Let's talk basics

Foundation can absolutely make or break your look. It can cover all multitude of sins and is the best way to ensure bronzers and other products really last and look good on your skin.

When I was around 5 I started competing in dance tournaments around the UK and this was really my first introduction to makeup. My favourite part of every show or competition was always when my mum would sit me down and whip out her makeup bag to dab a bit of foundation onto my face and ply my lips with some shocking shade of red or hot pink. A couple of years after  starting secondary school was when I started noticing the pressure to “look good” and girls would start arriving to classes with a full face of make up on. I joined in but perhaps was thinking about the good old dancing days too much when it came to foundation. Like a lot of girls that age I was convinced my skin was an absolute monstrosity that must be covered by something more perfect and so the foundation would be piled on and not always the correct shade. After a few instances of this my mum finally threw out my pot of Rimmel Air Mousse (I think that’s what I started with anyway) and gave me a proper lesson in how to apply. Despite some initial protests that you could still see too much of my own skin, I fell in love with how my skin could suddenly brighten up and look more flawless whilst still looking like.. skin.

And so started my love affair with dewiness. Over the years I’ve tried quite a few foundations ranging from Rimmel to Bourjois to Chanel but my absolute favourite that I have come back to time and time again is Dior’s Forever.

Makeup brushes deserve some TLC

When it comes to makeup, it doesn’t matter whether you use Armani or Asda’s own but if the tools you apply it with aren’t receiving regular TLC your makeup will suffer for it. One of the most important things you can do to keep your makeup (and skin) looking fresh and dewy is to regularly wash your brushes. Sounds simple, but when my friends caught me at the kitchen sink with a basin full of brushes they couldn’t understand what I was doing or why and I was shocked that they didn’t do this – believe me they got a lecture!

As girls we regularly suffer from spots (or congested pores as I like to call them) and the bacteria found within them can easily be spread to other areas of the face through the use of makeup brushes. Even if you are lucky enough to not get spots, there is a ton of bacteria living on our skin not to mention natural oils that our pores secrete and if makeup brushes aren’t washed this will all just build up and be spread across your face with each use of the brush.

On a less clinical note, just using makeup brushes for a week causes insane build up on the bristles (goodbye white brushes) and therefore it is harder to control the amount of product being applied to the skin.

Make up brushes can be really expensive and should be treated like an investment – if you want them to last you need to take care of them.

It sounds like an effort and my friends told me my OCD tendencies are getting slightly out of hand but giving them a good wash every 2 weeks really does make such a difference to your application and besides, brushes look much prettier without the discolouration!

To get the best results you need something somewhere in between a soap (anti-bacterial) and a shampoo (conditioning), although for synthetic brushes just a soap would be fine. Personally I use Trish McEvoy’s purpose-designed Brush Bath which is a bit pricey at £13 but has lasted me for around 8 months so far and there’s still plenty left. A lot of the big makeup brands have their own versions, I’ve heard good things about MACs, but really all you need is something anti-bacterial and unfragranced.

Make sure the water you use on your brushes isn’t any hotter than ‘warm’ or you will risk melting the glue holding the hairs in place. I tend to dampen the brush, swirl the bristles in a small amount of cleaning product and rinse, repeating until the water runs clear and no bubbles remain. The colour of the water after just one week of using your brushes, particularly foundation/bronzer, should shock you into a regular routine!

Brushes are best left to air dry naturally, so after giving them a quick squeeze to remove excess water leave the heads hanging over the edge of a surface or stood upright in a pot so that they can reform their normal shape and in 2-6 hours (depending on the size) they should be dry and good to go.

I promise you will see such a difference in your makeup!

Percy