Amy Karlson: Foundation Tutorial

I get tons of requests for a great foundation. It’s probably the biggest question I get after hair color questions. While I’m happy to share all my favorite foundations in this post, beyond the actual product, the technique is so, so important.

This post is all about the changes I’ve made on how I do my foundation in my mid to late 30’s vs my early 20’s. This technique gives me the medium coverage I like, without accentuating fine lines around my eyes or on my forehead. As I said in the concealer video, I don’t mind aging, I actually really love it, but I still want to look my best and for me that means glowing and fresh!

Foundation Technique

1 | Skin Prep

Just like in my concealer technique post, skin prep is the biggest change I’ve made in my 30’s. I love using a jade roller when I’m in a rush and the ZIIP device when I am working from home or have an event. It makes your skin look like you just got a facial.

Both help with lymphatic drainage, depuffing your face and bringing the contours back to your cheeks, while smoothing out undereye areas.

2 | Hydrate

After washing my face, I apply this toner/serum with my hands (no cotton rounds) and then apply eye cream and moisturizer. I noticed the toner helps my face stay more hydrated and the eye cream and face lotion helps to plump skin and create a nice, hydrated base for makeup.

This helps the makeup glide on and prevents dry patches that makeup can stick to and create unwanted texture.

3 | Primer

I used to really go either way on primer, like ehh if I’m moisturized enough then maybe I don’t need it?

But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that certain primers can really help with smoothing out forehead lines and visible pores around my chin.

The key is to look for a primer that is thin and spreads easily, without a heavy, thick silicone feeling. A thin primer gives me the smoothing I want, without this super blurred or facetuned look.

4 | Blending Neck and Chest

If you are lucky enough to not have any sun damage, you might be able to skip this step. I however, am fair skinned with sun damage on my chest.

The best way to blend my face makeup and make it look more natural is to apply a tinted moisturizer to my neck and chest. This gives a little color and smoothness to my neck, without any heaviness or visible makeup. I set with a setting spray to prevent the tint from transferring to clothing.

5 | Foundation

We are like, finally here, right gang!? I know it seems like we’ve already done a zillion steps, but in reality the first four steps only take me about a minute or two to do before it’s time for foundation.

With foundation, I’ll apply one pump all over my face and blend. Then, I spot touch up any places I feel like I need a little more coverage. Applying this way saves me from doing two layers all over, which can accentuate fine lines on the forehead or around my eyes and mouth.

I also choose foundations with a more satin or dewy finish vs. a matte finish.

6 | Setting

Baking is a technique where you apply a lot of powder all over your face and let it sink in to stop foundation from moving. It’s honestly a great technique on young, oily skin, but on dry or mature skin it just doesn’t work. It will accentuate any little patch or dry area and makes lines look deep.

To set my makeup using minimal amounts of powder, I like to spray two pumps of setting spray directly in the round bottom area of my beauty blender. I squish this in, then bounce that all over my foundation. This will help set the makeup for 10-14 hours. It’s one of my top secrets for bridal or e-com (online catalogue) makeup, where the models will be changing a 100 times a day. I never share this secret, but heck, we are friends, so here you go.

After this, I’ll use a tiny amount of setting powder, my favorites are Hourglass Veil and Laura Mercier, on a pointed Wayne Goss brush. I apply under my eyes at the inner corner, in the t-zone, around the sides of my nose, and at the corners of my forehead.

It’s important to use the most minimal amount of powder possible. You’ll get the semi-matte finish you want, without a heavy look.

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Amy Karlson

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Foundation Tutorial | 35+ Mature Skin

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