Foundations and bases

When creating a base on the skin, you are essentially trying to create a blank canvas where everything is the same colour, with no blemishes or imperfections. You must take into account what type of skin your client has, for example, if they have oily skin you should use an oil free base, whereas if they have quite dry skin you should use an oily base. You should also remember, that as a make-up artist, it is your job to cover all areas of the skin that are on show; this may include hands, the neck, the chest, etc.

Products and equipment:

A puff

Translucent powder

Matte primer

Palette and spatular

A gown and clips

A foundation brush (Kryolan premium brush 9930)

A small rounded brush (Kryolan 9712)

Concealer (Dermacolor camouflage mini palette)

Foundation (Kryolan ultra foundation)

Foundation:

• Ask your client of any allergies and then proceed to put a wrap around the client
• Cleanse, tone and moisturise
• Apply a primer to the face (matte/satin depending on required look), or you can mix it into the foundation if the foundation is too thick
• You must now create a colour match which is tested across the edge of the face/neck
• You do this by using a spatular and scraping out a small amount of product onto a palette and mixing different colours until the desired colour is achieved 
• Apply this colour all over the face, using a foundation brush, starting with the nose and working outwards, continuously blending and moving the brush
• Move backwards and forwards under the eye, and aim to get as close to the eye as possible
• You must also stretch the neck and ask the model to open/stretch their mouth so you can get in any creases (e.g. in the chin)
• Remember to apply the colour to the models ears

Concealer:

• Using the same mixing process as above, create the correct colour using the concealer palette (it is always best to go 1-2 shades lighter)
• Using a small rounded brush, apply this under/around the eyes, around the bottom of the nose, in the corners of mouth, and wherever there are any imperfections/blemishes
• Blend this in using the foundation brush that you previously used
• Then buff the face with a kabuki brush
• Always keep checking (e.g. may move/blemishes may come through in the heat) and do it again if necessary
• Key to remember: red removes darkness, yellow boosts complexion, green remover redness

Powder:

• Use a puff to dip into some translucent powder and dab any excess on your arm
• Apply this powder in a rolling motion all over the face to set your make-up in place

Before and after - right side is before, left side is after

Overall, I think the process was quite successful, as you can see from the picture above, I have managed to abolish the red tone that the model has naturally, and I have eliminated the majority of the blemishes. 

My model actually had fake tan on her neck and parts of the rest of her body, so it was important that I was able to come to a compromise between the different skin tones of her face and neck and blend it in, but that is why doing the colour match test is effective when it crosses over the face and neck. 

However, as time went on, some of the make-up began to move and created pooling just underneath the model's eye (where it slipped and gathered in a crease - see below). This helped me learn that it is vital to keep rechecking the make-up and ensuring everything is exactly where it should be. 

Pooling occurring just underneath the eye