How to Apply Foundation & Concealer for Beginners (Step by Step) | Elena Rachitskaya

Foundation can make your skin look flawless or completely cakey. Here's how to choose the best foundation for your skin and avoid common mistakes beginners make. If you struggle with a foundation, it looks cakey, crack on the skin, sink in the pores, shows fine line that aren't even here and turns orange, get patchy or makes your nose area look like a mess, this lesson is for you. And yes, I waited that week when I will be with blemishes a bit just to show you the coverage of the foundations. So, real skin, daytime life. Today I ask you what you struggle with when it comes to foundation and I collect the most common questions. So, in this video, let's figure out what the real problems are and how to find the right foundation for you. How do I avoid foundation looking cakey or heavy? Since summer is ending and fall is here, your skincare needs to change a little too. If your skin suddenly feels very dry, even if it's not normally, try this. Apply this face mask for 10 minutes before makeup and especially good for the very very dry skin. I have that problem all over my face now, but especially worse around the nose. You don't need to rinse it off, just wipe away the extra that doesn't absorb. And here's a time-saving trick, you can also use it under the eyes. Speaking of eyes, let's prep them too, because if we skip it, the foundation or concealer will look awful here. I'm using this cream, it has a slightly yellow tint, which beautifully softens blue or purple veins. Of course, it's not a concealer, but sometimes it's more than enough for a fresh look. And even my lids start to be dry after summer, so I apply cream to the lids too, just to smooth the skin out before applying eyeshadows. Do I need different foundations for summer and winter? That's such a common beginner question. Often it's not just about switching foundation shades, it can also be about switching the texture of your skincare. In summer, lighter water-based textures work better on the foundation. In winter, when skin gets drier, you might need something richer and creamier underneath to help your foundation sit better. So sometimes the fix isn't a new foundation at all, it's just adjusting your prep. Serums are lightweight and they work deeper in the skin, and I like to use this serum from Shiseido morning and evening before my moisturizer. And the texture is very lightweight, sinks into the skin quickly, and layers well with other products without peeling. So what I like about this product is how hydrated, plump and smooth my skin feels after applying. It has a healthy radiance without feeling heavy or sticky, and it really works well as a base before makeup. Creams. Creams can be two types, silicone-based or water-based. That one is an extra luxurious skin prep before makeup. The texture is rich and silky, but it doesn't feel greasy. It melts into the skin beautifully. For me, it's one of those rare luxury creams that's worth the price, because it feels and performs like real skincare. Water-based creams, on the other hand, are lightweight, absorb quickly, and think of them like a serum, but in cream form. This explanation is a little simplified, but for beginners it's exactly what you need to understand. So if your foundation is pulling or just not sitting right, it's usually because you've applied too much skincare, or your foundation and skincare are working against each other. So like water and oil, they just don't mix. That's important to match your skincare base to foundation base. Water-based with water-based. Silicone with silicone. Do I really need a primer or is moisturizer enough? Not always. Primer is useful when you want to change something about your base. If you want to blur pores, if your T-zone gets shiny too quickly, if you want extra glow without heavy creams. So think of primer as an optional tool, not a rule. Dull skin, no glow. It means that we need to go for a glowing base, as a highlighter on the high points of the face, as a primer under a foundation to give the skin a subtle radiance, mixed with foundation to transform any formula into a dewy, fresh-looking base, or maybe alone as a face tint for days when I want minimal makeup but still radiant skin. What I love about this product is how effortlessly it blends and how natural the glow looks and it never appears glittery or greasy, just soft and radiant. If your skin gets oily during the day, moisturizer alone probably won't be enough. The one from Makeup Forever. I used this summer when it was plus 45 degrees outside and it held my makeup perfectly all day. It literally absorbs all the excess oil. So instead of your foundation sliding off, everything stays fresh. And the best part, it doesn't feel heavy or sticky. Now look at my skin. No shine, even my damaged hair shining more than the skin. Visible pores. The Hourglass Mineral Primer is my favorite one, because it's mineral-based and it doesn't break me out and it lets my skin breathe. It also beautifully blurs the pores. And the trick is to swirl it with your fingertip. And then, when you apply foundation, use dabbing or tapping motions, not swiping. Otherwise, you can disturb the base layer and create patches. Will a tinted foundation actually cover redness and imperfections? Or is it too sheer? Think of tinted foundation as a skin enhancer rather than full coverage product. Here are the Lancome Skin Idol 3 Serum Support Tint and Shiseido Revitalizing Skin Tint. Both are glowing. You already know, Shiseido has been my favorite since I started my YouTube, but the Lancome one is also gorgeous and the