Foundation basics

Foundation Workshop with Sian Duke

Dewy foundation look for catwalks

Monday 5th October

In today's lesson we covered the basics about different types of foundations, colour matching, skin types, undertones and applications with Sian Duke.

Skin undertones, foundation matching and the correct consistency:
Matching your foundation is crucial when it comes to applying make-up. Finding the correct shade for your skin tone is a must for flawless-looking skin. So let's get started with the basics.

Undertones:
In general we can differentiate two types of undertones: Cool and Warm

So what is cool and what is warm? Well, people with cool complexions have blue undertones in their skin, while warm complexions are usually more yellow.
Here is a good tip to help you identify your skin's undertone:
Take a look at your veins on the inside of your wrists. If your veins are more blue, you're skin probably has cool undertones. If you see green veins, you're rocking the warm undertones.
If it's hard to decide you might have neutral skin.

Finding the right texture is also just as important as finding the correct shade.
From tinted moisturisers to creamy full coverage foundations there are countless formulas and finishes and different techniques for applying them.
To find the perfect consistency you need to find out what is your skin type:

• Dry/ dehydrated
• Oily
• Combination
• Pigmentation
• Skin conditions: eczema, rosacea, acne, etc...

We can also differentiate the following skin finishes:

Matt finish (often requested for weddings, performers or dancers)

• Powdery to the touch
• Appears velvety
• No reflection, sheen or shine

Dewy finish (catwalks, shows, etc...)

• Glowing finish
• Hydrated/ Moisturised
• Illuminated
• Sheen and shine

Demo: 

After teaching the basics and also a few tips on how to set up professionally, Sian started demonstrating how to apply a dewy finish foundation that is often requested for fashion shows.

She started prepping the skin by cleansing, toning and moisturising it and applying a primer.

Sian then asked us to pick up four different shades we think would work best for the model. After matching the shades to the model's skin she applied a lighter shade to the high points of the face very lightly. For the remaining areas of the face such as the hairline, temples and jawline she applied a darker shade and buffed everything into the skin with a duo-fiber brush, using circular motions.

Wherever the skin needed a bit more coverage she went back with a long-wearing concealer.

And the final, dewy looking skin:

Practical:

After the demo we had to recreate the look.

I first washed and sanitised my hands as always, in front of my model. It is always good for your client to see you cleaning your hands. I than covered my model with a cape to protect her clothing. I than prepped her skin, using a cleansing milk, followed by a toner and massaged a good amount of moisturiser into her skin for hydration. Prepping the skin is such an important step when it comes to creating a flawless complexion.

I used a more yellow toned shade of MAC Face and Body on the centre part of the face where my model's skin is lighter than the rest of her face, such as the lower part of the forehead close to the brow bone, the cheeks, chin and the bridge of the nose. I used a flat foundation brush but only to apply the colour with.

I than mixed three different shades of darker, more red toned foundation together (also MAC Face & Body) for a slightly darker tone and applied it to the outer part, using the same flat foundation brush to apply this colour. I than buffed everything into the skin with a flat kabuki brush. I really like these kind of brushes for working the foundation into the skin.

As my model had an amazing skin she did not need too much concealing. I only applied a concealer by NYX underneath her eyes where she had a bit of darkness going on.

I then applied a Ben Nye loose setting powder to the centre of the forehead and underneath her eyes to set the concealer, and to the chin.

To make her skin look dewy and fresh I applied a gold toned liquid highlighter by APt (Mineral Sheer Veil) to the top of her cheekbones, above the eyebrows, on the bridge of the nose and into the cupid's bow.

I decided to go for this product as a highlighter (rather than MAC Strobe cream) because gold toned  products compliment the dark skin much nicer than a silvery/pinky cooler tone in my opinion.

Silvery, cool toned products can make a dark skin look very ashy.

You can see how the gold highlighter warms up the skin:

And here is the final look of my model:

Overview and Evaluation:

As radiant, dewy, healthy looking skin is such a huge trend at the moment I found this lesson very useful.

The four secrets (at least in my opinion) to create a healthy glow to the skin are:

• Hydrate the skin very well
• Less is definitely more (applying a very small amount of a lightweight foundation and concealer is the key, as well as really buffing everything into the skin)
• Strobing/highlighting to make the high points of the face pop
• Do not use much powder on the skin as it will mattify the whole look

Even though I feel like I've done a pretty good job on the colour-matching, I do think that I could learn a little bit more about colour-matching, undertones and colour theory, as I wasn't 100% sure about this part. I really had to take my time when it came to match the skin colour.

But I believe that practice makes perfect and that the more people, and the more skin-colours I practice on, the better I will get at it.

Looking back at the pictures now I feel like I could have used a little bit more powder around the nose but overall I am quite happy with the end result.

Another tool that I love using for applying and buffing in creamy products to the skin is the Beauty Blender. I always find it very easy to use this tool and I think I can create a really smooth, even, airbrushed look. I also like to damp my Beauty Blender with cool water. Every single client I've had before complimented how nice and refreshing it feels when I apply the foundation with this tool.

Product List:

• Kaeso Beauty Calming Cleansing milk
• Kaeso Beauty Calming Toner
• Kaeso Beauty Calming Moisturiser
• MAC Face and Body in shade C? for the lighter areas of the face
• A mixture of MAC Face and Body in shades C?, C? and C? for the darker areas of the face
• Flat Foundation Brush by Royal Brushes
• Flat Kabuki Brush by Crown Brushes for buffing in the foundation
• NYX Pro Concealer Palette
• Ben Nye Loose Powder in shade Coco Tan
• Mineral Sheer Veil by APt in Gold shade

Thanks, Brig :)