TINA: Build this day a foundation of flawless skin

Let’s talk about foundation today. It is after all the start of all great things when it comes to drag makeup.

What you need:

- shaved, clean, dry, cool, grease-free skin
- blocked eyebrows (see my earlier post)
- foundation (Kryolan TV Stick in your favourite shade)
- latex sponge (the triangular ones are good)
- setting powder (can be translucent or can be pigmented)
- powder puff
- powder brush

What to do:

Use the TV Stick and apply it directly to your face, except your eyebrows. You can be fairly generous, although you don’t have to cover every square centimetre of skin with the TV Stick. I like to draw evenly spaced stripes so that just more than half of my skin has TV Stick on it. Run the TV Stick on your eyelids as well although you can have a lighter hand in this area.

A word of advice: do not be tempted to apply thick layers of TV Stick all over your face: you’ll end up having to apply heaps of powder to absorb the vast oil slick, and the powder will end up accentuating every wrinkle and every flaw on your skin. You’re aiming for thin yet even coverage without being overly heavy.

Pay special attention to areas where you have a heavier beard. This is typically the upper lip, the chin and the jawline. Ensure that you get solid coverage in those areas. Also apply some TV Stick under your jawline and halfway down your neck. It’s not necessary to go further than that though.

Now take your latex sponge and rub it firmly into the TV Stick, then dot the foundation into your blocked eyebrows, by rapidly yet lightly pressing it in. You may have to reload the sponge several times until you get a good coverage here.

Continue with your latex sponge and blend the rest of the face. You’re aiming for even coverage with no skin or beard showing through. The TV Stick Foundation is heavily pigmented so it’s not hard to achieve. Pay special attention to get good blending and coverage around the eyes, including between the brow and the lash, the inside corners near the nose, and underneath the lower lashes. Blend halfway down your neck and stop there. You’ll have a tide mark but that’s okay, as you can apply some body makeup later, and if you have a good wig, it’ll take care of hiding all the stuff that needs to be hidden.

After you are satisfied with your blending, take your powder puff and apply buckets of powder. Load the puff with powder and press very firmly into the foundation, except in the eyebrow area. You want the powder to soak up all the excess oil and set the foundation. Don’t be afraid to use plenty of powder. You’ll find it’ll fly all around your dressing table and your mirror but that’s okay. With the brows, press more gently but ensure you get a good amount of powder into the foundation.

Take a look in the mirror and ensure you have no oily, shiny or wet-looking spots in your foundation. Then, take your powder brush, and gently brush away the excess powder. Check your brows — if they’re still showing through some darkness from the underlying hair, apply another layer of foundation and then set again with powder.

And voila! You’re done. You should have perfectly flawless even-toned skin and with all the powder it should feel fairly dry, without shiny or oily spots.

Advanced foundation application

Some showgirls like to use a three colour method to apply foundation, as it gives greater control in shaping and contouring the face. For this method, you’ll need your usual foundation, another foundation about five to ten shades lighter, and another foundation about five to ten shades darker. Kryolan’s TV Stick range has a broad offering of shades so you’ll be sure to find the shades that you need.

You’ll also need three separate latex sponges, one for each stick. In the diagram below, I’ve shown where you need to apply the light foundation (in orange) and the dark foundation (in blue). For the remainder of the face (not marked on the diagram) you’d apply sufficient quantities of your middle foundation, although again you don’t need to cover every square centimetre with foundation.

Once you’ve applied the foundations, use your latex sponges and very carefully blend the foundations into each other, so you get even coverage. You’ll want to start with the lightest foundation sponge, and blend that one out a little, taking care not to just randomly blend it out of its own area. Then do the middle foundation with its own sponge, blending between the light and the middle. Finally, blend the dark foundation with its own sponge.

If you do this properly, you’ll be able to create awesome cheekbones and a very refined jawline. You’ll be able to contour the face in a subtle yet striking way. You can also use this technique to disguise the more manly features of your face and give yourself a more feminine look. Use the light foundation to make less prominent features “come forward” and use the dark foundation to make more prominent features recede. A good example is to reshape the nose. If you have a very strong nose and want to achieve a more pert, lady-like effect, try using the foundations to reduce the apparent size of the nose.

You can also apply this technique to your Adam’s apple, by applying darker foundation to the apple itself, and applying lighter foundation to the surrounding areas, thus making the shape of the apple less apparent. (I also like to wear excessive costume jewellery around the neck, to draw attention away from the Adam’s apple area. Or, wear a feathered wig that throws hair under the jaw line and across the neck — that’s a good way of disguising things too.)

If you have any questions about foundation, email me at tina dot fanning at yahoo dot com dot au.