Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Choosing a Foundation For Summer

Choosing a Foundation for Summer

In the hot summer months foundation often needs a change. 
Dilemmas such as heat, humidity, perspiration, shine due to increased oil production, dry dehydrated skin, tanner skin and summer trends all play a role in choosing the right foundation in summer months

Don’t forget to apply your moisturizer before you apply your makeup during the summer as always.  Allow your moisturizer to dry before applying the foundation.  You can use a sun block to double as moisturizer and a sunscreen both.

Whatever type of foundation you choose be sure, especially for summer months, that it is either oil free or low oil content.  Set foundations with an oil free powder.  Once you powder your face its best not to reapply the powder when you are hot, damp or perspiring, wait until you are out of the heat before touching up to avoid ending up with a heavy caked creased look.

Remember creamy makeups such as stick foundations, lip sticks, etc can melt in the heat, so try to keep them out of the sun, hot cars… .

Application of foundation: What to use to apply foundations depends on your personal preference.  Using a sponge, brush or fingers is best.  You can dampen the sponge or brush to thin the foundation… dry for thicker.  I love to spread foundation with my fingers, it naturally warms the foundation making it easier to glide over the skin with little effort…. and I feel it gives me the most speed and control.
When you know you will be in a high heat environment and you need foundation keep the foundation mostly in the center of the face, staying away from the hairline where you will perspire more.

Primer:  Summer is the absolute best time to wear primer.  Applying a primer, glide it all over the face after your moisturizer and before you apply the foundation.  Primer helps the foundation stay in place, last longer, and decreases the foundation from going into lines and creases.   I recommend for the eye area to purchase a primer especially made for the eye and a separate primer for the rest of your face.

Heat and Humidity:  Often women prefer to wear less foundation to be comfortable in the heat of the summer.  A tinted moisturizer is a wonderful alternative to foundation. When wearing tinted moisturizers you don’t need to use an additional moisturizer.  I love tinted moisturizers all year around, especially for skin that doesn’t need heavy coverage. It creates a healthy, dewy glow to the skin and feels light and wonderful.   If you want a little more coverage then a tinted moisturizer gives try a liquid or mousse foundation. 

Oily skin:   Stick or cake foundations are a good solution for oily skin during the summer.  If you have acne, which is often increased during summer with oil production and perspiration, the stick or cake foundation can give a heavier coverage for the troubled areas and can be thinned out for the areas not needing it as much.  Applied with a sponge, brush or spreading it with your fingers allows you to control how heavy or light you wear it.  A light dusting of a powder will help set the foundation, as well as reduce shine.   Dabbing your face with blotting tissues during the day helps remove excess oil without removing makeup.

Dry dehydrated skin:  During the summer month when skin is often exposed to the hot drying sun you will do well with a tinted moisturizer or hydrating liquid foundation.  When applying the foundation dab it on rather then rubbing it on, this will decrease skin from flaking and aggravating the dry skin.  Be sure to drink lots of water and exfoliate your dry skin.

Darker skin hue during summer:  You only need to change your foundation hue if you tan, if you don’t tan then stay with your year around hue.  As your skin gets tanned either by natural UV rays, tanning beds,  tanning lotions or  spray tanning you will need a foundation with a deeper hue, usually darker by a shade or two.  Test the color right at and above the  jaw line to color match.  You may want to go ahead and invest in a new bottle of foundation, tinted moisturizer or stick/cake foundation for the summer or another solution would be to add drops of liquid bronzer or darker liquid foundation to your usual liquid foundation.

When getting your makeup professionally applied and you will be outside, for a wedding or photo shoot especially, I recommend your foundation to be air brushed for a flawless long lasting result.

There are a lot of makeup brands that offer long wearing foundations, water proof, and oil free that offer good durability.  Shop around and find what appeals to you. 

Have fun, be safe and have a great summer!
J Terra

MakeUp and Hair Styling By Terra

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