A No Foundation Summer

I’ve been wearing liquid foundation since I was 14 or 15 years old.  Why? Because I like the way it looks.  Even though I wear Makeup Forever [which is waterproof,] I feel as though, when the weather is warm, that my foundation slides a little and I end up looking splotchy and my face feels heavy.  So this summer, I’m going foundation-less.  Well, to be accurate, I’m ditching the liquids and wearing just my powders.

*Extreme close-up time*

If you don’t use powder foundations and you want to give them a go, you must first prep your skin if you have oily skin like I do.   Powders simply don’t last without a base to “stick” to.

First, wash and moisturize your face. When you moisturize, really massage it in and allow it to sink into your skin before you apply your makeup.  Ten minutes should do the trick!  I use a moisturizer with a natural SPF when I where my powder foundation.  If you need more SPF coverage, substitute your moisturizer for sunblock, it’s just as moisturizing.  [My liquid foundations and my moisturizers have SPF, so I normally don't concern myself with a separate sunblock.]

After your face is nice and clean and moisturized, apply a primer.  I never use a primer with my liquid foundations, I find that it does nothing.  But with my powders, I can immediately see a difference after a few hours of wear.  I can’t make a brand recommendation as they are all pretty much the same.  Just experiment and find one that works for your skin.

Apply your cream and liquid concealers and brighteners before you apply your face powder.  I also like to do my brows first and buff over them with my powder foundation.

To apply your powder, use a buffing brush to really beat it into your skin.  I use my synthetic kabuki brush.  My method to avoid the powdery look, but still have full coverage is:

• Apply powder to the brush
• Tap off the excess
• Buff the powder onto my skin in sections
• Repeat
• Spray MAC Fix + all over my face
• When my face is mostly dry, apply powder again.

My face is fully covered, but it looks natural.  In normal situations, my face stays fully covered the entire workday.

Quick Pic – Lashes and Hair

The hair: A twist out using Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Repair Cream.

The lashes: NYX # 109

The makeup: All MAC – Solar White, Amber Lights, Rule, Espresso, Saddle

NOTD – OPI A Grape Fit!

Ignore the lotion on my middle finger.

From the OPI Summer Brights Collection, A Grape Fit! is a GORGEOUS purple-lilac creme.  Though it’s a mid-range purple, it’s darker than all of the other purples that I own such as OPI’s Do You Lilac It?.  It’s almost jelly-like in texture and is super glossy.  I had no issues applying it and it was opaque after three layers.   I am wearing three layers in this picture.