Choosing the right foundation

Choosing the right foundation is an important part of your makeup routine. The type of coverage you choose is just as important as the color you choose. The various textures will cover in different ways, and as a result even choosing a color of the same name can appear to be different colors on the skin. Foundation is a constantly evolving beauty product and there is a formula available for every skin type and tone.

Coverage Types

Generally speaking, there are three major types of “foundation weights” available. The term “weight” refers to the opacity of the foundation and is directly correlated to the coverage results obtained when applied to your skin.

• Sheer – Sheer coverage is lightweight and provides minimal coverage of the skin. This type of coverage will be the softest and least noticeable.
• Medium – Medium coverage is the standard coverage formula. It provides light to medium coverage and can be used sparingly for less coverage or built upon with other products, such as powder, for a more opaque, heavy coverage.
• Heavy – Heavy coverage will cover almost any imperfection in the skin, and is usually on par with the texture of a concealer. Color match is especially important in this category.

The Most Popular Foundation Types

Tinted Moisturizers – All Skin Types

Sheer coverage. Tinted Moisturizers are moisturizers with a slight tint to them, often contain sunscreen, and are the lightest and easiest to use. Use with clean hands or foundation brush when applying this type of makeup

Cream Foundation – Dry to Normal Skin Types

The less popular type of foundation, but is the best choice for dry or mature skin. It falls into the medium to heavy coverage areas and it's rich and luxurious consistency keep skin look soft and smooth, without drawing attention to fine lines and wrinkles. Best applied with a foundation brush or with a makeup sponge.

Liquid Foundation - Dry, Normal, or Combination Skin Types

The most popular foundation makeup. For medium coverage, that covers few fine lines or wrinkles, or basic, ever day coverage. This type of foundatioin is best applied with a foundation brush or damp sponge.

Powdered Foundation - Combination to oily skin

Powdered foundation osten appear semi-matte/matte, making it the best choice for oily skin. Provides a medium cover, the powdered foundation is best applied with a thick powder brush (or even the kabuki brush). Alternatively, one can use a sponge as well. Oily skin types may wanna use a foundation primer before applying their makeup to help control shine and touching up.

Mineral Foundation - All Skin Types

One of the hottest newest trends in beauty. Designed for all skin types, and can be used in its original powder state or by adding a little water to make a liquid foundation. When applying mineral powder foundation, use a kabuki brush. This will give a medium-heavy coverage. For a lighter coverage, use a bigger powder brush. The liquid form will create a sheer to medium coverage. Use a foundation brush or clean hands when applying.

5 essential makeup brushes

Brushes are good for blending and distributing color evenly over the face, which is essential for creating a finished look.

1. Loose Powder Brush - for light, even dusting of loose powder over your face, use a fluffy powder brush which is shaped to pick up just the right amount of powder. Use this to set your foundation. Alternatively,use this brush to dust bronzer all over your face for a warm glow.
2. Blush Brush - sweep blush on using a brush with a slanted head so that colour is deposited precisely on the cheekbones. This will help scuplt your cheeks. Such a brush may also be used to contour the face in areas such as the jawline.
3. Eyeshadow Brush - Use a brush with a small compact head and rounded edges to apply eyeshadow as this type of brush will deposit colour all over the eye socket without leaving a harsh line. It can also be used to apply highlight to the brow bones as well as define the inner corner of the eyelids.
4. Eyeliner Brush - Use an eyeliner brush with a thin, flat head so that you can create a fine line on your lash line. The easiest way to apply gel eyeliner with this brush is to start from the inner corner of the lashline then dab outwards to the outer corner.
5. Lip Brush - compared to just smearing on lipstick or gloss from the tube, using a lip brush will allow for more precise application to define your lip shape. A brush will also deliever more colour to make your lips pop, while allowing for longer lasing colour.

RMK's tips

By Toru Kobayashi

1) Four-step routine before going outdoors
Slather on sunscreen, apply makeup base, give your lashes a coat of mascara and draw your eyebrows. This routine should not take more than 8 minutes to complete.
The makeup base evens out your complexion and gives you a good canvas on which to build your makeup later, shaping your brows defines and sharpens the contours of your face, and mascara opens up your peepers, which tend to be puffy in the morning.

2) Four Must-Haves
i- Foundation: this gives you a flawless finish
ii- Concealer: it hides dark eye circles and blemishes and helps you look fresh even if you have no foundation on,
iii- Lipgloss: the tint adds colour to your face and the shine gives it a fresh dewy appearance.
iv- Eyeshadow: opt for 1 with a shimmer effect that will highlight your eyes and brighten up your face

3) Golden Rule
Less is more. Do not play up more than 2 features. e.g. you could make your lips and eyes the focus with stronger hues, but keep the cheeks natural. Also do not use more than 3 shades on the entire face unless you are a professional.

Hope these tips by RMK's makeup artist are useful to you girls out there... =)

How to get lighter skin?

I was helping a friend, who loves being fair, to look for whitening methods. Thought I should share this with other girls who wants to turn fair too. Enjoy!

