The Secret To A Flawless Foundation Application

You've finally found the perfect foundations for your skin tone, but what about application? Not knowing where to start and how to layer your makeup can sometimes be worse than having the wrong shade! And if you’re a woman of color, it’s essential to mix your foundations to enhance the natural dimensions of your face. We chatted with celebrity makeup artist Andrew Sotomayor—who has worked with Nina Garcia and Kerry Washington—about how to create complexion perfection.

"The most common mistake I see with women of color is having one flat shade over their entire face," says Andrew. It’s important to have two or three shades that you can blend on your face to create a flawless, naturally dimensional complexion. To start, you should apply a concealer under your eyes."The concealer should be two shades lighter than your skin,” says Andrew. Yellow concealer works better on darker skin tones than beige concealer, which often turns grayish-blue on women of color. Then, "apply a lighter shade of foundation in the center of the face—on the cheeks, the middle of the forehead, the nose, and the chin," says Andrew. "Use a damp sponge in a tapping motion for sheer coverage. Or if you are using a foundation brush, try a sweeping motion to diffuse the product and create a smooth, well-blended effect." Because many women of color have darker areas around the chin and forehead, it is important to use a different shade that mimics the skin tones in these areas. "To avoid getting an ashy look on your forehead or jaw, apply the darker shade of foundation across the hairline, under the cheekbones, and along the jaw,” says Andrew. Be sure to blend well with the other foundations. But what about getting back that healthy radiance? "For a glowing complexion, apply a shimmering or pearlescent highlighter across the cheekbones. Women of color should avoid silver-based highlighters as the metallic tint won't look natural on their complexions." Instead, "try copper or gold for medium skin tones, and gold or bronze for deeper skin tones," says Andrew. You can also dab a little bit of highlighter on the hairline, bridge of the nose, and chin to create a subtle glow where the sun would naturally hit your face.