Foundation: Are You Using the Right Tools?

Welcome to the second blog in my series addressing commonly asked questions about foundation. If you haven't read my first blog from last week about finding your perfect foundation, I recommend you read it before reading this one. I talked about four common foundation types (liquid, cream, powder, stick) and which skin types generally work best with each formula. Today we will be focusing on the ideal tools for blending each of the same four foundations that I covered last time.

Makeup Sponge
The transformation of the makeup sponge has taken the beauty industry by storm. No longer are we using the flimsy little white triangle sponges from the drugstore, with as many as 32 in a $3 bag. The beautyblender is the most popular sponge on the market, and although it's AMAZING, it retails for an astonishing $20. For one sponge. However, if you feel like splurging on one of the world's best and diverse beauty tools, I highly recommend it.

 

Don't panic, my budget buyers! There is a close second to the beautyblender, and you find these at Ulta, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. for around $5. I've gone through several of the wonderful Real Techniques sponges, and they are *almost* as amazing as the beautyblender. They are definitely better than any other drug store makeup sponge you can get.

I ONLY recommend the orange Real Techniques sponge. The diamond shaped sponge and the tiny purple ones marketed for under eyes are gimmicky. The one that's half orange and half pink is hard as a rock and barely absorbs any water.

Makeup sponges perform best with a liquid foundation. They can blend out cream and stick formulas, but because of the thickness in those formulas, it takes a long time to achieve even coverage. Use a rounded side of your sponge to blend the foundation around your face. Make sure it's wet! This is a mistake that many people make. Before use, run the sponge under water until it absorbs as much as possible. Squeeze the water out and pat with a towel so the sponge is damp. Blend away! Both of the sponges mentioned are reusable, so wash every week with warm water and dish soap or makeup remover (nothing oil based).

Buffing Brush
For cream foundations, I recommend either rounded or flat buffing brushes. A kabuki brush will also suffice. A buffing brush will blend this type of foundation faster than a sponge, and the density of the bristles will move the product around easily. If your cream foundation is on the thicker or drier side, you can use a little facial spray to add some moisture to the formula before blending it out. Use circular motions until the product is evenly applied.

This is Tarte's buffing brush, but really any brush with dense bristles will work perfectly. Real Techniques makes some affordable foundation brushes that you can try, but if you're a prestige brand lover, check out Sigma's line.

Oval Brushes
The best method for blending stick foundations is using an oval brush with thick bristles. Stick foundations are notoriously more difficult to blend than other mediums, so you really need to be using a flat surfaced oval brush to smooth the products correctly. Again, if you need to add moisture to the foundation, use your favorite facial spray before blending.

The Artís Oval 7 and Oval 8 are perfect for the job. I must warn you, these are ridiculously expensive, but I wanted to show you what they look like since they are the best of their kind. A cheaper alternative to the $62 Oval 7 is the Royal and Langnickel MODA Prismatic Face Perfecting Kit for $16.84 at Walmart. That kit comes with 4 different brushes, including their oval foundation brush.

Powder Brush
You can probably guess what foundation the powder brush is perfect for. There are a lot of great tools for powder foundations, but large fluffy brushes are my favorite. Usually, I like to use the flat powder applicator that comes with the foundation to press powder into the skin, and then I take my Sigma F30 Powder Brush to blend everything out and add more foundation if needed.

Any large powder brushes will do the job, but Sigma brushes are my favorite. I have sensitive skin, so I can't cut costs with cheap brushes. Sigma may be pricey, but the bristles in the brushes cause no irritation when I apply my makeup.

I hope you found this helpful! If you have any questions about foundation, leave me a comment! Let me know what you want me to cover next.

Thanks for reading 💕

Are You Using the Right Foundation?

There are a lot of foundations out on the market now, and picking the correct one for your skin type can be a headache. I've spent a lot of money on foundations that I've barely used because they don't work for me, and I wish I had known what I know now. I'd like to clear some things up for anyone who just wants to find the perfect foundation for a flawless finish.

