It’s been nice reading everyone’s festive holiday posts but this year I just don’t seem to have anything Christmas-y to contribute. I feel like I’ve covered all the Christmas topics in years past – if you’re wanting some festive posts from me, have a read through my Blogmas posts from 2016 and 2015.
When I get the question, “How do you apply your foundation?” I answer, “It depends.” I’m not trying to be difficult, because it really depends! It depends on the foundation that I’m using. It depends on what kind of finish I might be looking for, or the level of coverage I want that particular day. Here’s an overview of methods and tools that I employ to apply foundation.
I’ll also name some foundations that work well with each method.
Dita
As nature intended! This is my preferred method to apply foundation as I find it provides the most control and a more natural finish. The warmth of skin on skin contact also helps the foundation to spread easier and meld into the skin.
It’s also the most versatile – pretty much all of my foundations can be simply applied with my fingers except for a finicky few. I tend to use my fingers for liquidy foundations or those that require the product to be warmed up against the skin.
Examples of foundations suited for applying with fingers: MAC face & Body, MUFE face & Body (comparison between these 2 here), The common Serum Foundation, Shiseido sheer & perfect (review here), Holika Holika Aqua Petit BB, and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer (this needs warming up).
Professionisti:
• LIBERO!
• reusable (infinite number of times)
• warms up product
• Does not absorb product (reduce waste)
• adjustable to sheerer or heavier coverage
Cons:
• must wash after each use
• Disordinato
• may not be sanitary (especially when applying on someone else)
Spazzole
A more traditional way to apply foundation is with makeup brushes. here we have a wide variety of shape options: paddle, stippling / duo fiber, kabuki, flat top / buffing, and oval (aka “toothbrushes”). Some examples of each style:
Paddle (flat) brushes
• #6 foundation brush (random brand)
• Sonia Kashuk synthetic angled foundation brush (from Couture 5-Piece brush Set)
• Illamasqua Contour Brush
Paddle brushes are used for very meticulous application of foundation and can be tricky to use, as they can cause streaks if not using single direction strokes, like a patting motion.
#6 foundation brush loaded with liquid foundation.
I rarely use these brushes but they can come in handy if I need to smooth out parts of my face like around my nose or hair line.
Stippling / duo fiber brushes
• real techniques Stippling Brush
• Elf Stipple Brush
• real technique Duo Fiber face Brush
I personally find stippling / duo fiber brushes to leave streaks so I tend to not use them for applying liquid foundation (I prefer them to apply powder blush and bronzer).
Elf Stipple brush with liquid foundation.
Look at how the hairs clump together when wet – how can this apply foundation smoothly? I use small swirling / buffing motion when using these brushes instead of an up and down stippling motion – so maybe I’m doing it wrong?
Kabuki brushes
I own a lot of these little kabuki brushes so it was tough to narrow down to show only 3 – they’re just so cute and collectible.
• make up For ever #124 Powder Kabuki Brush
• real techniques Kabuki Brush
• Clarins The Brush
Most foundation brushes are made of synthetic hairs to reduce product absorption into the bristles. The Clarins brush is different in that it’s made of natural hairs rather than synthetic bristles – I only use it brush for powders. My favourite of these is that RT brush, it’s bisected and hinged – it opens up to dense fan style like this:
I can apply foundation, blush, and bronzer with this! but of course, it’s discontinued. I’ve been trying to secure a back-up, in vain.
MUFE #124 Kabuki brush with powder foundation.
I find kabuki style brushes to be best suited for powder or mineral foundation.
Buffing brushes
• Zoeva #102 Silk finish Brush
• Cargo Magic Brush
• Bdellium tools Powder Blending #959 (shown here)
These are like smaller kabuki brushes with long handles. The kabuki and buffing brushes were first made popular during the mineral powder craze in early the 2000’s. I find the really densely packed buffing brushes to be mainly good for powder foundations. Of these, my favourite is the Bdellium #959 – it doesn’t leave streaks and blends foundation quickly and seamlessly.
Bdellium tools #959 Powder Blending brush with liquid foundation.
