I do not use all of the pictured products at once! I swear!
I just wanted to show everything that I have been using lately and frequently enough that I put them in a separate area for quick grabbing.
My desired finish after applying my foundation is a soft matte look that makes me look more awake. I also prefer a medium finish in general to cover the majority of my acne marks. I get lazy to do pin point concealing and so I only break out the full coverage concealer when I have large cystic acne.
Lately, my skin has been normal to oily. I tend to not do touch ups and so when I get back from work (out of the house from 7:20 AM to 5:40PM), I do have an oily glow going on. I don't like looking too matte and so I like to go towards more slightly dewey products and techniques.
Here's a before and after to show you the end result! Sadly, the lighting wasn't as consistent throughout the process and I feel like I look a bit more overexposed in the after picture. I do want to note that when I do more full coverage, the contours of my face also look more flat - the same way overexposure sometimes does.
Here are some before shots from the front and sides.
As you can see, I have some hyperpigmentation on both sides of my face. I also have enlarged pores in my cheeks. There's some redness, but not bad enough that I have to bring in color correcting concealers.
Primers
- L'oreal Magic Perfecting Base
- Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer - Green
- Smashbox Photo Finish Oil Free Foundation Primer Pore Minimizing
The base I've been using the most is the L'oreal Magic Perfecting Base and it's a light and thin mousse like base that helps slightly fill in the pores and gives a silky soft matte look to the face. You can probably use it by itself if your skin is clearer than mine.
Left - bare skin
Right - Primed with just the L'oreal primer
It doesn't fill in my pores as well as the Tarte Smoothing Primer or prolong my foundation as well as the Smashbox primers, but it's a nice in-between since I was going to layer on other products. My skincare now also involves a lot of products and so I like to go as thin as possible.
When I'm not putting on an essence, serum, and sun screen, I like to layer on the Tarte primer with the green Smashbox primer. This combo helps prolong my foundation and minimize my pores.
Foundation + Concealer for blemishes
- Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in # 54 Beige (review here)
- L'oreal Infallible Pro-Matte 24HR Foundation in #105 Natural Beige (review here)
- Cover FX Custom Cover Drops in G40 (review here)
- MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC35
For this post, I used two layers of the L'oreal Infallible foundation with a BeautyBlender. I also like to spritz L'oreal Makeup Extender Setting Spray to help spread out the foundation a bit more.
I have to use two layers since my cheeks kind of "eat" up the foundation. It also helps build up to become around medium coverage. The golden undertones in this foundation is also amazing for my warm toned Asian skin.
When I went to go with medium-full coverage, I use the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation mixed with some drops of the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops. The Bourjois foundation gives me a more dewy look. On a normal day, I love to wear this foundation but I get a little bit too oily when I wear this for a full day of work.
Undereye Concealers
- Physicians Formula Nude Wear Concealer Nude
- Flower Beauty Daily Brightening Undereye Cover Creme in DB3
- L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Lumi Concealer in Medium (review here)
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer in Neutral Medium
L to R: Physicians Formula | Flower Beauty | L'oreal | It Cosmetics
My favorite out of the bunch is probably the L'oreal Magic Lumi Concealer. I do have undereye bags, but I also wear glasses that kind of hide them. When the bags are really bad, I use the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye concealer mostly in the inner corner.
I also like that the L'oreal concealer is brightening with some coverage. It is thin as well and it helps with not creasing. I can use it to highlight my cheekbones, forehead, and nose bridge and it adds a very pretty glow to my face.
The Physicians Formula concealer is also nice and has a slight orangey undertone that helps with color correcting - but barely. It is also more liquidy and a bit more sheer than L'oreal's version. Flower Beauty's concealer is my least favorite about of the bunch since it is more dry and too light considering it's the 2nd darkest shade in this line. I like it enough to not throw it away, but I definitely won't be repurchasing.
The It Cosmetics concealer is very very pigmented and slightly thick. I use the tiniest dot (see above!) for both eyes. I got the mini travel size and I don't see myself finishing this for at least two years. Neutral Medium is a bit light for my taste, but I really didn't want to get the full sized version since I don't see myself ever finishing that.
For those kind of bad days, I put the tiniest bit of the It Cosmetics concealer in the inner corners to combat darkness (left image).
For normal days, I just use the L'oreal concealer under my eyes.
For really bad days, I use a combo of both and get the right image. I use the It Cosmetics concealer first and then layer on the L'oreal concealer on top as well as on the high points of my face.
Like with foundation, I like to blend both concealers out using a BeautyBlender.
Powders and Finishing Sprays
- Tarte Smooth Operator Clay Finishing Powder
- NYX HD Finishing Powder in Banana
- L'oreal Infallible Pro-Matte 16 HR Powder in #300 Nude Beige
- L'oreal Infallible Makeup Extender Setting Spray
For setting the undereye area, I sometimes use the NYX HD Finishing Powder to add a big more brightness or the Tarte Finishing Powder with a BeautyBlender (makeup sponges are amazing!). I prefer using the Tarte Finishing Powder since I can use it all over and helps lessen the creasing. If the concealer I'm using is thin, I just use the NYX one since pressed powders with a brush is easier to apply in a rush.
My face powders can depend on what I'm feeling and what foundation I'm using.
For the above look, I used the L'oreal powder all over my face using a dense powder brush and sprtiz my face with the setting spray. It helps cut down on any leftover powder and creates a more natural look to my skin.
To really set my face, I once again like to use a BeautyBlender with the Tarte Powder. I have to be careful using this powder though since it might give me a white cast. I usually don't take pictures with flash photography or go out enough at night for flash photography and so I don't worry about it.
Wheeeew! This was a super long post to write and take pictures for.
Hopefully someone will read and enjoy the whole thing because I think this is the most work I've put into a post in awhile.
Do you have any tips or tricks for foundation?
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