First, Base.

okay today i'm gonna write something about make up (again). hahaha sorry lah geng. between working and cooking, my vanity table is THE next place that i spend most of my time at. i recently went for a 5 (gasp!) days makeup seminar, semata-mata sebab nak puaskan my curiosity pasal make up and stuff. i figured (in the middle of my super hectic schedule) that if i dont take this oppurtunity and pejam mata and just go, i will never do it. to be able to make up orang lain lepas ni (insyallah) will be a bonus, but to be able to do a good job on my own face is more inportant (to me).

so yeah, thats one long intro.

*i'm not preaching about make up or the things that i know. i'm sharing what i think is important and i dont need a cert for that.

sad to say though, when i was there, the make up artist who taught us didnt stress on the most basic thing (IMHO) on make up application, and that is (but she did a great job teaching me the art of blending, shading, contouring, and eyebrow shaping. yahoo!) :

a) ALWAYS START WITH A CLEAN AND WELL MOISTURIZED CANVAS ie your FACE

b) ALWAYS HAVE A PRIMER ON BEFORE MAKE UP APPLICATION

here's the myth :

a) you've washed your face when you mandi. thats clean is it?

- clean, yes. moisturized and ready for make up ? no.

b) i have oily skin, why should i moisturize? nanti lagiii berminyakkk

- if you have oily skin, use water based / gel moisturizer. depriving your skin of moisture will only force it to produce more oil. having a suitable moisturizer on will help with the moisture balance.

c) Malaysia is so hot! kalau i pakai moisturizer, nanti boleh goreng telur atas muka ni.

- try using a toner before you moisturize. toner works as a primer / agent for your moisturizer to be absorbed by the skin better. moisturizer will run when its not the right one for you and not absorbed properly into the skin / just sitting on the skin's surface.

d) i think moisturizer / toner / primer ni semua marketing ploy je. takde pun takpe.

- well, does your makeup look as fresh as you put it on this morning? does it run the moment you step outta the car? do you find yourself constantly reapplying / touching up your makeup everytime you look in the mirror? trust me, these steps do work. yes, these are all additional cost for face / make up ritual, but you dont always have to go for the expensive ones. go into any pharmacy and you'll see beribu product available on the market that well, actually works for not that much okay.

okay now that we get a clean and well moisturized face (its important to let your moisturizer sit and get absorbed by yer face for about 10 / 20 minutes before makeup application), we shall start with step One.

*i normally start my routine with doing my eyes first. that way if i dont like how it looks like or there's any kecomotan, its way easier to fix without makeup on me face. but these starting steps still remain the same.

Step One

on a clean face, use a foundation primer / make up primer first before applying your foundation. hatta mineral makeup sekalipun ada primer nya. ( i pernah dengar orang bagi alasan tak pakai primer sebab dia pakai mineral make up!)

all you have to do is take a small amount of this normally gel / silicone based primer and slather all over face. primer works in a way that it smoothes and perfects your skin's imperfections. macam wrinkle ke, parut jerawat ke. to get a smooth canvas for foundation and supaya foundation tahan lama, tak bersopak2, primer is a must. and do you know that by using a primer, you'll need less foundation? its simply because primer acts as a penyediaan for your skin, so you dont need that much foundation to see effects anymore. it minimizes pores, even out your skin tone, fills in fine lines and make your foundation last wayyy longer.

popular brand: MAC's Prep + Prime

*photo taken off the net

Pharmacy's equivalent : Revlon's Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer

*photo taken off the net

both of which i dont have and never used. on the other hand, i've been loyal to Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer. i had to buy my first ever bottle from Sephora New York, harga dia kalau tak silap dalam USD30-40. but 2/3 tahun lepas Smashbox bukak kaunter kat dalam Parkson Pavlion, and this is my 2nd or 3rd bottle from them. i dont remember. the point is that its good and it works. owh and the price is about (ingat2 lupa) slightly less than RM150. and dont worry, it will last you more than 6 months.

but since i am a makeup junkie and a youtube addict, i cannot stop myself from salivating over products yang beauty / makeup guru pakai dan tunjuk kat youtube. walaupun selalu kena jeling by Brucie, i tetappp order. tak kesah lah online or dari adik-adik yang sorang kat US, and sorang lagi rajin sangat pegi tengok yang sorang tu. jadinya, stock barang dari US saya adalah berada dalam paras tamak.

macam Loreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base ni (haa panjang gila nak type), the consistency is very different than Smashbox. dimana primer dari brand Smashbox adalah dari jenis gel, Loreal ni pula macam mousse, berwarna light pink dan lebih pekat dari Smashbox. dua2 saya suka dan cintai sepenuh raga. owh, yang ini pula harganya USD$10. buat masa ni saya tak nampak lagi di kiosk Loreal Malaysia. diorang ni memang dengki. barang-barang yang best, jarang-jarang nak ada di pasaran kita. primer Loreal ni kita kena blend pada kulit muka betul2 sebab dia pekat. tapi sebab dia pekat jugalah kita tak perlu pakai banyak..

bila kita dah pakai primer (dengan tangan je paling afdal), continue with our foundation routine macam biasa. tak kesahlah foundation jenis powder ke, cream, mousse mahupun liquid. you'll be surprised that even the most problematic skin pun akan benefit dari pemakaian primer. the result that you'll get is a smooth, eventoned looking skin and no need for frequent touch ups anymore!

*tomorrow will be the second part of this First, Base series. its All About The Eyes