My Current Make-Up Regime – Part 1 – Foundation

I start the “lipstick powder and paint” process with foundation and then concealer over the top, even though I’m led to believe it’s supposed to be done the other way round. Oh well, it works for me this way is all I can say!

For hygiene and smooth application, I prefer to use my fingers for foundation, but I tend to use a brush most days simply so I don’t have to wash my hands again afterwards – any minutes saved in the morning routine equals more minutes sleeping before the alarm goes off hehe.

I have combination skin, I like a medium coverage and I have several foundations that I like detailed below. I’m certainly not a tinted moisturizer type of gal but neither do I want to look too caked.

Revlon Colorstay Make Up with softflex

This ticks all the boxes for me and has done for some years despite trying probably hundreds of others. It’s a liquid formula, has a pale enough colour that is not too pale, provides good buildable coverage, a choice of one for Combination/Oily Skin or one for Normal/Dry skin, and all at a reasonable price. Oh, and it has SPF6 – not very high but at least it has some. Winner.

Chanel Mat Lumiere Long Lasting Luminous Matte Fluid Makeup (Some mouthful eh!)

Thicker than I would normally use but is good if you are looking for a bit more coverage without it accentuating lines and looking too cakey. It’s pricey though of course being Chanel. It is a pump action bottle which adds brownie points for me.

Mac Studiofix Fluid

This is to my mind almost exactly the same as my favourite, Revlon Colorstay, except that the choice of colours is far superior in Mac Studiofix yet I can’t find as good a colour match as with my Revlon! It does have SPF15 though. Oh and it's twice the price of Revlon.

Clarins Truly Matt Foundation

This is also pretty much like Revlon Colorstay, except a little bit thicker consistency, but it comes in a plastic bottle so I use this as my travel foundation – lighter and easier to fit in make up bag. This one is not quite so forgiving on facial lines if you don’t use it sparingly though!

Using a foundation brush does in my opinion take a bit more blending and also uses a bit more product as some is caught within the bristles.

So, to the process……….after I put my moisturizer on, I start to ‘unpack’ the required items from my make up bag (Ok, ok, I admit it, it’s a big vanity case of stuff, not just a bag). By the time I’ve done that my moisturizer has sunk in just enough and I’m ready to begin with foundation. I put a pea sized amount onto the brush and then quickly dab onto my nose, each cheek, forehead and chin, by which time the brush is almost dry and any leftovers get swept over my eyes. I then just blend blend blend until all the tide lines have disappeared – just a few minutes ‘work’ for a great result :0)