Friday, February 22, 2008

Wedding Day Make-Up - Getting Your Foundation Right.


Bridal make-up should look as natural as possible, don't opt for a look you would not normally go for, you want to look yourself, for example if you're not used to wearing much make-up something quite bold or a high coverage may make you feel uncomfortable.
The best place to start is with the foundation of course & in order to keep it in tact all day long is to apply a primer underneath, this holds the foundation in place by providing a good base on the skin, also for an even & long lasting finish use a foundation brush & sponge (the brush applies the foundation & then the sponge is used to blend).
If you don't want a high coverage go for a tinted moisturiser which will give a very natural effect & will just even out the skin tone.
There are many different foundation types though, liquid foundation generally provides quite a light coverage, the best type to look for is a light matte finish as you want to minimse any shine for your photos. If you require a heavier coverage then cream foundations that have a thicker consistency & are a good option, again a matte finish is best. It's definitely worth experimenting with a few different products, shop around the different cosmetic counters & ask for samples, they'll be happy to provide you with some, then you can try out a few different products without committing to buying any first.
When testing a foundation to see if it's right for you, place a little along your jaw line & blend, don't test on your hand as the skin on your hand will different to that on your face!

Always apply foundation to clean moisturised skin & blend well (pay particular attention over the jaw line & hairline), making sure you have an even coverage. You can apply foundation to only a few areas if required, such as under the eyes, along the
T-zone & cheeks, as long as it is blended well & the colour is a good match then it will give a 'barely there' natural look.
If your worst nightmare occurs & a spot (or two..!) appears, then make sure you have a good concealer in your make-up bag. Concealers with a wax consistency provide a much better coverage than a cream, use a small brush (even a lip brush can
double up for this - providing it's clean!), using small dabbing motions place the concealer on gently until the redness disappears, it is best to apply the concealer after your foundation as if you apply it before hand the foundation can rub it away. Maybe try to apply it around the spot to cover the redness rather than the actual spot itself as some can have a lot of dry skin & can flake or even 'weep'a little.

For under the eyes a light consistency concealer is required, wax will be too heavy & too much coverage under the eyes can crease & accentuate any fine lines, also you should never drag the skin under the eye when applying concealer so gently dab & blend from the inner corners. Try to avoid light reflecting under-eye concealers too as these can reflect the camera flash & cause a 'white ring' effect around the eye area in your photographs. A light cream concealer a shade lighter than your foundation will do, however if you have problems with dark circles use a colour corrector, a little pink corrector concelear mixed with some of your foundation will cover up the dark areas as pink combats grey.
Just as this colour corrector works, if you have a lot of red pigmentation on your cheeks for example, a green corrector will balance this out under your foundation.

All foundation is best set with a little translucent powder, many people prefer not to wear any but a little should always be used just to take away any shine & make the foundation last as well, particularly over the t-zone. The powder should not
change the colour or effect of the foundation though, just give a light natural matte finish which can even work along side a 'dewy' style make-up providing the T-Zone is set.

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