Let's talk basics

Foundation can absolutely make or break your look. It can cover all multitude of sins and is the best way to ensure bronzers and other products really last and look good on your skin.

When I was around 5 I started competing in dance tournaments around the UK and this was really my first introduction to makeup. My favourite part of every show or competition was always when my mum would sit me down and whip out her makeup bag to dab a bit of foundation onto my face and ply my lips with some shocking shade of red or hot pink. A couple of years after  starting secondary school was when I started noticing the pressure to “look good” and girls would start arriving to classes with a full face of make up on. I joined in but perhaps was thinking about the good old dancing days too much when it came to foundation. Like a lot of girls that age I was convinced my skin was an absolute monstrosity that must be covered by something more perfect and so the foundation would be piled on and not always the correct shade. After a few instances of this my mum finally threw out my pot of Rimmel Air Mousse (I think that’s what I started with anyway) and gave me a proper lesson in how to apply. Despite some initial protests that you could still see too much of my own skin, I fell in love with how my skin could suddenly brighten up and look more flawless whilst still looking like.. skin.

And so started my love affair with dewiness. Over the years I’ve tried quite a few foundations ranging from Rimmel to Bourjois to Chanel but my absolute favourite that I have come back to time and time again is Dior’s Forever.

I have a somewhat unusual technique for applying my foundation but it works perfectly with this product. I picked it up from a makeup artist when I was visiting Henri Bendel’s in New York last winter and it involves two different types of brush.

To talk you through it, once I’ve applied my base (I use Smashbox Photo Finish primer) I put a squirt or two of Dior Forever on the back of my hand and then take the standard, flat domed foundation brush to roughly apply it to my face – across the forehead, cheeks, nose and chin. When I say roughly I don’t try to beat myself up with the brush! I leave the foundation at the point where you would normally start really working on blending it in, so the brush marks are still visible and my face is by no means completely covered in product. I then take what I call a ‘stippler’ brush which has a large flat head. Using quick circular motions I buff the rest of my foundation into my skin using this and I find it just gives an amazing finish that looks really natural. I haven’t really seen or heard of many other people using this technique with a liquid foundation but it’s the main technique of applying a mineral or powder based formula and it works well for the same reasons. The buffing motion ensures there are no streaks which I often suffer with from using the traditional foundation brush, and it also distributes product really well so that the end result is very even.