Article by Donna Hay at www.makeupbulletin.com

Gone are the days of make-up sponges and sea sponges to apply foundation …Hello foundation brush! Now if you haven’t seen one of these, then I’m not sure where you have been hiding – as these have been around for while now!

Why use a brush instead? Well, a foundation brush is generally synthetic, so this means that it won’t absorb as much of your product as a little sea sponge or foundation sponge would. They are also easy to rinse under the tap after use, or can be shampooed weekly for optimum cleanliness. Ok, from a make-up artists point of view, step by step, this is how I achieve flawless skin on my model.

1. Apply moisturiser with foundation brush (flat yellow/beige brush featured above – # 190 from MAC)

2. If you have large pores/ scarring or uneven skin tone, use a primer after moisturising to smooth skin and give it an even appearance. Avoid illuminating creams if you have acne or very scarred/uneven skin. Remember – products that are light reflecting make something appear BIGGER or more obvious, so you don’t want to attract more attention to your problematic skin than is necessary – rather opt for a primer if you having a bad skin month: )

3. If you want glowing skin- and your skin is co-operating and not acting up, then apply an illuminating cream such as MACS Strobe Cream, to enhance the glowy, sexy skin that you want to achieve. These illuminating creams should be applied after moisturising of course.

4. So – your skin is moisturised and/or primed or illuminated? Great! Now we get to the nitty gritty, namely, foundation! I like to clench my hand into a fist, and turn my fist sideways, then de-cant a bit of foundation onto the area below my thumb. Dip your flat foundation brush into your foundation and start ‘painting’ your face. You can ‘build’ your foundation to the required coverage that you like. I also like to use this brush to press foundation onto the skin, so work with the brush as you would work with a sponge. Concentrate also on the areas that are commonly red – like around the nose and any purpley/ redness underneath the eye area.

5. Once I have applied the desired foundation coverage, I like to ‘work’ the foundation into the skin with this Fibre optic black and white foundation brush (brush # 187 also from MAC.) This brush can also be used on it’s own ( if you don’t like to fuss and just want to buy/use one brush). It works really well though, to ‘buff’ the foundation into the skin, and if my model has really dry/dehydrated skin, I use a moisturising mist like MACS Fix + spray, while buffing foundation onto the skin. Concentrate on dry spots. Spray liberally. More foundation can be applied thereafter.

This Moisturising mist is great for dehydrated or dry skin as it contains cucumber and camomile extracts to soothe and moisturise. Also can be appled after cleansing face in evenings – or use as a setting spray to keep make-up in place.

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Once you have your flawless foundation – dust a smidgeon of powder on your ‘T’ panel, (forehead, nose and upper lip area) as you don’t want these areas to look oily!
Thereafter, apply bronzer with a loose, big brush, and VOILA! Gorgeous and natural glowing skin!

P.S Remember, practice makes perfect! And just an extra tip – Choose a foundation according to what you like your skin to look like! For example Matte for more coverage and no shine, or if you want your skin to look natural and light? Opt for a tinted moisturiser then … you get what we saying? 

Go get ‘em girl!! This is one makeup tip that will change your life GUARANTEED!
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