Today we'll be covering the four most common types of foundations: liquid, cream, powder, and stick. Another popular type right now is cushion, but cushion foundation is literally just liquid in a sponge compact. Everything we talk about in the liquid portion will apply to cushion foundation.

Liquid Foundation 
Not all liquid foundations are made alike, and packaging can be very misleading when it comes to formulations. To clarify, when I talk about liquid foundations, I'm talking about watery or runny formulas. Anything too thick to run, although it may be labeled "liquid," will behave like a cream foundation. Always test a foundation (duh) before you buy it to see what kind of formula you're working with.

Liquid foundations work best for people with dry or combination dry skin. A standard liquid formula won't cling to dry patches, and they can give full coverage without looking cakey when applied correctly. If you have oily skin, most liquid foundations will look too shiny, and you'll find yourself constantly reaching for blotting powder throughout the day.

My favorite liquid foundation is Born This Way from Too Faced. This was the first foundation I ever purchased from a prestige brand, and it's absolutely wonderful. I've been using this for about two years, and it was my favorite foundation for a long time. It's a tad thick, but it still runs a little when it's pumped out of the bottle. It contains coconut water, so it's perfectly hydrating for the days my skin is on the drier side. It's medium coverage, but it can build to full coverage. This retails for $39, and you can find it at Ulta, Sephora, or on the Too Faced website.

Cream Foundation
Many "cream" formulas are marked as "liquid," but a thick, creamy foundation like Tarte's 12 hour Amazonian Clay will not behave at all like Makeup Forever's watery Ultra HD formula. Like I said before, not all liquids are the same, so you need to distinguish between a runny formula and a whipped, creamy one.

These thicker foundations work beautifully on almost all skin types. If you have normal to combination skin, these formulas are your skin's best friend. If you have dry skin, be sure to moisturize and prime your face, or they may cling to dry patches. If you have severe oily skin, this will suit your skin better than a liquid foundation, but be sure to carry a little bit of setting powder for problem areas.

I highly recommend Tarte's 12 hour Amazonian Clay foundation, because it's full coverage that can really last all day. It's the only foundation I've ever tried that can withstand hours of Alabama heat and humidity, and as a bonus, it has SPF 15! You still need to set it, though! That goes for any foundation, but especially when you live in a hot, humid place. Buy it online or at your local Ulta or Sephora for $39.

Powder Foundation
Many in the beauty community rave about the convenience of powder foundation, because it takes significantly less time to apply than any other type of foundation. Sadly, it can look disastrous on certain skin types. If you suffer from extreme dry skin, STAY AWAY. It WILL cling to every dry patch, flake of skin, texture, you name it. Take the extra 5-7 minutes and go with a liquid formula. If you have severe oily skin, this can clump up and look cakey around your problem areas.

The Confidence Creamy Powder Foundation from Tarte's Double Duty Beauty line is wonderful. It's medium to full coverage, and it's enriched with moisturizing and anti-aging ingredients. You can buy it here for $35, but it's only available for sample at Ulta.

Stick Foundation
Last but not least, we have the Holy Grail of oily and combination-oily skin types: stick foundations. I don't care how "creamy" a stick foundation claims to be, they are drier than bottled cream foundations. To someone with dry skin, these would be nearly impossible to blend smoothly because there's not enough moisture in the actual foundations. I do not recommend beauty oils, but you can use a skin mist to help move around these drier formulas. However, if your skin produces a lot of natural oils, these will be so easy for you to use, and they will look fantastic. Many of these are full coverage, too.

Although pricey at $46, the Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick from Hourglass is the best of its kind. It's the most full coverage foundation I've ever tried in my life, and you don't have to use a lot of product for a rich color payoff. It's very concentrated, so one stick goes a long way. Sephora carries Hourglass, but the JC Penny Sephoras do not. If you only have a JC Penny Sephora, Makeup Forever and Anastasia Beverly Hills also have popular stick foundations.

I'd like this to be the start of a series where I answer frequent questions about foundation. Let me know if you'd like me to tackle a certain topic!

Thanks for reading 💕