Still Reinventing My Face

Throughout the past few months that I’ve been reviewing products on Chic Critique, I’ve been trying to find the perfect base for my face.  And every time I think I’ve discovered the answer, I post about it, and invariably a month later, I find something new.

As I’ve explained two or ten times already, I used Lancome’s Dual Finish pressed powder for YEARS as the base for my makeup.  It’s quick and easy and provides medium coverage.  I never thought about it; I just replaced it every time it ran out.  The only change I made over the 15 years I used it was switching between shades.

Then last year I turned 35.  And my skin seemed to turn 40 overnight.  And suddenly I decided I needed more coverage than the powder was providing.  And also, I feared that applying powder directly to my skin might be overly drying.

So I high-tailed it to Sephora and asked for a recommendation for foundation.  And I walked away with Smashbox High Definition foundation and Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch foundation primer.  And for a few weeks, I would slather on the Clarins as thickly as possible to try to fill in all the imperfections in my skin, and then apply the foundation with a foundation brush over my entire face.  I would finish it off with a light dusting of my trusty Lancome powder.  And I felt kind of cakey.  And overly made up.  And old.  And the Clarins didn’t work the miracle I was hoping it might.

So then I discovered tinted primer.  And I wrote all about that here.  And that worked fine for a while, but this summer my tinted primer that I bought back in March is too light.  And I reverted back to my old stand-by, the Lancome Dual Finish.  It just felt more natural.

And THEN I started reading How Not To Look Old last week.  And I learned how to properly apply foundation and foundation primer so it looks natural and current.  I was going about it all wrong.  Go figure!

Here is what I learned.  The modern way to wear makeup is to keep it as natural looking as
possible.  And as we age, the key is to go lighter and brighter.  You
never want your makeup to look cakey, thick, dry, too light, too
dark, or too obvious.

First and foremost, the book HIGHLY recommends a foundation primer as an ESSENTIAL part of the modern woman’s beauty regimen.  Throughout the book she mentions hundreds of products, but the only time she tells you to drop everything and go buy something ASAP is when she addresses foundation primer.  And her favorite is the one June reviewed for us back in February — Smashbox Photo Finish
Foundation Primer.

So what’s so great about foundation primer, you wanna know.  The key ingredient in primer is silicone, which smooths over wrinkles and pores so your makeup doesn’t settle into the fine lines and make you look older.  Not that you HAVE fine lines, but you know, hypothetically speaking of course.  Ahem. 

After you apply the primer to your entire face, use foundation sparingly in the places where you need it the most.  And she advises applying foundation with your fingertips, which goes against the conventional wisdom that the foundation brush is the best tool for the job.  After using the brush and finding the results less than ideal, I am back to using my fingertips, and I feel like it looks much more natural this way.  (Whatever you do, ditch the sponge.  It wastes the product, for one thing, and it’s not very sanitary.  And it’s a royal pain besides.)

Then touch up with concealer and dust on some translucent powder (use powder sparingly; you want to look dewy and fresh, not chalky and dry) and you’re ready to face the day.  (After you do your eyes and lips and cheeks, of course.) 

Hey, no one ever said staying young and gorgeous was quick and easy!  (Or cheap, ha!)

It really doesn’t take as long as it sounds, and I think you will like the results.  Try it!  And then write in and let me know what you think.