Expert Makeup Tips from Tana D’Amico: Foundation And Concealer

Over the years, as a professional makeup artist, I’ve often discussed the world of beauty and cosmetics, how much women love it and how it can be used not only as ornamentation, as it began centuries ago in Egypt and Greece, but also as a means to minimize the effects of aging, prior to diving head first into something invasive, which is so prevalent these days. Makeup alone, if done correctly, can bring forth the youthfulness we still feel inside, but that now, as Zoomers, may be less apparent on the outside. Where we once may have described ourselves as fresh-faced, youthful, glowing might now have been replaced with words like tired, dull or washed out. The good news is it happens to ALL of us. And we can tackle it face on.

When we age, a variety of things happen to our skin, specifically to our faces. We lose collagen, better known as elasticity, which causes sagging and drooping, to our jowls and eyelids for example. In turn, because our skin is less taut, we lose the luminosity that is so prevalent in youth. We also tend to lose pigmentation (colour) and hydration, causing what’s sometimes referred to as, having a ruddy complexion. And finally (if all this wasn’t enough!), our hair becomes thinner, including in our eyebrows, further causing us to look washed out.

In this digital age of false perfection that we are constantly bombarded by, the pressure to look our best is ON. It’s caused a spike in cosmetic procedures at an increase of 70 per cent over the last 10 years.  Does anyone else find this disheartening, not to mention, often unnecessary? To be clear, I’m not completely against cosmetic surgery or procedures. There is absolutely a time and place for it, and of course it’s up to the individual to decide. But at this point in time, it’s like a runaway train that needs to SLOW DOWN. If more women had just a little instruction on how to correctly do their own makeup, they might hesitate a while longer before making the leap to invasive procedures at the rate that they do now. And THAT is why we’ve created this series. To see the potential you yourself have, of taking up to 10 years off , simply through practical makeup tips! A road map if you will, back to words like refreshed, vitalized and radiant!

HERE, TANA ON FOUNDATION AND HIGHLIGHTING

In this video, we’ve started with foundation and concealer. Later on in the series we will be bringing you videos on skin care but for now, let’s talk cosmetics. Similar to building a home or structure, you would start from the ground up, and when that is laid properly, then, you can start to build onto it. After prepping your face with your favourite product – moisturizer and/or primer (my absolute favourite for Zoomers is Clarins Beauty Flash Balm – tightens, brightens and preps the skin beautifully!), foundation is essential to even out your skin tone and provide, along with moisturizer, radiance. Ideal foundation for mature skin would be an oil-free hydrating liquid foundation, creme or cream stick foundation or, for the lightest coverage, a tinted moisturizer. Preferably also with an SPF.

If you are Caucasian like myself, I’d say 95 per cent of us have unwanted redness in our skin, around the nose especially, and often on our cheeks and chin. In this case, you will need something with a beige, yellow or warm undertone to combat the redness. If you happen to be among the approximately 5 per cent who are already yellow-skinned, you will find a pink or cool toned foundation works best for you. If you are dark-skinned, you will also want something with a warm undertone, a toffee  brown or  slightly orange brown, so as not to look “ashy.” Test out foundation on your lower cheek area, preferably in good light.

The foundation should disappear into your skin and not appear like it’s sitting on top of it. The key is to keep it light and sheer and to build up only on the areas where you might need more coverage (for example, on dark age spots) with the foundation itself by layering it. Then, if you are like most people, you will need to go back in with a highlighting pen, like I use in the video, or a concealer that is 1/2 to 1 shade lighter than your foundation and cover up any dark circles under your eyes and any blemishes you might have. We call this spot concealing. The concealer/highlighter should be lighter than your foundation so that the middle of your face appears more open, in turn making you look refreshed and rested. It also gives you the appearance of a more oval face shape, which is the desired shape, particularly in North America. This is a trick professional makeup artists have been using for YEARS, and the bonus is you’ll look GREAT in photos!

When you have finished foundation and concealer (or highlighter) , take a large powder brush with some translucent loose powder, and apply it – sparingly – with a light hand, to any areas that might appear greasy (as opposed to dewy). Mainly between your eyebrows, under your lip and the middle of your face right next to your nose. You DO NOT want to powder the highest point of your cheekbones by your temples – so as to KEEP the shine in that area, ensuring a youthful glow. If you are going to follow with a creme blush, then do not powder your cheek area. If you are going to use a powder blush or bronzer, then, you can powder VERY lightly before adding your blush, so it adheres evenly. Fair warning: too much powder is going to be aging. Keep this is mind: luminosity is KEY to looking fresh!

Ladies, this concludes our first segment on a series that everythingroomer.com and I are so excited to bring to you! Please leave us your comments or questions. We look forward to being as informative and interactive as possible! We’ll see you next time with a new video!

Best, Tana