Thursday 25 February 2016

Step 2: A 'How to' guide to becoming your own MUA

If you've been following my blog, you'll now know that I'm hoping to provide you guys with the tools to becoming competent and confident at doing your own makeup. My previous post was all about identifying your skin type and tone which will enable you to make an informed decision when buying your foundation. Hopefully you'll have had a chance to examine your skin either yourself or have had someone do it for you and have chosen a foundation that is
most suited to your skin type. If you're not ready to invest in a new foundation just yet, ask for some samples from various beauty counters. Most of them are great for this and will usually give you a few samples to take home. A tip if you're going to do this: Bring some tiny sample bottles yourself, sometimes counters will say they can't provide a sample as they
have no bottles left to decant their foundations into. Bring your own then they have to give you a sample. I've done this lots of times when buying new foundations, don't be embarrassed to ask it's what they are there for. My favourite counters who are really great for advice and samples are Yves Saint Laurent in House of Fraser in Dundrum and Bobbi Brown. The girls on these countered really know their stuff and are so helpful. Este Lauder are usually great too.



Once you've chosen a foundation or have a few samples it's time to get applying it.

You're first port of call is preparing your skin for your foundation. You want it to last all day on your face and honestly the only way this is going to happen is if you have prepped your face first with a good moisturiser and primer. By following these next few steps you should see the difference between slapping your makeup on in the morning in two minutes and taking just a few minutes more to apply it correctly.


Step 1. Moisturise: After washing your face in the morning and before you get dressed apply your usual daytime moisturiser this will give it enough time to absorb into your skin creating a better base for makeup application. You'll need to leave it absorb for at least ten minutes, so go get dressed or whatever else you have to do. Make sure your moisturiser is not too heavy as this will leave a film on your face and your foundation will end up sitting on top of this with the end result looking cakey.


Step 2. Prime: Always use a primer. This is so important for the longevity of your foundation. You don't need to choose an expensive one there are great ones out there for less than a tenner just stick to the same principals when choosing one as you would when choosing your foundation. You can apply this using your fingers or a makeup brush.  I like to use my fingers, you don't want to blend this into your skin as you would your foundation. With your fingers you can use a lighter touch. Smooth it over the areas you may have trouble with such as dry flaky skin or enlarges pores as this evens out the skins surface acting as a second more perfected skin layer. This ensures your foundation sits evenly on your skin. Tend to apply primer all over my face which is absolutely fine too.

Step 3. Foundation: Decant a small amount of product either onto the back of your hand or a palette but never straight onto your face. You want to be able to pick up product as needed and build up the amount of coverage you want a little at a time. Choose the tool you are most comfortable using to apply your foundation but stay clear of your fingers as the heat of your hands and excess oils often interfere with the product reducing it's longevity and coverage. Assuming you have chosen the correct colour you can start application from the inner nose working outwards and upwards blending as you go. You want to apply a thin layer of foundation first all over the face but avoid applying any around the eye area (This is where you will be applying a liquid concealer and if you have foundation there too your makeup will cake around the delicate eye area which will age you). Think sunglasses...leave a circle all around the eye area, lids and under-eye free from makeup. I'll get to this area in the next post. Check to see if the amount of coverage you want is correct. Avoid using really full coverage foundations especially if you have mature skin. The temptation is to use as full a coverage as possible but honestly this will only ever age you. A build able foundation will allow you to get a better coverage to suit you and leave your skin looking fresher, dewy and ultimately more youthful.

Foundation done, next stage is the concealer. You'll want to choose a liquid concealer in 2-3 shades lighter than your foundation for your eye area and to highlight your face. You will then need to choose a cream concealer the same shade as your foundation for any blemishes you may have
. Don't be fooled into spending lots of money here. Penney's do a great range of excellent concealers in both liquid and cream. So go pick some up or have a root in your makeup bag and we'll pick up form here tomorrow. You will also need a translucent powder, it doesn't matter if it's compact or loose but it does need to be as colourless as possible.

Till tomorrow.



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