new one in my collection. It gives you very light coverage. By the way, that way you may create your own blushes. Just mix any lip liner with a drop of face tint. So, I will also show you how it works with different application methods. With a brush, and you get a smoother, more even layer, especially if you build it up with more product. The coverage becomes a little stronger, but still looks natural. With just your fingertips, using less product, it melts right into the skin. The warmth of your fingers helps it blend like skincare, so it looks lighter and more natural, almost like a second skin. And now, let's compare Shiseido Revitalizing Skin Glow Foundation. So, what about coverage? Shiseido gives a bit more coverage than a typical skin tint, and it evens out redness and imperfections better. But it's still light to medium, so your natural skin shows though. It's like the bridge between a skin tint and a regular foundation. Choosing the finish. Matte, natural, dewy, radiant. This depends on your skin type and your personal taste. Oily skin usually does better with matte or natural finishes, while dry or dull skin looks beautiful with something radiant or glowing. Let's compare two examples. On the left side, I have the Armani Beauty Luminous Silk, which gives a matte finish. It's silky, soft, and blurs imperfections beautifully. On the right, my favorite Shiseido Revitalizing Skin Glow Foundation gives a glowy, radiant finish, and letting the skin look fresh and luminous without having heavy shimmer. Love it for winter time or dry area. For me, it's like skincare and foundation 2 in 1. Because I have dry skin in this period, but Armani, my top one for summer. Now it's time to talk about the most asked questions about new foundations on the market. Who is the best? Natasha Denona High Glam Foundation or YSL Glow All Hours Foundation? Let's be realistic. They are not the same. It's like comparing hot and spicy food. The coverage, the texture, the finish, everything is different, so you just can't really compare them directly. Right now, I'm having some skin issues, so it's actually a good time to test these foundations not on perfect skin, agree? So let's start with Natasha Denona High Glam Foundation. The jar itself is matte. It already tells you something about the product. The texture is liquid, serum-like, and lightweight. For me, this is a high pigmented foundation, but many people describe it as a medium to buildable coverage with a natural skin-like finish. It's designed to blur imperfections. It's ideal for all skin types. To be clear, it's not dewy, not glow, and not glass skin type foundations. It's more of a subtle skin-enhancing radiance. And it's also long-wearing. I use N2 shade. Now let's talk about the YSL Glow All Hours Foundation. This one has a glowy luminous finish. The texture is creamy, not liquid. It's lightweight, but has that medium to buildable coverage while keeping the skin looking glowy, fresh, like Korean glowing skin. It's ideal for normal to dry. And it's especially great if you like your makeup to look dewy. It doesn't emphasize dry patches, and it blends beautifully into the skin. The finish is more mirror-glow rather than satin. Think of it as a luminous and dewy finish of foundation. And I'm using the clean side of the sponge to show you exactly the same process as it was with the previous foundation. So let's wait until they are fully set before we compare them. And you'll see that they are completely different. As I told you, I'm going to add a lip serum. My go-to product, by the way. Very beautiful shade. I'll do my eyebrows with my Benefit marker. Creating hair-like strokes and filling the brows. I want them to be a graphic element of my look without using eyeliner or lip liner. Bold brows as the main focus here. And for mascara, I'm using Lancome to make the lashes look fluffy, long, and separated. Okay, now it's time to compare both sides. What do you think? Did you notice the difference? YSL Glow All Hours is glowing. See that soft glow on the cheek? Beautiful. And Natasha Denona High Glam is radiant. How do I pick the right shade? Now check yourself. Take a pose and write me which shade you choose for me here. N1, N2, or N3? I choose N3 here. It looks a bit strange without the natural shadows under the cheekbones or the blushes, right? So here's me with brows, blush, and bronzer. And now I'm adding lipstick. So the truth is you can usually adapt the foundation. The most common rules. Never test foundation on your hand or wrist. The undertone there is different from your face. Always watch on your jawline or the side of your face and check it in natural daylight. If you want me to go deeper into this trick, let me know. So now look at this pale fair, tan bronze warm, and yellow medium. My cheek is pink because of all of the cleansing today. Pray for my skin for today, please. My face looks really white compared with my hand. This is why it's wrong to test foundation on the hand in the store. Always swatch on your jawline or the side of your face and check it in natural daylight. So sure, people say if the foundation disappear into my skin, that's your perfect match. But honestly, this only works for very, very small numbers of people. So my neck is always lighter. My hands are tanner. It's a little complicated than just a simple swatch. So you really need to choose a foundation based on the exposed parts of your body. The first shade doesn't work for me. It's too pale compared with my hands, right? The next shade is a bit too orange, but it almost matches my shoulders, right? It also swatches well on my hand. The last one, a medium