How to Get Flawless Skin with Makeup

Even though makeup is used to enhance or accentuate beauty, it can also make your skin look flawless. While a good skin care regimen that includes cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing is important for healthy and smooth skin, how you apply makeup may also improve the look of your skin. Here are a few tips to getting the flawless look next time you apply makeup:

Prep the skin by applying moisturizer. Moisturizer not only hydrates skin and plumps up fine lines and wrinkles, it also softens the skin. Using moisturizer at least twice a day will ensure that makeup goes on better. Dry skin and flakes have no place on flawless skin, so keeping it hydrated will allow the foundation to literally glide over the skin.

Use a primer on the eyes and face. A facial primer not only adds a bit of moisture into the skin, but it also fills in any fine lines on the skin. This helps the foundation glide over the skin and not sink into fine lines or wrinkles. The matte finish of primer also helps to keep the face from becoming shiny. Use a primer on the eyelids to enhance the eyeshadow color and prevent it from creasing throughout the day. Using primer all over will help the skin look flawless after makeup application.

Add coverage to the face using a liquid or mousse foundation. Not only do these formulas go over the skin better, but they also provide coverage using very little. To apply, dampen a cosmetic sponge and dab on foundation to the entire face. Blend outward towards the hairline, being sure to rub it in thoroughly. The moistened sponge will create a flawless airbrushed finish to the skin.

Create a youthful look by applying bronzer and blush to the face. Apply a bronzer that is a shade darker than your natural skin color to areas that are naturally hit by sunlight, such as the forehead, cheekbones and chin. Sweep a crème blush into the cheekbones, and then up into the hairline. Adding color to the skin will give it a naturally warm appearance without needing to go out and tan.

Finally, add a lip color to finish off the look. Keep lips flake free by rubbing a dry washcloth over them to remove flakes and smooth them out. Use either a lipstick or gloss to add color to the lips, or add a lipstain for all-day color. Since lipstains can be drying, add a gloss over the lips to keep them shiny. Keep lips moisturized by adding a lip balm when not wearing lipstick to prevent over-drying.