How to Tweak Your Winter Foundation for Spring
By Marianne Mychaskiw, InStyle.com
When you’re working a full-on matte face against a spring break tan, the overall effect can come off slightly uneven. As a rule of thumb, your foundation should change according to the season, with lighter coverage desired during the warmer months, but when you’re a fan of your existing formula, or don’t want to buy a completely new bottle, why fix what isn’t broken? With products you may already have in your makeup bag, you can alter the color and intensity of the base you currently use, and extend its use throughout the year.
When the shade of your MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation ($27;nordstrom.com) veers more toward Morticia Addams than Malibu Barbie, a liquid bronzer can help streamline your sun-kissed appearance. Try mixing a small amount of Giorgio Armani’s Maestro Liquid Summer ($64; sephora.com) with your preferred dosage, but make sure to build up the color slowly to ensure a perfect match. You can always go back and correct the hue with either more foundation or bronzer, but working drop by drop will cut down on the amount left over.
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If your skin tone hasn’t changed but you want to thin out the existing formula, try cutting your foundation with a moisturizer. We love Clinique’s new Turnaround Daytime Revitalizing lotion ($40; clinique.com), which is available in light pink and yellow versions to match your undertones. Apply your skin care as normally would, except for your face lotion. Once you reach that step, spread a small amount onto your hand, and mix a few drops of foundation in depending on how heavy you want the coverage—one to two drops will impart a sheer, tinted moisturizer-esque appearance, while three or more give off a more opaque finish. Oily skin types that want less of a dewy appearance can substitute the lotion for a primer to matte out the skin, and give the blend more staying power.
In need of a complete reboot? Tweak both the color and consistency by combining both methods. We recommend blending the foundation and moisturizer together first, and once it’s as sheer as you’d like, add a drop of the liquid bronzer.
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