yellow olive shade, looks too yellow on my white neck. But from a distance, it's okay. Still something feels off. So here's my solution. Mix both foundations, Natasha Denona and YSL, and use the darker shade as a bronzer. It literally matches the color of my natural shadow. Because it's two foundations, they blend seamlessly together. No bare spot. This is why I recommend buying two foundations, a light one and a dark. You can mix them in summer for the perfect match, or use the darker one as a bronzer in winter time. Look at this. Now my face isn't separated from my body. The shade matches the shadow naturally. And I didn't even use highlighter. See how the skin looks glowy and healthy? Do fingers give a better finish than tools? Let's test it out together. First, I'm going to use a synthetic fluffy brush. I apply foundation with dabbing motions. This way you get a nice buildable result. And I'm using just a little product here, so the coverage looks lightweight and natural. Next, the flat synthetic brush. If you glide it down the skin, you will get a very thin even layer of foundation. You can also switch to dabbing motions to build it up. This technique works best if you don't have a lot of visible pores on your cheeks. But if you have it, it will be better to switch to the fluffy synthetic brush. Now the kabuki brush from Shiseido. It has a flat top on one side and a silicone sponge on the other. I like to apply four small dots of foundation on my cheeks, then blend them in with a brush. And the silicone sponge helps spread the foundation evenly without overloading the skin and the bristles. So you're really in control of how much product you use. And by the way, the sponge here is the same type of material that's the Laneige lip serum applicator. And finally, the classic beauty sponge. Personally, I don't love it, mainly for hygiene reasons. Sponges are damp, and if you have active blemishes like I do, bacteria can grow easily in that tool. But I know many people who have clear skin and no issues with the sponge after washing. So if that's you, then the sponge can still give you a really smooth natural finish. Concealers. And choosing the right one makes a huge difference. Lightweight and glow. For example, the YSL pencil concealer. It's really cute for light final touches under the eyes when you just want to clean everything up without adding texture. But it's not meant to cover strong imperfections like veins or blemishes. If you try to build it up, you will need four layers or more. Ends up just creasing. Because of the formula. To add moisture and glow, it literally says that on the packaging. Very nice for mature skin because it's moisturizing, glowing, and it's not enhancing the fine lines underneath the eyes. High coverage and corrective. The next category is super pigmented concealers. With this, you only need a teeny dot and the coverage is huge. They often come with color correction shades. Pink to brighten. Peach to neutralize the purple tones. And beige shades for pimples or blemishes. These are the ones you reach for when you really want to cover something. And Corsair has the best concealers on the market just to hold the blemishes throughout the day and don't sink into that blemishes and enhance the texture of that place. And the last one, my big love this year, the Armani Beauty concealer. It's the perfect balance. Not too dry, not too dewy, not too heavy, and not too light. It wears beautifully all day. The best part, I can use the same shade under the eyes and on blemishes because it's the same color. So if you want one concealer that does it all, lightweight for touch-ups, high pigmented for real coverage, and a balanced formula if you want one product for multitasking. Powder or setting spray? Let's figure it out. Powder comes in two main forms, loose and pressed. Loose is thinner, better for setting large areas at home. And pressed is compact and easy to carry. They can also have a different effect, matte finish, color correcting powders like green, lavender, yellow, and so on and so on. Transparent, no added color at all, or tinted to match your skin tone. And how you apply matters too. With a brush, it's softer and more natural. With a powder puff, you'll get a stronger, long-lasting set. So powders are great if you want to control shine, lock everything in place, or even add a bit of coverage. But setting sprays, on the other hand, don't add coverage, but they melt all the makeup layers together, make the skin look more natural, and help the makeup last longer. Some sprays are more matte, some are hydrating, and some are even glow-enhancing. You can use it in two ways. Before makeup, as a primer mist, just to add a little hydration and grip. And after makeup, as a setting spray to melt all the layers together and keep everything in place. What I love in that, it makes the skin look more natural. It takes away that powdery finish and gives a softer skin-like look. Perfect for beginners who don't want too many steps, but still want their makeup to last. The best part, you don't have to choose just one. You can use powder to set the makeup where you need it most, like the T-zone, and finish with the setting spray to bring back a natural skin finish. Now you know how to choose the right foundation and make it work with your skincare without it sliding off or looking cakey. If you found this helpful, hit the like button so more people can see it, and don't forget to subscribe for more easy makeup tips. I post new tutorials twice a week and tell me in the comments what's your biggest struggle with foundation. And have a good day! See you in the next week! Bye!