Flawless Foundation
I follow my fair share of blogs, and as much as I wish I could take credit for coming up with this genious trick, I actually tried it based on the suggestion of Pink Pistachio's blog. Typically I wouldn't post something on here that's someone else's tip, but this is such.a.lifesaver (er, skin saver?) that I decided I still owed it to all of you who read my blog to reap the benefits of this trick.
And for anyone who doesn't check back on Pink Pistachio's blog regularly, I strongly suggest it. She's the cutest thing, pregnant with baby #3, and she's the queen of balance, lowcost fashion, and just a perfect, storybook home. Seriously, click on over to her page...you won't be disappointed. But first, read this post for the trick to amazing looking skin (that she actually explained she learned from her mom's friend)!
Background
I've always had really sensitive skin. When I was a kid we were told something or another about how I don't have enough antibodies to my skin's surface, so when I got things like the chicken pox I had scabs for a month after the virus was out of my system. To this day, if I lay in grass my forearms will get little red bumps on them for an hour or so then go away, and heaven forbid I get a mosquito bite because without even touching the area it will swell to the size of a penny. Weird, I know.
Because of all that I tend to be fairly paranoid about what I put on my skin because I can break out in a rash pretty easily. As you can see in the picture above, when I'm so.pale from living in the Midwest in winter the imperfections in the tone of my skin are extremely blatant. They're not bumps, it's just a color difference.
Once I get even a little bit of a tan they aren't noticeable at all, but that certainly doesn't help a girl who refuses to step foot in a tanning bed and lives in a state where it's "winter" 8-9 months of the year!
WHAT YOU NEED
1 tube of your choice of liquid foundation (I swear by L'Oreal BB Magic); $7.99
1 bottle Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion; $11.99
1 tube Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel; $5.99
Before you close out the browser after seeing that last item on the list, you have to admit you're a little curious. Call me naïve, but I didn't even realize women could need...chafing relief? Moreso, never in a million years would I have ever thought about putting the relief gel on my sensitive face!!
But...it works. And it doesn't irritate my skin at.all. My guess is this little piece is what makes my skin look and feel so.smooth after everything is applied, and I even believe this is the key to the mixture not caking in cracks and wrinkles. Still, I wonder who thinks hey, maybe I should put some of that chafing relief gel in with my foundation and see what happens!
Steps to Smooth-Looking Skin
First, use the back of your hand as a "paint tray" if you will.
Next you'll squeeze a pea-sized amount of the chafing relief gel on the top of your hand, then put the same amount of liquid foundation next to it. Finally, add about 1/3 of the pea-sized amount of lotion next to everything (so your ratios are 3:3:1).
Next, mix all three parts with your finger until evenly combined.
Now you'll just swipe a bunch up with your finger and put it on one of your cheeks. This doesn't have to be a careful or meticulously thought through application because you're just going to rub it in like lotion.
Rub in the mixture like lotion all the way up to your eyelid, your hairline, etc. so all your skin has been covered. Do the same with your other cheek, then forehead. As you do this you'll see how smooth it all goes on and covers any imperfections.
That's it! The only thing I noticed is that it does take a little longer for this to dry than just using a concealer and foundation alone, but since it takes out the step of using any concealer for me I think it's well worth it (and looks better). My skin stays soft and moisturized all day without becoming greasy at any point.
Once it's dry, apply blush as usual, and I always seal off my makeup with a transparent setting powder just for good measure. My favorite is Mac Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder.
Final Note
On a little side note (because I always seem to need to include these...one of my flaws I guess!), since I manage this blog in addition to working a very full time {plus} job, I had to get up extra early to get this put together for you all today before heading to work. Because of that there are shadows in the pictures since, well, the sun wasn't even close to coming up yet to utilize the natural light! And the artificial house lighting just isn't always the best.
I always do my hair after my makeup, hence the crazy knot on top of my head. And seeing I still needed to get ready to head to the office after putting all of this together, something had to give in the pictures.
Thus, you are left with messy hair and shadows, BUT on the flip side you now have the best makeup trick ever as a resource! Sacrifices must be made, and I thank you for accepting me despite my imperfect skin, messy hair and shadowy pictures in this post.
