Fierce Foundations: Primer, Liquid, Cream, Cream to Powder, Powder

Foundation is an important piece of our beauty routines because it creates a smooth appearance, where color and accentuation can be added. Foundation helps to protect our skin, especially if it contains SPF, and it can act as a base for contouring and blush color. The type of foundation you choose is based on a few factors: preferred look and feel, coverage, and makeup goals (for example, natural look versus full glam).

Primer

Why do we even use primer? Well, primer does a few very important things: it fills in lines and creates a clean surface to begin the makeup artistry, it smooths your skin and allows foundation to blend, tinted primers and color correctors can help reduce discoloration, and primer helps to lock in moisture.

MagiX Face Perfector is a colorless primer that smooths your foundation application, and offers SPF 20. Follow up with your favorite foundation.

Liquid

Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage gives complete coverage while still feeling lightweight and natural. Contains SPF 15, and comfortable to wear all day. This foundation smooths skin texture, and helps skin feel moisturized. 21 shades and Invisiblend Technology make skin matching easy!

Anew Age-Transforming is a full coverage liquid foundation with the added benefits of Anew skincare technology. Using this foundation helps to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, pores and age spots. 14 shades.

BB Beauty Balm Cream is lightweight liquid foundation, almost like a moisturizer. The BB cream is hydrating, with lightweight coverage and SPF 15 protection. 5 shades.

CC Color Corrector Cream is perfect for pigment issues, including uneven skin tone, redness, or dark spots on your skin. The CC also has powerful sun protection with SPF 50. 5 shades.

Cream 

The Anew Age-Transforming 2-in-1 Compact has delicious creamy foundation, with added aging ingredients in a delightful swirl. Easy to apply, with medium coverage, this foundation is infused with Anew Serum anti-aging technology for younger looking skin. I do recommend a translucent powder to set for a matte finish. 8 shades.

Cream to Powder

Extra Lasting Cream To Powder Foundation is an amazing time saver. It is so quick and easy to apply this creamy compact which turns to a soft powdery matte finish. SPF 15, comfortable and lightweight. 21 shades.

Ideal Flawless Cream To Powder offers Invisiblend Technology like it's liquid counterpart, to help you find your perfect match. Medium to full coverage, that is easy to apply with the compact that goes on creamy and and finishes powdery. 21 shades.

Powder

Loose or Pressed, Ideal Flawless Powder is the perfect finish. Matte coverage to set your liquid or cream foundation, or use directly over your moisturizer. 10 shades.

Smooth Minerals is the best choice for an easy natural look. Use your daily moisturizer (with SPF, of course) and set with this lightweight, medium coverage powder foundation. Pure mineral pigments provide amazing color coverage, or choose translucent to set a liquid foundation. 12 shades.

All About Eyeliner: 4 Types and 4 Tips

Eyeliner is used to outline and define the eyes. It can help create a soft, smudgy look or a bold, dramatic look and it can change the allusion of eye shape.

4 Types of Eyeliner

Pencil

Pencil eyeliners are fast and less expensive so they are great for everyday. The point does have to be sharpened frequently, but pencils create a softer look. To apply, draw little sections at a time and fill in the line. Rather than applying one long stroke, go back and forth to define the line.

Liquid

Liquid eyeliners have high pigmentation and can create a super precise line. Liquid is great for creating the trendy winged/cat’s eye liner look, but it takes a super steady hand and practice. To apply, steady your hand the best you can by resting your elbow against a solid surface or resting your hand against your chin as you draw the line. Starting at the inner corner or midway, drag the brush along your lash line in short strokes, continuing along and going back over the line as needed.

Kohl

Kohl eyeliners are thicker, softer pencil eyeliners and often come with a rubber tip to smudge and soften even more. To create thick, dark lines for that smudgy or smoky look, apply the kohl eyeliner along the lash lines. The great thing is you don’t have to be super precise because the eyeliner will be softened out Next, blend the color out with the blending tool, or even a qtip. I’ve even used my fingers to soften and smudge kohl eyeliner.

Gel

Gel eyeliner usually comes in a little paint pot and is applied with a separate brush. The beauty of gel is that you can really control application, it is soft and often a more waterproof formula. The brush can give you very precise control on application.

4 Tips for Eyeliner

Dried product

Liquid and gel eyeliners, and mascaras, that have dried out can easily be revived by adding a drop or two of eyedrops and mixing well.

Lower line

So many MUAs say not to make the bottom lash line too dark with eyeliner. Personally, I think a dark lower line can be used to make certain looks work. The concern is that eyeliner on the bottom lid smudges more easily, so avoid touching your face or eyes!

Uneven line

Liner sometimes ends up all crooked and uneven, or on the brow, or nose, or… yeah, it can be hard to control. Don’t pull your eyelid to make skin taut, as that actually makes the line askew. Draw from the outside in, so inner to middle and then outer to middle. Use short strokes that combine to make one smooth even line. Finally, rest your elbow and/or your hand against something to steady your hand as you apply the liner.

Prime

Eye primer used to help eyeshadow stick will also help eyeliner stick. Primer can also be a good color tool, so if you are shooting for bold contrast, the primer should help develop that contrast as well.