Cover only blemishes or finish with a clean brush: the makeup artist to the stars’ secrets to applying foundation

At six years old Lisa Eldridge (England, 1974) at her grandmother’s house she found her mother’s makeup box with which she began to play. “Although I wasn’t interested in putting it on my own face, I used it to give color and texture to her drawings,” she shared in an interview with into the gloss. For her thirteenth birthday she received a book on theatrical makeup techniques that opened her eyes to her calling. Today, more than three decades later, Eldridge is one of the brush gurus, accessible to the public thanks to her own YouTube channel, whose tutorials, which since 2010 have accumulated more than two million followers and more than 230 million views. For red carpets and events, they trust the good name of her, such as Alexa Chung, Dua Lipa, Kate Winslet, Eva Green either Salma Hayek.

Author of the makeup history book face painting, reveals that he is working on another volume in which he will share his secrets that he plans to launch at the end of the year. Elridge has been creative director of makeup for Shiseido and Boots and since 2015 for Lancôme. On the occasion of the relaunch of, Teint Idole Ultra Wearthe make-up base most iconic and one of the best sellers of the cosmetic firm, the expert has revealed some of her infallible tricks to achieve makeup with professional results from home.

• The chin, to test the tone. The space where the jaw meets the neck is the part of the face where the foundation shade is tested, according to Lisa Eldridge. “To offer a healthy appearance, you have to avoid dark colors because they are not for achieving a tanned effect,” she points out. Once chosen, she applies it to her face with brushes and fingertips, as she admits that she likes it better than sponges.
• Skin preparation, key. “Before spreading the foundation, especially on mature skin, I make sure that the skin is well hydrated, which is key for a good result. Also, I exfoliate before so that the makeup sets well ”, she reveals.
• Primers, on oily skin. Although the expert does not consider the makeup primer essential, she recommends it in case of oily skin “and when you are going to have a long night.” In those cases, she applies it to both the T-zone of the face – forehead, nose and inner cheeks – as well as acne-prone areas.
• Application by zones. The expert confesses that she is not in favor of extending the foundation all over the face, only in the areas where it is necessary to cover imperfections such as acne or eczema, “where you can even apply several layers to unify. I like to play with the textures in the different areas”, says Eldridge, who is not in favor of putting a lot of foundation on the forehead area so that the folds of the skin do not stand out, “unless there are spots to cover,” she qualifies.
• Neck and décolleté, only on big occasions. The specialist assures that in her day to day she does not make up the neck and décolleté. “If you have beautiful skin, you don’t need to apply foundation in certain areas. In my case, I only spread it around the mouth and on the chin, where I have a lot of redness,” says the makeup artist who widens the application area of ​​the foundation when the appointment is important, for example, to pose for the cameras on a carpet. red or for a wedding.In those cases, make up the face and also the ears, neck, neckline, hands and even check the back.
• Mitigate expression lines. In the case of mature skin, Eldridge reveals that he mixes the makeup base with a few drops of the serum genifique in the eye contour area to minimize expression lines. The contour area is the one that endures make-up the worst throughout the day and in which stress and accumulated fatigue are most reflected. To touch up this area and make the makeup look as if it had just been applied, simply cleanse, moisturize and re-make up the area around the eyes to get a fresh look again.
• Clean brush, the final touch. The golden touch for makeup to be perfect consists of “gently passing a clean brush over the entire face with which I remove excess product and unify the result, which is much more natural this way,” shares the expert. . “I like to use a Kabuki brush, which leaves a polished finish.”

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