Meet your match!
How to find your perfect foundation
Choosing your base has always been a challenge, from picking the wrong shade to being left with tidal marks. Here’s how to shop for your foundation with confidence…
1 WORK OUT YOUR UNDERTONES
You probably know your tone (light, olive, dark and anywhere in between), now work out your undertones (warm, cool, neutral). If gold jewellery looks best against your skin, you have a warm undertone. Silver suit you better? It’s cool. If both look good, you’re likely neutral. Next, check the product label. Many brands organise their shades using numbers for light and dark (from 100 to 500 as shades get deeper, for example), and letters for undertones
(W, C, and N for warm, cool and neutral). Try: Revolution Conceal & Hydrate Foundation, £9, boasts 50 shades and gives serious hydration for dry skin from the start.
2 WHICH FINISH SHOULD YOU CHOOSE? We decode them: SHEER: A lightweight tint to quickly blur imperfection but allow real skin to show, like Max Factor Miracle Second Skin Foundation (13 shades), £12.99. DEWY: Contains hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid. Try Collection Lasting Perfection Glow Foundation (20 shades), £6.49. SATIN: A velvety gleam, most similar to your natural skin. Go for e.l.f. Camo CC Cream (20 shades), £14.
MATTE: A shine-free layer of full coverage, it should stay put for hours. We like Maybelline Superstay Activewear 30H Long-Lasting Foundation (20 shades), £10.99. 3 STOP ‘PILLING ’ ‘Silicone in your skincare, primer and make-up can cause products to ball up on the surface of your skin,’ says Warren Dowdall, senior pro artist at Bobbi
Brown. Try applying everything in smaller amounts than usual, and allow a layer of one product to absorb before applying the next. ‘If you wear primer, use only a pea-sized amount and press, don’t rub, it into the skin.’
4 COLOUR CORRECT
Some foundations can oxidise, meaning they turn orange-ish when their pigments hit your skin’s natural oils and/or the oxygen in the air.
Oily types are more susceptible. Warren recommends using a mattifying primer and applying foundation with a brush, not fingers. Try Revlon Prime Plus Mattifying + Pore Reducing Primer, £10.99.
5 A NOTE ON APPLICATION
Less is always more. You can build up, but you can’t take away. Apply a small amount on the back of your hand and use a damp beauty sponge to transfer to your face, gently pushing it into your skin. Tap over areas that need more coverage and blend with a buffing or stippling brush. Repeat for additional coverage. Try Lottie London Blending Sponge, £5.50.
6 MAKE IT LAST
After blending in, remove excess oils with Revolution Skincare Mattifying Blotting Paper, £4, before applying powder. ‘Dust gently around the nose, chin and under your eyes with a small, fluffy brush,’ says make-up artist Caroline Barnes. Mist with Benefit Professional Super Setter Spray Mini, £12.50, and use spray and blotting papers through the day.