A 4-step guide, tells you how to choose your crème and powder wisely!
Walk into a Make-up store
Choose a brand only after you have visited other stores. Be aware that all brands (no matter how renowned) do not suit all skin types. Be open to experimentation and because your foundation is going to be the closest product to your skin, it will take sometime to find the right one! Lakme, M.A.C, Clinique, L’Oreal, Make Up For Ever and many make-up and skin care brands have stores across the city.
Quit the Guessing Game
Warning: No ‘one’ formula suits all skin types. Talk to the beauty expert or the makeup artist a the salon, find out which formula suits your skin the best depending on your skin’s warm or cool undertone (whether you go pink or yellow in the sun. People have one of these three undertones: pink, neutral or yellow), shade (M.A.C has the largest range of skin shades), type (dry, combination, oily, normal) and needs of a sensitive skin (acne prone, open pores, blemishes, allergies). Especially for everyday wear, ask the consultant for sweat proof, long wearing foundations with an SPF count. Estee Lauder’s Double wear stay-in-place makeup with SPF 10 sustains up to 12 hours wear.
Amongst Clinique’s non-comedogenic (non-pore clogging) products, the Super Moisturize and Super Balanced are for dry and combination skin respectively. Their finest, the Treatment Foundations for extremely sensitive skin are worth every rupee. M.A.C, on the other hand, has a range of foundations that double up as concealers. “For a natural finish, apply Mac studio moisture fix, followed by a Mac prolong wear foundation” said Vimi Joshi, senior artist, M.A.C.
Time is the Best Test
Brands divide their foundations either into numbers or shades. “When selecting a shade, try it on your face. Trying a foundation on your hand doesn't work as your hand is a different colour to your face. Try the foundation on your jaw line, so that the beauty consultant can match it with your neck. Blend the colour and if it disappears, it's the right shade,” advices Lisa Whyte from Clinique. Buy a foundation during the day and judge the way it makes your skin appear in white and day light. Keep it on your skin for an hour and check for, patchiness, grey shades, itching and redness.
Preparing your Skin for a Flawless Foundation
Step one is to exfoliate and hydrate the skin before applying a sunscreen. Step two is to blend in the foundation with your finger tips or using a brush. Step three is to use a setting powder to achieve an even finish. Make Up For Ever’s HD finishing powder is by far the best in the range. Carry a compact foundation or loose powder in your vanity kit for regular touch-ups during the day, Lakme and L’Oreal’s range of compacts work do a fantastic job.
Where to pick up from?
Mumbai
M.A.C: 32 Altamount Road, Tel: 22 2354 1097, Web: www.maccosmetics.com
Clinique: Shoppers Stop 211 D, S V Road, Andheri West, Tel: 9619634254, Web: www.clinique.in
Makeup Forever: www.makeupforever.com
Lakme Salon: J Tata Road, Opp Eros Cinema, Churchgate, Tel: 2204 2104, Web: www.lakmeindia.com
