The no-make-up look is set to be mainstay again this year.
But, that doesn’t mean you need to go completely bare. The latest generation of foundations are formulated as make-u/skincare hybrids that offer skin-benefiting ingredients along with pleasing barley-there perfection.
1. Use a cold sheet mask to help you prep
Good skin prep is the key to a radiant natural looking foundation application. start with a fridge cold sheet mask or a cold, damp washcloth on the skin, to reduce inflammation and redness. Add a serum or moisturiser before your foundation to give added hydration.
2. Make sure you have the right shade
Finding your perfect shade just got easier thanks to new formulation technology, which uses plant-based coated mineral pigments that disperse on the skin and fuse evenly.
3. Less is more — let your skin shine
Allow your complexion to shine through by working light layers of foundation into skin with a buffering brush or fingers and only applying product where you really need it.
4. Use a hybrid formula
Get your foundation working with hybrid formulations that incorporate complexion loving ingredients for a flawless finish that still looks like skin. Case in point, iris and pansy extracts in Dior’s Forever range, which reduce inflammation and boost hydration, while plant-based mineral pigments blur out imperfections.
The 4 Key Products You Need For Flawless Skin
1. A good moisturiser to prep your skin
Time spent prepping your skin before you apply makeup pays complexion dividends. Start by cleansing and exfoliating to give yourself a smooth surface to work on.
“It’s worthwhile spending a bit of time doing skin prep,” says Schimid, who routinely adds cold compresses to skin.
“An ice-cold towel, cryo-ice tool or cold sheet mask applied to the face before makeup will de-puff skin and get circulation moving; it also adds healthy colour to cheeks.”
If you’re without a kit, cool hands under running water and use your fingers. Follow it up with moisturiser.
2. A clean matte foundation
Oily skin types as well as olive and dark tones benefit from matte formulations.
Foundation with built-in glow works well on fair- to-olive skin and drier skin.
“If skin is very dry, I use moisture-rich foundation, and I avoid oil-based ones for oily skin,” says Schimid, who used Dior’s two new foundation ranges.
Forever Skin Glow and Forever, which come in 42-plus shades and offer clean, skin-benefiting formulations in radiant and matte finishes respectively.
3. A translucent powder for your t-zone
To add luminosity, Schimid did one of two things: added primer underneath a matte foundation, or applied liquid highlighter or primer after foundation on the temples and the eye socket.
To reduce sheen in unwanted areas, she then used translucent powder “just down the T-zone, to set and keep makeup in place and avoid too much shine”.
4. A killer mascara
When barely-there is the main game, everything needs to be kept minimal. But there are a few exceptions.
Schimid brushed up brows then curled lashes before adding mascara, but kept the look natural with this trick: “Apply mascara right at the root of the lash, avoiding the tip,” she says. Schimid also skipped the bottom lashes.
“No mascara on the lower lashes gives a more natural look.” Finish with a tinted balm.
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