Flat top brushes
• Shiseido perfect foundation Brush
• Bdellium tools precision Kabuki #957
• Coastal Scents Bionic flat top Buffer brush BR-110
Flat top brushes tend to have an almost velvety smooth surface, which makes for an even application of foundation on the skin.
Coastal Scents Bionic flat top Buffer brush with liquid foundation.
For liquid foundation, I prefer looser packed, slightly floppy bristles which do not smear the foundation around, but rather smooth and blend foundation onto the skin.
Oval brushes
• MAC Masterclass Oval 6 brush (review here)
• AliExpress pro Oval (review here)
• O! Wow brush by Cailyn
The oval brushes are essentially buffing brushes turned perpendicular. I first learned of them when MAC launched the Masterclass Oval brushes back in 2013 but most people know of the Artis brushes which came out a couple of years later. The bristles are usually very fine filaments and packed extremely densely – the brush surface feels like velour. What I like about these brushes is how they blur imperfections like pores and fine lines. The application motion with these brushes is a side to side sweeping of the brush to graze over the skin surface.
MAC Oval 6 with foundation.
Overall, I find that applying foundation using the various brush styles yield the highest coverage and are best for foundations that are medium to thicker consistencies.
Examples of foundations that work well using makeup brushes are face Atlier Ultra Foundation, Revlon ColourStay Whipped, Guerlain lingerie de Peau (review here), and MAQuillAGE lasting Powdery UV EX foundation (and most compact foundations).
Professionisti:
• reusable for a long period of time (years)
• Hygienic – choice of most makeup artists
• Can be spot cleaned quickly
• provides even coverage
• adjustable to sheerer or heavier coverage
Cons:
• must wash after each use
• absorbs product (waste)
• Can cause streaky application
Sponges
A relatively new invention, with beauty Blenders launched only in 2007, the current concept of blending sponges as they appear now revolutionized foundation application. before the egg shaped blending sponge, we had this:
Fonte.
Now we have these:
• AOA wonder Blender – Black Teardrop (shown here)
• Quo Blending Sponge
• Sephora The pointer Blending Sponge (shown here)
• The face Shop Makeup Blender Sponge (shown here)
• real techniques miracle complexion Sponge (review here)
I won’t even waste time talking about those silly silicone blending sponges!
I dedicated a whole post on blending sponges here: beauty Blender Battle. I find blending sponges to be best for foundations and concealers with a medium consistency, ranging up to balmy consistency. Anything too runny will absorb too much into the sponge, and anything too thick will have a challenging time blending out.
The face Shop Makeup Blender Sponge with liquid foundation.
I primarily like to use dampened sponges to sheer out foundations that I find to be too high coverage. one of the best things about blending sponges is how quickly they blend out foundations to look flawless – I use sponges second only to using my fingers.
Speaking of fingers, I’m really liking this new addition to my blending sponge family – meet the Sephora The pointer Blending Sponge! It fits over my finger so I can blend under eye concealer and around my nose easily. The instructions advise to use it wet – I’ve tried it both wet and dry and I prefer it dry.
Examples of foundations that I like using with blending sponges: Maybelline SuperStay better Skin Foundaion (review here), MAC MatchMaster, H&M all day Foundation, and Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation. I also like flattened disc style sponges for powder and cream foundations.
Professionisti:
• blends seamlessly
• creates airbrushed / poreless appearance
• reusable (varies by sponge quality)
• Sheers out foundation
• blends foundation quickly
Cons:
• must wash after each use
• absorbs product (waste)
• need to replace sponges regularly
• need to have water nearby to wet sponge prior to use
Machines
Not A.I…. ancora. but I’m talking about airbrush makeup guns or even the Clarisonic Sonic foundation Brush.
I’ve not tried either of these so I can’t comment – they do require a high dollar investment for the equipment and special supplies first so it’s a commitment. Do any of you have an airbrush foundation gun or tried the Clarisonic brush?
That’s my overview of all the different ways to apply foundation! My go-to foundation application method will always be using my fingers but sponges and brushes are also useful to provide a variety of finishes with different foundations. are there any other ways to apply foundation that you use? What is your favourite foundation application method and tool?
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