How to Make your Foundation Last

What foundation do you use? How do you apply your foundation? OK, its 9pm and your foundation STILL looks freshly applied – how is that possible?! I get questioned on foundation A LOT! I mean, it’s one of those make it or break it products that have a HUGE impact on our overall look. So many options, shades, matte, luminous, full-coverage – the possibilities are ENDLESS! Then, once applied, how do we make it last?!

There are many ways to make your foundation last but, from my experience, the two best products I use religiously to achieve the lasting affect are setting powder and setting spray. These two little guys are literally the holy grail of makeup and should be in everyone’s kit! It seems so simple but, unfortunately, these steps are often misused or left out of people’s makeup regime altogether. If you’re wondering what the hec setting powder and setting spray are, don’t worry friend. My step-by-step guide will lead your beautiful face in the right direction!

Step 1:

Prime your face. This is SO important. Especially when using liquid foundation. But, really, it’s SO important for anything! We’re about to put a bunch of stuff on our pretty little faces so we want to start off with a fresh, clean canvas that is well protected. There are several types of primers out there but, I’m a fan of the moisturizing type. My current fav is Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base – smells AHmazing and leaves my skin fully moisturized and ready for base! It’s also great for acne-prone skin which I’m a big fan of!

Step 2:

Apply Foundation. This step seems pretty straight forward but, there are SO many ways to do this! I typically dot my foundation all over my face first, then, using my fav foundation brush, I proceed to blend it throughout. Don’t forget to blend into the hairline and down along your neck to avoid that mask look!

Step 3:

Apply setting powder. Assuming you’ve applied your concealer, corrected any imperfections (i.e. those little red bumpy friends that like to pop up every now and then – HATE them!), or any other cream-based products, this is when you’re ready for powder. I like a loose, translucent setting powder like Dermablend or Laura Mercier’s Loose Translucent Setting Powder, as it provides more of a sheer finish without looking too cakey. Taking your powder brush, lightly dip into product and tap off any excess onto the back of your hand. Start by setting your under-eye area (make sure to lightly tap away any creasing from your concealer first!), followed by your t-zone area, and cheeks. It’s important to use light tapping motions here as we don’t want to disturb the cream-based products we just applied!

Step 4:

Set it and forget it. You’re probably wondering, why am I spraying LIQUID onto my face after all that work I just did?! I know, seems counterintuitive BUT, this is probably the most important step of all. The liquid that’s being sprayed onto your face is locking in that powder and keeping it in place. What’s important to remember is, even though we’re spraying our face with liquid, we’re letting it dry naturally so nothing else should get disturbed. You’re just left with a beautiful fresh face! Apply setting spray in ‘T’ formation starting with two pumps along your t-zone and one pump on each cheek. Feel free to spray on more if you wish but this usually does it for me.

I used to neglect setting powder in my makeup routine and thought – Why does my foundation always look shiny and wet?! Duh, you didn’t set your face silly! Setting powder and setting spray literally changed the makeup game for me! I’ve done cardio-heavy workouts with full makeup on (to be clear this was after work, I don’t put makeup on to work out!), sweat dripping down my face, and my foundation STILL lasted.

If this routine worked just as well for you or if you want to know what my foundation recommendations are, feel free to comment below!