Flawless prom skin

For spring, say farewell to matte skin and hello to a glowing, natural, dewy look.
Creating that picture-perfect complexion is easy – just follow these steps!
Skin Care:
Removing makeup at night and washing your face in the morning are imperative to avoiding breakouts and keeping your skin healthy, along with drinking lots of water and a healthy diet.  Regardless of skin type, it needs to be cleansed, exfoliated, and moisturized. Get to it!
Choosing Foundation & Concealer Colours:
Best advice? Seek the help of the in-store specialist.  If you don’t have this luxury, here are the best DIY tips:
- swatch the colour closest to your skin tone on your jawline.  Try a few shades… the best colour should be closest to that on your face (or slightly lighter for concealer)
- DON’T use the back of your hand, arm, etc – it won’t be an accurate indication of your facial skin tone!
- look for foundations that use words like “satin finish,” “glow,” or “tinted moisturizer” etc.

Choosing a Powder:
Powder comes in either pressed or loose.  For prom, you’ll want a powder you can take with you, so go pressed!  It should be the same tone as your skin, but slightly lighter (Why? Powder absorbs oil and moisture and darkens as it does).
Choosing Your Tools:
There are many ways to apply foundation, concealer and powder.  I’m a fan of brushes but if these are out of your price range, wedge sponges are inexpensive and fantastic!  Avoid using fingertips to apply as they don’t spread product evenly, are less hygienic and more product sticks to your fingertips than ends up on your face!
And now the fun part… the application!
Step 1: Pour a dime-sized amount of foundation onto the back of your free hand and dab with brush or sponge.  Starting in the middle of your face, move outward (think of a sunburst) ensuring the product goes on streak-free and evenly, covering the entire face.  When you get to the jawline, ensure it’s blended over and a bit under and you can’t see where the foundation ends and the skin begins.
Step 2: Apply concealer after foundation!  If not, your liquid foundation will wipe away all the work you just did covering flaws!  Too much concealer will just draw attention back to the area you were trying to cover, so use sparingly and blend well to ensure your skin looks naturally flawless.
Covering blemishes: LEAVE THEM ALONE (if you can)!  Otherwise, take your concealer brush, pick up a small amount, then dab using a patting motion (don’t wipe or “brush” back and forth). Then take your pressed powder, and gently pat powder on top to set the concealer.
Concealing under-eye darkness:  Most people need less than they think!  In the natural “dip” or depression around the eyes (near the inner eye tear duct), lightly place your concealer.  Once you’re pleased with the results, set the concealer with some pressed powder.

Step 3: The finishing touch will be your powder – this sets your foundation and provides a shine-free appearance to the skin. Since we are going for a glowing, natural look, you won’t need to powder the entire face – just hit the “hot spots” (aka: areas of the face that naturally tend to look less “glowy” and more “greasy”.  Generally it’s the centre of the face, middle of the forehead, nose, and chin).  You won’t need to apply a lot of powder to matte these areas – keep your application light so it looks natural and not heavy, as you’ll need to touch up these areas every few hours.  Leaving the outer edges of the face unpowdered will give you the look of the sexy, dewy skin you’ll be seeing in magazines (and, of course, your prom pics)!

Good luck! And remember, practice makes perfect!