flawlessly. Foundation brushes come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, like a pom-pom, flathead, tapered flat edge, and other styles suited for this application. Look for a medium-sized brush head. Some foundation brushes are too bulky and hard to work with. The idea here is to build your confidence while applying makeup. Using a large brush may be trendy as you endlessly swirl it around to get that perfect application, but it can interfere with creating a smooth finish. You want to work with a medium brush head, which will control how much surface you cover at a time. It is about controlling the product as you work it into an even layer.
Makeup brushes also come with varying stem lengths and perimeters, or how long and fat. The bristles at the top are held together by the metal ferrule and attach to the stem or handle. The brush handles are often crafted with a type of wood, bamboo, metal, or plastic. Wood or bamboo tends to be less slippery when keeping a good grip. There are all kinds of fancy brush versions, which are great and fun. The most important factor here is how well they function in your hand. You may feel more comfortable working with a longer handle vs. a short handle and vise versa. You may have smaller hands and need the grip to be narrow. Sometimes short and fat handles can be easy to use. The the main idea here is to feel confident as you use the brush to maneuver the contours of your face. You can read more about why quality brushes are essential. https://www.beautyswholehealth.com/post/quality-makeup-brushes
A quick tip to avoid getting the foundation in your hairline, make sure you have minimal foundation on the brush when moving the product in that area. Foundation can be absorbed in hair and is especially noticeable for people with lighter hair color or grey hair. It is also important to wipe off the excess foundation from the brush after each use to avoid having the product dry and gum up the bristles. Good tools and good products help to create a flawless makeup finish.
You will get more skilled when you find the best brushes your hands can handle. Being in control of your makeup tools and your product will help you create a smooth and flawless finish. Like anything else, practice, practice, practice.
A tip to storing makeup brushes is to put them into a jar or container bristle side up. Make sure the top of the container is shorter than the bottom part of the bristles. Your brushes need air. Group the brushes by size and length of the brush stem. This practice not only helps keep the bristle strands in shape, but your brushes will last longer and keep them more sanitary. #cosmeticbrushes #makeuptipsandtricks #lovetheskinyouarein
3. Fingertips for Applying Foundation
Yet another valuable tool is your fingertips, one of the more ideal tools to apply all kinds of cosmetics. The classic technique of using your fingertips can be used anytime or anywhere. If your makeup sponge or brush is dirty and you forgot to wash it clean, then your fingertips are on hand (lol) to get your foundation applied.
If you are new to makeup, sometimes starting with your fingertips can be beneficial. You can get an idea of just how little product you need to cover the surface of your face. Using less product will look more natural. The best fingers to apply foundation are your ring and pinky tips since they have the softest texture from less overall usage. You can use your ring or pinky finger as well when applying any undereye concealer, eyeshadow primer, eyeshadow, or eye cream products. The smoother surface of your ring finger has less drag or pull on the most delicate undereye and eyelid skin. The index or pointer finger and middle finger have a less smooth texture, which is not ideal for applying these products . Again the idea is to create the softest finish you can, even with your fingertips, to help achieve the best results.
Always, always, always clean hands when applying any makeup or skincare products. Keep all brushes and sponges clean. Would you please avoid just plunging your brushes and sponges into your makeup bag. You want healthy skin: for maintaining facial wellness you need clean tools and products. More to come on cleaning tools and keeping products sanitary.
4. Airbrush Tools for Flawless Finish
An airbrush compressor tool is a device for loading foundation into a sprayer and misting foundation over the face. This tool does require a more specialized foundation product designed for its use and knowledge of how to use it. They can be costly and do have some drawbacks. One drawback is: if not done correctly, the results can leave some streaking on the skin that one can not blend out. The foundation product dry's immediate as it sets on the surface of the skin. More to come on this topic.
Read more about what your skin craves. https://www.beautyswholehealth.com/post/what-your-skin-is-craving
Or, read about the importance of water and how it affects your skin texture. https://www.beautyswholehealth.com/post/hydrate-your-body-hydrate-your-skin
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If you would like to learn about asbestos in makeup take a look at this article by Michelle Whitmer, Asbestos Expert and Writer.
LAYING DOWN THE BASE PART 2 WILL COVER MORE TECHNIQUES FOR USING THE TOOLS FOR FLAWLESS MAKEUP IS COMING SOON.
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