Apply Foundation and Concealer Correctly

The foundation of your look deserves extra attention. While the idea is simple — to create an even surface and conceal blemishes — it requires a bit more attention in practice. Once you know the basics of undertones and the properties of different foundations and concealers, you can achieve your goals with ease.

Steps

Choosing a Foundation

1. Find colors that match your skin tone. Foundation should be as close to your natural skin tone as possible. When picking out samples to test, go for the one that seems to match best, plus the options one shade darker and one shade lighter.
   • Most makeup lines have a numbering system in place to help guide your choice, but each system only applies to that particular line. Most brands go with numbers from 10 to 50 or 1 to 10, with the higher numbers for darker skin.
2. Check your undertone. Most foundation is targeted at a particular undertone, summarized as "C" for cool, "N" for neutral, or "W" for warm. Picking the wrong one could leave you with an ashy or coppery appearance. This is especially important for people with dark skin color, but everyone can benefit from this test:
   • Examine your skin without makeup on, under daylight or neutral white light.
   • Hold a piece of yellow fabric or gold jewelry under your chin. If this gives your face a healthy glow, you have warm undertones.
   • Hold a piece of red fabric or silver jewelry under your chin. If this complements your face well, you have cool undertones (which can range from red to blue).
   • If it's hard to tell, you likely have a neutral tone, or you may need different foundation for different areas of your face.
   • Or for a quick but unreliable test, check the veins on your inner wrist. Blue means cool undertones, green means warm, and bluish-green means neutral.
3. Test the foundation on the jaw and chest. This is easiest with department store samples, but you can get a rough idea at the drugstore by holding the bottle up against your skin. Makeup fans argue quite a bit over where to test the foundation, but each side makes good points. If you want to be extra secure, test them both:
   • Your jawline will be at the edge of the foundation. If the color matches here, you'll have an easier time blending it in.
   • Your chest (if regularly exposed to sun) is usually close in color to your face. Testing it here also ensures that your face won't end up a completely different tone than your body.
4. Test the color under natural light. Unless you spend your day under bright department store lights, what you see in the store won't be what you get. Head outside with a mirror while you have the samples on your skin. The sample that blends in to your skin tone almost invisibly is the perfect choice of foundation. Give the foundation a few minutes to soak into your skin before you judge.
   • If you plan to apply bronzer and blush, your face will end up a bit darker than the foundation. In this case, it's sometimes preferable to go one-half to one shade lighter with your foundation.
   • If nothing is quite right, mix two foundations together on your skin.
5. Choose between powder and liquid foundation. Both sides have strong adherents and strong detractors. Learn the pros and cons so you can make an educated choice:
   • Liquid foundation provides more control during blending. However, poor blending or an imperfect tone match can leave obvious lines where the foundation ends. If your skin is oily, choose an oil-free or non-comedogenic example.
   • Powder foundation (especially mineral powder) absorbs oil and sweat, but can settle into a caked-on appearance, even adding definition to wrinkles and scaly skin. Use a light touch to minimize this effect.
6. Consider the finish. You've spent all this time choosing a foundation, but you have one final decision to make. The finish is a matter of personal preference, guided by a few principles:
   • Most foundations are semi matte (even if not labeled as any particular finish). These work well on almost all skin types.
   • Matte foundations work well for toning down oily skin.
   • Illuminating foundation increases shine and can help to diffuse wrinkles.

Choosing a Concealer

1. Learn about different types of concealer. The form of concealer you choose depends on your skin type and where you plan to use it:
   • Liquid concealer is the default option, great for covering acne and wrinkles.
   • Stick concealer and cream concealer are much thicker, which spells danger for oily skin. Bust one of these out for big jobs, such as dark eye circles and angry red patches.
   • Cream-to-powder concealer rubs on as a cream, then sets fast. This is handy for on-the-go corrections, but tends to get cakey after a few hours.
2. Pick a color close to your foundation. Concealer hiding blemishes on most of your face should be as similar to your foundation as possible. If you're concealing larger dark patches, especially dark eye circles, you can afford to go one shade lighter.
   • Puffy eyes actually look best with slightly darker concealer, unexpected as that is. The brain interprets dark areas as shadows, making the puffy area appear further back than it really is.
3. Consider the finish. Concealers come in any finish from matte to satin. Non-matte concealers usually need to be set with powder after application.
4. Use-Color-Correcting-Concealers. Vividly tinted concealer is designed to hide discoloration. This is based on the color wheel: two opposite colors will cancel each other out. If you want to hide dark eye circles, veins, or other colorful areas, Use-Color-Correcting-Concealers or learn these basic rules:
   • Cover green discoloration with red concealer, and red areas with green concealer.
   • Cover blue discoloration with orange concealer, and vice versa.
   • Cover purple areas with yellow concealer, and vice versa.
   • Dark eye circles are usually combination of blue, purple, and sometimes green. Experiment to find the right shade of orange, salmon, peach, or coral that works on your skin.