When you are trying to lighten your skin, it does not have to involve trips to a dermatologist or a drugstore, which can be expensive. Why would you want to spend a lot of your money when you can get all you need while you are at home and it doesn't cost much? Yes, you heard us, if you use the right techniques; you will be able to get lighter skin. Within this article, we are going to give you some steps that you should take in order to get lighter skin. If you are looking to even out your skin tone, then you should not go out and spend a lot of your time in the sun. There are a number of ingredients that have been used for many centuries when it comes to lightening the skin. The truth is that most of those ingredients that are used are more than likely found in your refrigerator right now. Read the following paragraphs in order to determine how to get the best results with lightening your skin.

For one, you should keep in mind that lemons have been used for many years and are amongst many different beauty secrets. Lemons are one of the main ingredients to lightening your skin and giving it that bright look that it needs. The citric acid that is found in the lemon juice will be promoting the skin lightening process. Lemon juice is also a natural antioxidant.

When you are using the lemon method to lighten your skin, you should take a cotton ball that is clean, squeeze some fresh lemon juice onto your skin and rub it around. You should follow this process each night before you go to bed. When you get up in the morning, you should avoid the sun. In fact, you should stay out of the sun when you have applied the lemon juice to your skin as this makes your skin very sensitive to the sun rays, which could cause a lot of damage to your skin. If your skin is very sensitive, then you may want to consider diluting the lemon juice with some water before you apply it to your skin. If the lemon juice has been drying up your skin, then you may want to consider using some moisturizer after you have applied the lemon juice.

Another useful ingredient that your skin will get lighter is papaya. Papaya has a natural enzyme in it that is called papain. This natural enzyme is known for exfoliating the skin and speeding up the renewal process of your skin. This will result in your skins tone being smoother and even, which is just what you are looking for. With the papaya, you will be able to create a skin mask by mashing the papaya up and applying it right on your skin. You should leave this mask on for about ten to twenty minutes before you rinse it off. When you have rinsed this mask off, you will need to put a skin moisturizer on your skin that is gentle - this will help to retain the softness of your skin.

How to maintain good condition skin?

Drink lots of water. It’s an oldie, but it still remains true. Make sure you get your daily intake of water! If you have trouble, try filling up a large jug or thermos of water and keep it by you at all times — you’re more likely to drink it if it’s staring you in the face!

Wear sunscreen everyday. The best policy is to invest in a light sunscreen (e.g. SPF15) for everyday usage, and just get used to having that as a step in your everyday routine–like brushing teeth or showering. It is also a good idea to have a stronger sunscreen (e.g. SPF30+) to use for days when you know you will have increased exposure to sun. You also want to ensure your sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB, because both can cause problems later in life! Even cloudy days, driving, etc. can cause you to be exposed to harsh rays, so sunscreen everyday!

Cleanse your face regularly and ensure you remove ALL makeup. It is important to wash your face on a daily basis, even if you don’t wear makeup, because throughout the day your face does get dirty in some aspect. If you go outside, dust and dirt particles may have settled into your face. Make sure when you cleanse your face, you do a thorough job of removing your makeup, too. Residual makeup can rest in pores and on the skin’s surface, clogging it or preventing daily renewal. It’s good to have a package of makeup removing wipes in the house, just because if you ever get lazy or dead-tired, you can opt for using one of those instead of your regular cleansing regimen (not a substitute, but I recognize that we all have days when we just cannot seem to bring ourselves to do things!).

Reduce or remove bad habits from your life, like excessive drinking, smoking, and tanning. Both drinking and smoking can ravage the skin over the time, and reducing both or quitting will serve you well both bodily and skin-wise. Tanning, whether it is in a booth or from the sun, is not at all advisable, especially if you don’t use sunscreen to do it. There are so many self-tanners and sprays these days that you can get your glow without harming your skin in the process.

Kevin Chou's Tips

Hey girls, I chance upon this article in Urban today and I feel i should share. They are tips by Make-Up Guru Kevin Chou of Taiwan. Hope you enjoy reading it. =)

• Putting a few drops of eyedrop solution on a cotton bud and dab at inflamed pimples can help minimise the redness
• Use products with light-reflecting particles (shimmering) to highlight the centre of your face (T-zone/cheekbones). This will give a contouring effect and help achieve the look of healthy, glowing skin
• Blush from mineral make-up lines will always have earthy tones, if blush in hot pink or pastel is touted as mineral makeup, chances are it is not.
• For Asians, always curl your lashes before applying mascara. Holding the brush horixontally, apply mascara to the roots of your lashes first and let the coat dry. This props up the lashes and prevents smudging.
• Wait for mascara smudges to dry before cleaning the mass as it becomes powdery after it is dried, which makes it easier to lift off the skin with cotton bud without smearing.
• Many Asians have inner double eyelids, making eyeliner disappear unless you draw a very thick line. Doing that will make your eyes look smaller, so just stick to mascara.

The confidence that comes from having good make-up, is something every woman should enjoy as a part of your everyday life.

Kevin