"Hi! How do you apply your foundation (or whichever type of face makeup) so flawlessly? No matter how much I try (primer/ concealor/ foundation) redness and dryness ruins it for me (and I have oily skin). Thank you!!!!"
Asked by Anonymous
Hi there! Sounds like you might be dealing with sensitive-combination skin or else oily skin dried-out and sensitized by skin treatments (hence dry, oily, and red at the same time).
I do have some dry and some oily spots (my skin is either side of normal) but it’s seldom red unless I’ve got hives or rashes, which is quite infrequent. Due to this, I tend to treat the problems in the following priority order:
Redness/Sensitivity - for me this is usually a temporary skin reaction, so I always treat it first as it can make oiliness or dryness worse.
Dryness - it’s harder to make crepe-y (or worse) flaky skin look good with makeup
Oiliness - can be dealt with after you apply makeup
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Dealing with Redness:
- If it’s not a chronic issue, arm yourself with a bit of hydrocortisone cream or other soothing creams (Avene Thermale Antirougeurs is a good line for treating flushed, sensitive skin) and press it into your skin gently, in place of your regular lotion.
- If your redness is chronic, you might want to switch out your products to gentler alternatives, and give the Antirougeurs line a try as well. Other than this, don’t cleanse your face with hot water, and always wear a good sun-screen. The fastest way would actually be to visit a reputable dermatologist for a quick consultation. (I find this saves a lot of time, money and frustration in the long run.)
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Dealing with Dryness + Oiliness:
- If your dryness is temporary due to spot-treatment of acne, it helps to remove the flakes during your cleansing routine (I find gently massaging your skin right before you leave a warm shower helps to loosen whatever dead skin there is) before applying your treatments and cleansers.
- Slather on a good non-greasy moisturizer (either the Avene Antirougeurs or Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance) and let it sink in a few minutes before applying sun screen and makeup. Don’t use the harsh mattifying lotions that promise to keep you matte. They never work except to temporarily strip your skin.
- I choose a foundation for dry skins even if I know it will get oilier over the day (e.g. Clinique Repairwear Laserfocus All Smooth makeup). I can always blot my skin, but I can’t add moisture in after my makeup goes on.
- If you have flakiness, use a flat paddle-shaped foundation brush and dampen it with something like MAC Fix+ before using it to smooth makeup over your skin. This not only helps your foundation stay on a bit better but also minimizes the appearance of flaky skin. (Stippling and buffing brushes can work if you don’t have flakiness.)
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Getting More Coverage:
- If you need more coverage at this point, don’t keep caking on more foundation. A light layer lasts and looks better.
- Apply a fuller coverage concealer onto areas that are still red. You might want to use something that isn’t too dry and powdery, as you will need to spread and blend it out. A great video on applying concealer to cover redness is one by Nic from Pixiwoo, who has dry, flushed skin.
- At this point, you should have moderate coverage on your skin already, but if you’re determined to cover most, if not all of the redness due to the look you’re going for, I suggest setting your face with loose mineral powder foundation, which will give a lot of extra coverage. This may be too much for the under-eye area so I usually use translucent powder there instead.
- To finish, spray your face with Fix+ or any setting spray to cut any powderiness and make everything look more like skin, and just remember to blot your skin with oil-absorbing sheets every 2 hours or so.