Applying the Makeup

1. Wash your hands. Wash with warm soapy water before handling makeup tools or touching your face. Dirty hands may transfer bacteria to your face.
2. Moisturize your face. This will protect your skin and make the makeup appear more natural. If the moisturizer doesn't include sun protection, apply sunscreen as well.
   • Optionally, apply foundation primer over the moisturizer. This is most helpful for people with oily skin, to create a smooth base for the foundation.
3. Apply color-correcting concealer if needed. If you're covering dark eye circles, port wine birthmarks, or other colorful areas, apply the color-correcting concealer of the opposite color on the color wheel. Blend this in, but don't expect it to disappear; the foundation and the skin tone concealer will hide it.
   • When applying to the eye, tap the concealer on, working from the outside of the eye inward to the nose. You only need to apply it to the darkest area, then dab upward in a sweeping motion to thinly cover the rest.
   • This is the most difficult type of concealer to use. Practice with different amounts and shades until it works out.
4. Sweep the foundation across your face. Use a makeup sponge, your fingertips, or (for liquid foundation only) a foundation brush. Brush across your entire face and blend until the foundation is evenly applied, taking care not to wipe away too much of the color-correcting concealer. A stippling brush works well for blending.
   • If using liquid foundation, warm the container in your hand before applying.
   • Although many makeup users apply concealer first, this wastes time and product when the foundation sweeps away some of the concealer. The exception is powder foundation, which should be applied over the concealer.
5. Make adjustments. Check your jawline, where poor blending is most visible. If you see a line of demarcation, extend foundation a bit below the jawline. If the foundation looks too thick or caked on in any location, tap it with a bare powder puff. All you need is a thin layer.
6. Conceal other blemishes or dark spots. You may apply concealer to your entire face if desired, but in most cases all you need to do is cover areas of uneven tone, acne, and other blemishes. Dab gently with a finger, concealer brush, or sponge until you cannot see the break between concealer and the surrounding skin.
7. Dust your face lightly with a translucent powder. Do this immediately after applying your concealer to provide a nice matte finish and hold the makeup in place. You may want to skip this step if your face is feeling extra dry, as powders can absorb moisture.
8. Apply other makeup if desired. Once the concealer and foundation are as blended as possible, you're ready to rock a natural look, or use it as a base for highlighting, contouring, and so forth. Whichever you choose, enjoy your even, blemish-free look.

Tips

• Apply concealer lightly. A little bit can go a long way.
• Be aware that your skin type may change over the year; your skin will probably be dryer in the winter and more oily in the summer. Use different types of foundation accordingly.
• If you have sensitive or problematic skin, don't cheap out on foundation because the cheaper brands can irritate your skin. Higher-end brands can actually improve the quality of your skin rather than irritating it.
• You should never need to apply foundation to your neck to make the color match your face. If there is a color difference, you are using a shade of foundation that is too dark.
• If you use a brush when applying liquid foundation, brush it quickly around in circles on your face. Then use your finger to blend it in. It looks very natural and chic!
• Avoid touching your face during the day. You may rub off your foundation and could trigger a breakout.
• If you need a lot of coverage on your face, use a liquid foundation followed by a dusting of powdered foundation and then a translucent powder. Using the different types of foundations together will provide maximum protection and coverage and will look more natural than one extra-thick layer of one type.
• If you use makeup brushes to apply foundation, change them about twice a year due to oil and dirt buildup. Nearly all brushes can be washed with a mild liquid soap, rinsed well and hung upside down to dry. Wash them at least once a week and wash sponges for foundation application after each use.

Warnings

• Some people are allergic to some brands of foundation, primer, or other makeup. Test new foundation on a small area to see if your skin reacts poorly.

Things You'll Need

• Moisturizer
• Foundation
• Concealer(s)
• Translucent powder
• Makeup sponges or brushes (optional)
• Mirror

Related Articles

• Put on Liquid Foundation
• Remove Too Much Foundation
• Apply Concealer
• Make Cheeks Rosier Naturally
• Apply Stick Foundation

Sources and Citations

• Videos provided by Jennifer Chiu
• Videos provided by KelseyJanae

See also

• Do Monochromatic Makeup
• Stop Your Foundation from Getting Cakey
• Apply Concealer
• Make Liquid Foundation
• Apply Foundation and Powder
• Minimize Pores With Foundation
• Put on Liquid Foundation
• Contour Your Nose
• Apply Foundation
• Apply Base Makeup

Read more ...

What links here

• Apply Concealer
• Apply Makeup for Dark Indian Skin
• Apply Stick Foundation
• Look Like Grace Kelly
• Make Your Eyelashes and Eyebrows Look Good
• Put on Liquid Foundation