The Strange Life of An Officer's Wife: May 2016

(If you do your makeup differently than what's suggested, that is okay! Make up routines and "ride or die" products evolve, so use the tips you like and leave the rest!)

We've laid out the basics of makeup, so now we are ready to cannonball into the application! I've written some small blurbs with some product suggestions, but YouTube is your friend! I've learned a considerable amount of makeup knowledge from experienced beauty vloggers.

PRIMER:

Laura Mercier Foundation PrimerRadiance

Make Up Forever Step 1

Take a ladybug's size of primer and rub it onto your clean face. It should go on smoothly, and cover your whole face easily. Wait about 30 seconds to let the primer set. I usually get to work on my eyebrows while I wait! Primers have different jobs, so make sure you find one with the specifications you are looking for (i.e., matte, natural, smoothing, or glowy finishes).
If you want to use moisturizer instead of primer that is totally okay, too. The bottom line is to make sure your skin is a hydrated canvas to work on!

Choose Your Own Way
Some people prefer liquid foundation, and some prefer powder, so choose your own beauty destiny!

LIQUID FOUNDATION ROUTE:

Estee Lauder Double Wear

Too Faced Born This Way

Squirt a ladybug's size of liquid foundation onto your fingers or the back of your hand (one or two pumps). I like to make small dots on each main area of my face, so that I'm sure to have it spread evenly. Start in the middle of your face, and work out from there. You have the choice to apply it using your fingers, a liquid foundation brush, or a damp beauty blender sponge.
While using your fingers, use more of a caressing motion. While using the damp beauty blender or foundation brush, use a dabbing up and down motion or a buffing motion. Go over your face a few times, checking all of your features to be certain there are no visible edges to your liquid makeup (I'm having high school flashbacks, here). The hairline, ears, and jawline are the most common places to find a portion that is unblended, so be diligent there.

Make Up Forever Full Cover

Urban Decay Naked Skin

Next, use CONCEALER:

Concealer goes on all of those places that you want to mask or achieve a uniform color. Discoloration is normal for women around the base of our noses, sides of our mouths, and on our under eyes. You can apply concealer with your fingers, a concealer brush, or a damp beauty blender. With your fingers or a concealer brush, smooth the liquid around where you want it to go. When using the beauty blender, use those dabbing up and down motions.

After applying your liquids, it is a very good idea to set them with a powder. It may seem like a lot, but you don't want to give that liquid any room to budge!

Use a translucent powder, if possible, or a foundation powder if that's the only powder you have on hand (I lost my translucent powder, so I'm riding the foundation powder train with my liquid until I buy a new one). Translucent powder is colorless, and simply sets your makeup to last through the day. Some women like to only set (or bake) their concealed areas, and leave the rest without any powder. Trial and error is your close companion when it comes to makeup, so figure out what you like!

-OR-

BECCA Perfect Mineral Powder

POWDER FOUNDATION ROUTE:

The powder foundation route starts with concealer (see above).

NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder

After you finish concealing, let it set about 30 seconds to dry. If you're using a loose powder, tap a dime size of foundation into the lid, pick up some powder with your brush, and tap off the excess back into the lid. If you're using a compact powder, swirl your brush around a few times in the powder, and go to town. Use a larger size brush for this, and work in buffing motions or dabbing up and down motions. Start in the middle of your face, and work out to the edges, covering your entire face. Powder is very build-able, so you can easily add more powder to take it from a sheer coverage look to a full coverage look.

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder

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Once your basic face is complete using the steps above, move on to contour, highlighting, and blush!

CONTOUR (BRONZER):

Benefit Hoola Matte

Anastasia Cream Contour Kit

Contouring your face brings back the dimension you lost when applying a that flawless foundation. Contour is adding dark tones back to your skin. The hollow of your cheekbone, the jawline, the hairline of the forehead, the sides of your nose, and the temples are the most common places to add contour. Contour comes in liquid or powder, and can be applied with your fingers, brushes, or damp beauty blenders. The key to a good contour is to BLEND. Nobody wants harsh lines on their face, so take time to blend, blend, blend. There are contour kits that are very highly acclaimed that you can check out that provide darker contour colors, as well as various highlight colors in one compact case.

Kat Von D Contour Kit

Note: If you are going to use a cream contour, do not set your liquid foundation directly after you apply it. Wait to apply translucent powder until after you apply your cream contour/highlight. Powder should always go at the end!

HIGHLIGHT:

Becca x Jaclyn HillChampagne Pop

Highlighting, just like contouring, is going to enhance the natural dimension of the face.
Highlight uses light colors to make features pop!
The top of the cheekbone, the center length of the nose connecting up to the forehead, the under eye, the cupid's bow, and just below the contour sitting on hollows of your cheekbones are the most common places to apply a highlight.
You will have already used concealer on your face, but can experiment with what areas you want to use both concealer and highlighter on. Use a concealer that is two or more shades lighter than your skin tone to highlight, a light pressed powder or liquid, or the contour kits discussed in the above contour section.
A lot of women like to add a glowy highlight on top of their regular matte highlight (like Champagne Pop). Typically, highlight is applied by brush, fingers, or damp beauty blender.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush

BLUSH:

Blush is the completing element to a flawless face. Blush comes in liquids (although, that is sort of foreign to me) and powders. The standard powder blush is applied with a brush--dabbing on the apples of the cheeks and then gently sweeping towards the temples. The blush that you're sweeping should be swept directly between your contour and highlight on your cheekbones-- adding the perfect splash of color.

That was a whirlwind of material to go over, so here is a selection of solid videos that show how to apply what we've covered today! Every suggestion may not be right for your skin type, or the look you'd like to achieve, so don't be afraid to watch a varied selection of videos by different vloggers!
Take what you like, and leave the rest.

Happy watching!

[Kelly Strack] Foundation Routine for Flawless Skin