A good foundation and blush routine can be the differentiating factor between a natural look and looking like Canio (the clown) form the opera "I Pagliacci."
In this blog post I want to focus on foundation , contouring and blush techniques for plus size women or women with round faces.
While I show you some failproof techniques, i'll also tell you what products work best (in my humble opinion).
So first lets talk about the 5 steps of prepping your face before applying your makeup.
1. Cleansing
2. Toning
3. Moisturising
4. Lip balm
5. Sun screen
Once you're done with the above 5 steps, you should apply a face primer. This will help your foundation stay longer and give you a smooth surface to work on.
Some great face primers are:
MAC Prep + Prime
Benefit the Porefessional
Application technique: You take a little bit of the primer and dot it all over your face. In small circular motion gently rub it all over your face. Make sure it is evenly applied all over.
Foundation Routines: When choosing your foundation use the below mentioned steps.
1. Look at your face in the mirror. The lightest natural colour on your face is what you ideally would want to match the foundation with. You also want to the foundation to match the colour of your neck.
2. Take a little of the foundation and apply it to your forehead or cheek and see if it blends well.
3. Apply the foundation all over your face and set it with a powder. Usually the counter staff can help you with that. See how the foundation behaves on you for the next half hour and only when youre satisfied do you buy it. It takes foudnation 20 minutes to settle on your face.
After you have picked the perfect foundation. If it is a liquid foundation, you would want to shake it well and pump it to the back of your hand to heat it up with your body heat. This helps it apply better.
The fastest and best application technique I feel for any non makeup artist is with your fingers.
Dot your cheeks and rub gently in curcular motions. Make sure you only apply foundation on the area which you're working on immediately. DO NOT APPLY ALL OVER YOUR FACE AND THEN START WORKING ON IT. Because sometimes these foundations dry fast and you might not be able to work it well enough if its too dry.
In this manner apply the foundation all over your face.
Now to highlight the best areas Use a concealer that is one shade lighter than your foundation.
I have a detailed post on highlighting your features.
http://aasheianaa.blogspot.in/2012/12/let-there-be-light.html
Now that You have highlighted the area lets work on concealing problem areas.
Now usually if you need to conceal any area on your face you would want to do that before you start highlighting. Lets review concealing techniques based on generic facial problems.
To properly conceal imperfections you need to color correct it.
Dark Circles: If you have brown discoloration under your eye, the best product to use is a orange tint/apricot colour concealer.
Best Apricot Concealers: Bobbi Brown Correctors
12 Shades of apricot tinted color correctors for every skin tone. Suprisingly even though Bobbi Brown Cosmetics is specifically aimed at Indian Skin tone, it really works well on us.
Application technique: Dab it on the dark discoloration under the eye. With your ring finger continue to dab it in to blend into your skin. Do not swipe as that takes the product off rather than blending it in.
Acne Prone or if youre skin is very red:
You should use a mint green color concealer to cover the acne spots. If your skin looks very red you can also apply a thin layer of the mint green color before applying your foundation.
Best Mint Green Concealers: Makeup Forever Color Corrector Pallete no. 5
You can also kill 2 birds with one stone by buying color corrector primers. You get them in most cosmetic brands like NYX , Smashbox etc.
MOST COLOR CORRECTION HAPPENS BEFORE YOU ADD YOUR FOUNDATION. There is no set rule, with trial and error you will know what works best for you. For me I apply the appricot concealer on my dark circles after apply my foundation.
For other color correction techniques please click on this link
Now the last step to a perfect foundation routine.
Loose Powder: This step is to set your foundation so it doesnt move all day. This also helps mattefy your face and take away any shine.
Use a powder puff
Dampen the powder puff a little with a water spray bottle.
Then dip it in your loose powder and rub a little ont he back of your hand to spread it equally and remove excess. Then in a pressing motion applt it on your face, especially the T-Zone.
Gr8! Loose Powders. Christian Dior, Maybelline, MAC, Makeup Forever, Kryolan.
You cna get tinted loose powder or a mattefying powder. I personally dont like the HD powders because in pictures they tend to give you the ghostly white look.
Once you have applied the powder and set your foundation. Take a fan brush and dust of the excess from your face.
XOXO
In this blog post I want to focus on foundation , contouring and blush techniques for plus size women or women with round faces.
While I show you some failproof techniques, i'll also tell you what products work best (in my humble opinion).
So first lets talk about the 5 steps of prepping your face before applying your makeup.
1. Cleansing
2. Toning
3. Moisturising
4. Lip balm
5. Sun screen
Once you're done with the above 5 steps, you should apply a face primer. This will help your foundation stay longer and give you a smooth surface to work on.
Some great face primers are:
MAC Prep + Prime
Benefit the Porefessional
Foundation Routines: When choosing your foundation use the below mentioned steps.
1. Look at your face in the mirror. The lightest natural colour on your face is what you ideally would want to match the foundation with. You also want to the foundation to match the colour of your neck.
