Starting Off: Foundation

I'm so sorry that I'm a day late with this post - life got in the way!

Anyway, this weeks starting off post is all about what one of the essential makeup products - foundation. A good base can make the world of difference to your face, but so can a bad one... My number one rule for foundation is to use the coverage that you need. If you have perfectly clear skin then please don't go and use a high coverage foundation. It's completely unnecessary and not only will it clog up your skin, but it may make you look worse than without any makeup. Another important thing to mention is to have your foundation colour matched to your skin. Wearing foundation either too dark or too light will look pretty terrible. Please don't use a darker foundation colour in order to make yourself look more tanned - it will only make you look like you're wearing bad makeup.

So for this post I'm going to break foundations up into categories: low coverage, medium coverage and high coverage. Let's start off with low coverage.

Low Coverage 
If you're lucky, like me you will have perfectly clear skin and not have any need for high coverage foundation. What I mean by 'coverage' is how well your makeup covers up any imperfections on your face. My absolute favourite low coverage foundation is a mineral powder foundation. Not only are they the purest form of foundation around but the finish is so beautifully natural, just your face but better. I currently use The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Loose Powder Foundation, which I've reviewed here.

I use the No7 Kabuki Brush to apply this mineral foundation, simply dip into the pot and sweep over your face. I really find that this foundation gives my skin a beautiful finish but it won't ever clog up my pores. 

Next up in the low coverage category is the BB cream, loved by many. These are similar to a tinted moisturiser and offers all the benefits of a serum, moisturiser, primer, foundation and sunscreen all in one handly little tube. The BB cream I have loved to complete emptiness is the No7 Beautiful Skin BB cream. I purchased the one specially formulated for normal/dry skin and this works a treat on me. It gives a beautiful sheer glow to my skin and again looks very natural.

I always find it best to apply BB creams simply using your fingers. Apply a small amount to your fingers and gently smooth onto your skin. BB creams do tend to be available in a limited shade range, but many claim to have skin-matching properties.

Medium Coverage

For those who require a little more coverage there is the liquid foundation. Personally I recommend the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation which I've reviewed here. This foundation gives a really decent amount of coverage whilst awakening the skin. For some liquid foundation you may like to use a primer, which is applied before the foundation. There are primers for all types of skin and they all do a different job - wrinkle-reducing, skin brightening, colour correcting... all sorts. The Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation has very slight glittery particles in them, but don't worry, you won't look like one of the Cullen clan! 

You can use your fingers to apply a liquid foundation, but I much prefer to use a brush such as this Real Techniques Buffing Brush, which gives your foundation an airbrushed finish. Apply the foundation either onto your face or your brush and simply buff (tap the brush) onto your skin. Make sure you apply foundation down your neck to ensure there are no pesky tide marks.

High Coverage

Okay, here comes the bad boy - high coverage foundation. Please only use this if you really need it. I have absolutely no idea why I ever bought a high coverage foundation because I have really clear skin and as a matter of fact, when I wear a high coverage foundation it breaks me out! I think I must have just been drawn in by the pretty packaging and high-end name. The mother of all high coverage foundation has to be the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. Now, with high coverage foundations it is especially important that you get the exact shade for your skin but it'll really show if not. High coverage foundation is perfect if you have a lot of imperfections that you really want to hide.

Again I would recommend using a buffing brush for this foundation as using your fingers could get messy. To show you the type of coverage you get with this I've applied it over a freckle I have on my hand. The left picture is my freckle with no makeup and the picture on the right is with one layer of the Estee Lauder Double Wear.

So there you have it, a very basic what's-what of foundation. Remember, the most important rules are:

1. Only use the coverage that you need.
2. Ensure the foundation matches your skin colour.

Next week: Bronzer