I hope you can teach an old girl new foundation tricks

[Rondafaye]

OK, I know I'm late to the party, but I need help. I know my skin can never be perfect because I am, after all, 49 years old. But I keep looking at y'alls FOTDs and am constantly amazed by what you can do with makeup. I love some of the "fancy eyes," but I can't go that far at my age.

What I really want to know is how y'all make your skin/foundation so flawless. Is anyone willing to give me a step-by-step guide to perfection (or as perfect as possible at my age)?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: This may help. I don't have any deep wrinkles and my skin is sort of dry on the surface, but oily underneath. I don't get shiny or anything like that, though. Sometimes I think my makeup looks quite nice, but a few hours later it's like it's faded or something. Does that makes sense?

 

[Simply Elegant]

I think the first step is making your skin as good as it can possibly be. Moisturizing day and night and washing your face with the right cleansers and using the right spot treatments really should come first.

You need to know what your skin type is like to pick out the best foundation. Anyway, mine is sort of oily and I love MUFE's mat velvet+. A good primer will make any foundation look a bit better and smoother and more like your own skin. I love CoverFX's.

I use a regular foundation brush to apply liquids, a kabuki for powder foundation and I don't use cream foundation unless it's just for concealer.

I use a tiny bit of foundation at a time on small sections of my face because my foundation sets fast and needs to be blended a lot faster before it sets. Before I apply foundation, I apply moisturizer (Aveeno or Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream) and luminizer (Body Shop sun enhancing gel or Revlon skinlights or mix MUFE shine on powder in neutral with my moisturizer). I wait for that to sink in before applying foundation as well. Usually I do my eyes during this time. Once I have a first sheer layer applied, I apply a tiny amount and pat it on any extra areas that need a bit of extra coverage. I use concealer with a 239 dupe for under my eyes because I find it covers best and I use Cover FX's cream foundation for that. It seriously covers everything. If you want full coverage or a really flawless face, use a skunk brush to apply a powder foundation to lightly set your makeup. Buff it in by swirling and finish in downward strokes or if you want medium coverage use a pressed or loose powder. I love Cover Fx's matte fx or MUFE's duo mat for powder foundation.

If I'm just using powder foundation, I'll apply my moisturizer and luminizer in the same way as well as my under eye concealer and use a kabuki and pat once in the compact and apply downwards and then in swirls and pat once on any areas that need some extra coverage. Then I go over my entire face with a skunk brush to blend everything evenly.

I always use highlighter and blush as well to make my face glow a bit more because I think it really finishes a look.

 

[MissMochaXOXO]

skin care comes first as said above.

invest in bare minerals! u can't go wrong. u could sleep in that stuff and wake up still perfect

 

[Sanayhs]

I won't go into detail, because Simply Elegant has you covered for that above

, so I'll just say that it's definitely about skin care and finding the right products for your skin. It takes some experimentation, but is absolutely worth it once you find the products that work for you.

 

[Odette]

Try a primer before applying your makeup and use a fixer at the end to set everything.

 

[rachybloom]

Invest in the 187 and 182 brushes. The 187 (stippling brush) applies liquid foundation (I use MUFE HD) like a dream!! I apply my foundation on the back of my hand, and put a dot on my forehead, one for each cheek, my nose, and my chin and use the 187 in small, circular motions around my face and slightly down my neck. I buff a finishing powder with the 182 brush just to make everything nice and smooth. My favorite finishing powder is MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural. It's very sheer but adds some nice coverage. For a primer, I just use Smashbox Photo Finish Light. I definitely just recommend investing in some good brushes and quality products for your skin. If you're going to splurge on one item, I'd say foundation or anything related to the skin

I totally agree on experimentation.. It's taken me a while (and quite a lot of money

) to find the right combination of products. I get a ton of compliments on my skin now (but I also found a really good dermatologist haha..), but I truly hope my advice helps you! good luck

 

[Lessandes]

187 is definitely a MUST HAVE....you're using less foundation than applying with a sponge or your hands and it's definitely much easier to avoid streakes with the 187 than with any other brush.

I'd definitely recommand doing a peeling from time to time to get rid of old cells which can blog your pores and cause skin problems or just look awful.

 

[Rondafaye]

These tips have helped so much. I'm using the 109, 187 and 182 with great success. Also, I discovered the validity of another tip: I've always applied my makeup in this order: primer, foundation, contour, eyes, cheeks, setting powder. Well, yesterday I found the new L'Oreal loose kohls (I love the Guerlain version). Anyway, at about 9 p.m., just to test them out, I applied the navy shade. When I looked in the mirror an hour or so later, I noticed blue, streaky fallout all over my undereye area. I remembered someone posting that they always do their eyes first so they can cover fallout. Today, I did my eyes first and what a difference! My undereye area looked so much better -- much less tired and dark. I guess I was getting fallout that just wasn't as obvious as the L'Oreal loose kohl fallout, so I just thought I had a "tired" look that got worse as the day moved on.