2. Take a little of the foundation and apply it to your forehead or cheek and see if it blends well.
3. Apply the foundation all over your face and set it with a powder. Usually the counter staff can help you with that. See how the foundation behaves on you for the next half hour and only when youre satisfied do you buy it. It takes foudnation 20 minutes to settle on your face.
After you have picked the perfect foundation. If it is a liquid foundation, you would want to shake it well and pump it to the back of your hand to heat it up with your body heat. This helps it apply better.
The fastest and best application technique I feel for any non makeup artist is with your fingers.
Dot your cheeks and rub gently in curcular motions. Make sure you only apply foundation on the area which you're working on immediately. DO NOT APPLY ALL OVER YOUR FACE AND THEN START WORKING ON IT. Because sometimes these foundations dry fast and you might not be able to work it well enough if its too dry.
In this manner apply the foundation all over your face.
Now to highlight the best areas Use a concealer that is one shade lighter than your foundation.
I have a detailed post on highlighting your features.
http://aasheianaa.blogspot.in/2012/12/let-there-be-light.html
Now that You have highlighted the area lets work on concealing problem areas.
Now usually if you need to conceal any area on your face you would want to do that before you start highlighting. Lets review concealing techniques based on generic facial problems.
To properly conceal imperfections you need to color correct it.
Dark Circles: If you have brown discoloration under your eye, the best product to use is a orange tint/apricot colour concealer.
Best Apricot Concealers: Bobbi Brown Correctors
12 Shades of apricot tinted color correctors for every skin tone. Suprisingly even though Bobbi Brown Cosmetics is specifically aimed at Indian Skin tone, it really works well on us.
Application technique: Dab it on the dark discoloration under the eye. With your ring finger continue to dab it in to blend into your skin. Do not swipe as that takes the product off rather than blending it in.
Acne Prone or if youre skin is very red:
You should use a mint green color concealer to cover the acne spots. If your skin looks very red you can also apply a thin layer of the mint green color before applying your foundation.
Best Mint Green Concealers: Makeup Forever Color Corrector Pallete no. 5
You can also kill 2 birds with one stone by buying color corrector primers. You get them in most cosmetic brands like NYX , Smashbox etc.
MOST COLOR CORRECTION HAPPENS BEFORE YOU ADD YOUR FOUNDATION. There is no set rule, with trial and error you will know what works best for you. For me I apply the appricot concealer on my dark circles after apply my foundation.
For other color correction techniques please click on this link
Now the last step to a perfect foundation routine.
Loose Powder: This step is to set your foundation so it doesnt move all day. This also helps mattefy your face and take away any shine.
Use a powder puff
Dampen the powder puff a little with a water spray bottle.
Then dip it in your loose powder and rub a little ont he back of your hand to spread it equally and remove excess. Then in a pressing motion applt it on your face, especially the T-Zone.
Gr8! Loose Powders. Christian Dior, Maybelline, MAC, Makeup Forever, Kryolan.
You cna get tinted loose powder or a mattefying powder. I personally dont like the HD powders because in pictures they tend to give you the ghostly white look.
Once you have applied the powder and set your foundation. Take a fan brush and dust of the excess from your face.
Your foundation routine is now complete.
Now lets move on to my favorite part!
Contouring.
Your makeup will last you the entire day and all you have to do to refresh it is use the MAC Fix plus spray anytime during the day.
Now lets move on to my favorite part!
Contouring.
Is simply the play of dark and light. When you want to hide something, that is when we apply a matte bronzer to the area.
For plus size women it works wonders.
There are generic areas where all face shapes should contour and those are shown int he picture below. NOW IF YOU HAVE A LEAN FACE, YOU MIGHT WANT TO AVOID CONTOURING.
The Jaw line and temples are where most women would want to apply a little bronzer. And remember start with a little and you can build on teh intensity depending on yoru taste. If you wish to get a straight line while contouring, you can use a credit card or business card as a guideline.
For plus size women or women with round faces, while contouring your cheekbones you want to start from the top of your ears and downwards towards mid cheek. This gives the illusion of a longer and slimer face and also higher cheekbones.
CHECK OUT ADELE'S CONTOURING.
Best Bronzers : MAC Bronze (For anyone who uses MAC NC 40 and up.) MAC Golden (NC 30 and up ) MAC BLUNT for everyone! Love these bronzers. Remember for contouring you want a matte bronzer.
Now to add the color to your face. Your Blush routine.
I feel cream blushes work best in the heat that we have all year round. For round faces you want to go from the apple of your cheeks upwards. However start with a little and then build. You dont want to look like a 19th century lady of the night.
Application: Applying a cream blush is fairly easy. You apply it with small circular motion blending it upwards from the apple of your cheeks towards the top of your ear. The blush would go above your contouring and in fact you can blend the edge of your blush with the end of your bronzer for a more seemless.
Now you can start with highlighting. To know more about highlighting please visit my blog post.
XOXO
WOW!! Thank you aashu :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it Rajitha.
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