A couple of years ago, the brand head of a luxury cosmetic company shared an interesting little fact with me. According to research, Indian women spend far more on luxury makeup than skincare. This means that we won’t bat an eyelid before picking up a Dior lipstick but would still prefer to use a drugstore moisturiser. Well, to each their own I suppose. But what I don’t understand is why we wear eyeliner, lipstick, mascara and even eye shadow without using foundation, or even powder.
Powder and foundation get a bad rap in India because of its association with super white and chalky textures. It’s assumed that we all want to be at least a shade fairer, so when we’re shopping, salespeople always suggest a lighter colour.
And I’m not talking about some inexpensive brand whose staff may not be thoroughly trained. It happened to me at La Prairie, when one of their very senior staff suggested a colour so pale that I would’ve looked positively ghostlike.
I’m sure most women think it’s not a big deal — except it is.
Going one shade lighter with base enhances every imperfection in your skin, making it appear uneven. Lighter shades makes dark circles look grey, pores look larger, skin look duller, and they have a nasty habit of enhancing wrinkles by settling into them. You can go a shade darker and it won’t look bad at all, but if you go paler, it will enhance all the things you want to conceal, just like white jeans make your butt look bigger.
The trick is to pick a shade which is an exact match, a real task especially when there are literally five shades to chose from. I’ve never understood testing foundation on the side of your jaw, I mean, no one has discolouration there, do they?
Instead, test it in the centre of your forehead. If the shade blends out extremely easily looking like your own skin, then you’ve found your colour. I strongly recommend you choose your own shade instead of asking the salesgirl, who will most likely steer you to a colour too pale.
So, why am I pushing foundation today? It’s because I’m tired of women with perfect makeup on an imperfect base. I’m not saying you need to cover every inch of your face with concealer or foundation. On the contrary, only touch up spots that need to be corrected. If you have perfect skin then you only need a beautiful powder to even out your skin tone leaving it luminous. I recommend the Chanel Compact Doucer that I use on most days in place of foundation.
For concealing under eyes and zits, these days I’m only using the CoverFX Custom Cover Drops. These are highly pigmented drops that you can mix with sunscreen or moisturiser to make CC cream or foundation (depending on the number of drops you use). I like to use it as a concealer because it is quite sheer. But use just the tiniest amount — a pin-sized dab to conceal a pimple. If you want to pick up just one product, make it the Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick. It’s easy to use, matte and portable.
The biggest mistake women usually make when wearing foundation is to whitewash the entire face with product. You only need to use it on spots that are uneven, or if you have a bit of redness, or pigmentation. There are only four basic areas that really need touching up — between the brows, the inner corners of your eyes, the sides of your nose and the corners of your mouth.
Apply and blend outwards. Do not use foundation all over your face because it will make you look flat and two-dimensional. Keep it concentrated towards the centre of your face, where you need it the most. Then you can finish the look with by dusting face powder with a brush all over the face and neck.
Using a good quality powder and foundation will cover pores, imperfections and boost radiance, so these are worth investing in.
A fortnightly column to remind you about all things skin deep