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How To Apply Foundation: Step-By-Step Guide To Get A Flawless Look

Here's two ways people perceive foundation: It is the most amazing thing to fake a flawless skin or it is the bane of their existence and they can't, for their life, get it to have a flawless finish. It just seems so unnatural and fake. Which category do you fall into? And why do you think that there are such extremely contrasting experiences with foundation?

How To Apply Foundation

If you ask me, I'll say it depends on how you apply the foundation. Well, duh! Make-up, especially your base, isn't just about how good and expensive product you have. It also largely depends on your skills in applying the make-up. And foundation is the trickiest part ever. If you do it right, you can make almost any foundation work and get that smooth, perfectly even flawless look.

Unfortunately, if you do not do it right, your skin looks cakey, flaky, and completely fake. Now, that is a disaster you don't want in your life, right? Luckily, I've figured it out for you. After numerous bad-base days and a series of hit and trials, I've finally figured out how to apply the foundation flawlessly. Which means, I get to share it with you. Whoop Whoop!

But, before we move into the application process, I want to make sure you have a couple of elements in place. To get a flawless finish, I want you to cover the following bases.

Things You Need To Consider

Skin Type

Often times, your foundation doesn't look as appealing as you imagined it to because it is the wrong foundation for your skin type. Your skin type is the most important factor while choosing your foundation. For instance, if you are putting a powder foundation on dry skin, it is bound to look patchy. Or if you are putting an oil-based formula on extremely oily skin, you better be ready for the 'glow' moment. Get the right foundation for your and the battle is half won.

The Shade

Okay, do we even need to explain this! Getting the wrong shade is the most common mistake that we do with the foundation. From your undertones to the foundation oxidising to your tan, there are various factors at play when it comes to foundation shade. Make sure you consider all these factors and get the foundation shade right. Trust us, the right foundation shade helps immensely with the flawless application.

How To Choose The Right Foundation ShadeHow To Choose The Right Foundation Shade

The Coverage

A foundation can be sheer, medium, or full coverage. While sheer and medium coverage foundation helps you to even things out, a full coverage foundation is used to hide all the nasty blemishes, marks, hyperpigmentation, and redness you would prefer to cover. A foundation can then also be build-up to offer more coverage, but that isn't always the case. You probably want a full-coverage foundation if you visit events or work in front of the camera. For daily use, sheer or medium coverage foundation is much preferred. Go with the formula that suits your needs and you will be taking tons of pressure off your shoulder.

How To Apply The Foundation: Step-By-Step Guide

1. Clean And Prep Your Skin

1. Clean And Prep Your Skin

Clean and hydrated skin is really a no-brainer, but we still wanted to emphasise on this step. If your skin is dry, the foundation tends to settle into those dry spots and eventually crease. Say goodbye to the flawless look you were rooting for.

Before you sit down to do your make-up, cleanse your face with a gentle face wash and put on some moisturiser. Allow it to settle into your skin for a couple of minutes before moving on to the next step.

2. Primer

2. Primer

Foundation majorly gets the heat for being cakey or unnatural most of the time because it accentuates your large skin pores. If you could somehow cover your pores, even the heaviest of foundations can look smooth and flawless. And that is why you need a primer.

Applying the primer is like prepping your skin 2.0. It covers your skin pores and allows the product to glide smoothly over your skin. This automatically translates to a flawless finish. Primer also helps to last your make-up for a longer duration. So, it's a win-win.

After your moisturiser has settled in, apply the primer on the T-zone of your face, and use dabbing motions to blend it in. Give the primer a couple of minutes to settle into your skin.

3. Apply The Foundation

3. Apply The Foundation

Take the bottle of foundation next and pump it out on the back of your hand or on a make-up slab. Use a make-up brush or your fingertips to dot on the foundation all over your face. Start at the centre of the face and begin dotting outwards.

There is a high chance of you going overboard at this step. Don't put too much foundation on just yet. You can always add on more foundation and build it later.

8 Quick Hacks For Foundation That Is Too Dark For You8 Quick Hacks For Foundation That Is Too Dark For You

4. Blend, Don’t Botch

4. Blend, Don’t Botch

You are now at the most detrimental step- blending the foundation. Use a damp beauty blender (damp not soaking wet!) or a foundation brush to slowly blend your foundation. It is important that you use stippling or dabbing motion and not the swiping motion to blend your foundation and have a flawless finish. Dabbing the foundation helps it melt into your skin, giving it the flawless finish.

If you are a beginner, you might want to stick to a beauty blender instead of a brush as the brush can sometimes leave streaks on your face. Take your time blending the foundation. The more you blend, the better it looks.

5. Retouch Where Needed

5. Retouch Where Needed

After you have blended the foundation, take a closer look at it. Do you want more coverage? Do you want to hide a particular spot? If yes, dot on a little more foundation and get to blending. You don't need to put the foundation all over face again. You can just apply it where needed and blend everything together.

On the areas that need even more coverage(because can't always cover all the nasty zits), apply some concealer and blend it in. While you are at it, put some concealer on your under-eye area as well.

6. Blot The Excess Off And Set

6. Blot The Excess Off And Set

Lastly, you need to settle things a bit. After you are happy with the coverage, take a blotting paper or a beauty blender and dab it lightly all over your face. This will soak up the excess product on your skin and make your foundation flawless and natural.

Now comes setting your foundation. And no, you don't need to set your entire face. Just the areas that get shiny through the day. Hint- the T-zone of your face. Use a transparent powder with a big fluffy brush to set your foundation.

Also, set all the areas where you have applied concealer as well. The concealer tends to become creased a lot.

And there you have it. The perfect way to apply a flawless foundation. The journey doesn't end here though. After the base, your face might look flat. You need to add colour back to your face to get the dimensions of your face back. We are talking about all the fun stuff- blush, bronzer, contouring, and highlighting. Your foundation evens out everything and set an awesome base for the steps to follow. With a flawless base, your final look is going to be stunning.

Read more about: foundation makeup tips