Tinted Moisturizer vs. Foundation

For those of us who live where the humidity is high, the temperatures are high, and the likelihood of makeup staying put is low...you understand the foundation dilemma ("should I even bother? will it just melt off? will it even look natural? my face feels like i have a mask on!!").

One way to get the coverage without the "mask" feeling is with a great tinted moisturizer. There are fantastic products that have SPF in them, and your skin feels like you have nothing on it - but, you have the coverage you need...perfect!

Use concealer only where absolutely necessary (mostly just in a half-moon shape in the inner corner of the eyes), and to cover any imperfections...but concealer tends to be very heavy and thick, so you don't want to have too much of it on summer skin.

Use a translucent powder to finish the look. Apply the powder with a large powder brush (or kabuki brush) - dip it in the powder, tap off the excess, then apply to your skin with a light, swirling motion. Ahhh...feels cooler already.

Up for Skincare, Down for Foundation

Here's a quick rule-of-thumb I learned while researching skincare and makeup, and I find it works quite well:

When washing your face or applying skincare products (toner, moisturizer), always wash or rub in an upwards motion. This helps cleanse the pores and apply product INTO the skin.

When applying foundation or powder, rub in a downwards motion - for two reasons: (1) the cells on the skin are like a roof, and you want them as flat as possible, and (2) you want to make the little tiny hairs on your face as UNnoticeable as possible, and this does the trick.

So, UP for washing and moisturizing, DOWN for makeup.
Whala - beautiful!