When we say “base routine” we don’t just mean foundation, color corrector, and concealer–we’re talking about the whole pre-makeup skincare routine that includes moisturizer, sunscreen, and the dreaded primer. Because of all these steps, a lot of Filipino women get tripped up at the makeup counter trying to figure out what goes where… but where does it all go, really?
Luckily for our generation of makeup-wearers, the routine itself is getting simpler, so there are not a lot of complicated steps to memorize. We break past the complications to give you a base routine that you can do even when your eyes are half-closed.
Why The Base Means Everything
Before we go further, we also want you to look at these two photos of our Head Blogger (yes, it’s the same person) and say which version of us had their makeup game on point. These pictures were taken weeks apart in different conditions of lighting; even the colors are different. And yet, which of these two pictures stand out for you?
We’ll tell you: The leftmost picture was taken after a professionally-guided online makeup class, with tasteful colors, professional techniques, and even academic feedback. Unfortunately, however, this picture also failed in its purpose of bringing out the best out of our features, primarily from the use of the wrong formula of foundation. (See how our fine lines and lumpy skin texture comes out here?)
The fine lines come out in the picture on the right as well, but here the skin looks plump and juicy, not molded from flour. The under-eye and aegyosal area looks illuminated (special credit goes to the Thai-style gold eyeliner on the lower lash line) and the base looks blended. Even with the amateur techniques and “experimental” colors used in this picture, our Head Blogger still looks radiant and glowing.
Such is the concept of hiyang: you could do your makeup with the most slap-dash hand on earth, and still look stunning with the skincare and foundation that’s best suited for your skin type. Why else would you neglect the one thing that covers the most real estate on your face?
Why Skin Type Means Just As Much As Skin Tone
We bring up our makeup classes (for the record: one online, one F2F) because our Coaches brought up the same important points in the same order: Great makeup starts with great skincare, and great skincare comes from knowing your skin type.
In our case, knowing that our skin was dry and mature meant that we could no longer expect the same results from the mattifying full-coverage foundations that we loved when we were in our 20s and 30s. Our texture issues were different from the ones that our oily-skinned counterparts had, so (again) we had to give up the mattifying products for serum-like hydration formulas.
In the picture we took after the online class, we used a “luminous matte” formula that ended up looking like pancake mix on our skin. Even with a hydrating primer underneath and an equally hydrating setting spray, our fine lines turned into major wrinkles, and our driest spots got amplified into lumps. But we didn’t need a selfie or a mirror to prove it; the whole thing felt lumpy on our face, which meant we also felt the deficit in our confidence.
After that picture was taken, we dug up the creamiest, most hydrating foundation and concealer formulas in our arsenal, but we also took steps to prevent those base products from sticking to dry spots on our skin. We started using creams instead of serums for moisturizer, and experimented with sunscreens that can double as primer.
And while we can’t conclusively say that we’ve perfected the base routine, the selfies we’ve taken of ourselves do show a marked difference since we ditched the matte foundation. As we mentioned earlier, the skin looks juicier, the blotchy spots are minimized, and we feel like ourselves again.
Get The Routine
While base routines may change based on the weather and the occasion, we’ve found that this particular order of products gets us compliments on our dry and mature skin.
Prep
Many makeup artists in the Philippines swear by Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base, which can cost upwards of PHP 5000 but yields flawless results. There’s also a lot of buzz from pro artists about Embryolisse, which can be ordered online via Sasa on most apps. We say go for it if you can afford it, but the rest of us can get away with hydrating skincare and a luminous primer.
Our unpopular opinion, however, is that a sheet mask can do just as much for a dehydrated face in a pinch. We swear by the masks from The Face Shop, which are not sticky at all and last for quite a while.
Correct
Another unpopular opinion of ours comes from the use of color corrector, and in particular orange color corrector for under-eye circles. Not only do we use it, but we also have become very picky with it because most “correctors” in the market are actually tinted concealers.
For those of us (like our Head Blogger) with dehydrated and wrinkly under-eye areas, balmy formulas like the ones from Popique and Colourette go smooth as silk over dark circles. We also love the tip that we got from a Ready Set Glow sales rep where we can cut down on product by blending a little green concealer into the orange, thus creating a custom concealer. And while we haven’t used this particular product ourselves, we also love the fact that Skintific‘s concealer has a hidden tube of color-coordinated corrector inside the cap.
Our personal tip: If your corrector looks less than hydrating, it’s best to buff with a brush before blending it into the rest of the base. If you buff it out and it still looks orange, we suggest taking a page out of the viral PaintedbyEsther transition blush technique and blending a dewy blush into the lower undereye area after you’re done with foundation and concealer.
Cover and Conceal
The makeup coaches we’ve worked with have their own personal recommendations for mature skin. One brand that got a lot of nods during our sessions was L’Oreal, but especially the L’Oreal Infallible Tinted Serum, which lasts as long as it says, photographs beautifully, and does not look orange. Nars (as a brand) also got an honorable mention, though it’s still considered a maharlika-level investment. And, as always, the creamy Maybelline Fit Me concealer is a perennial favorite.
Our own trick is to apply the foundation with a flat brush, then blend the concealer over the corrector with a softer brush or moist sponge.
The Rest
We swear by the strategy of putting on all cream products (blush, highlighter, bronzer, contour) after the concealer and melting them together with a dewy setting spray, then letting it dry (we use a Jisulife fan to hasten the process) and then setting crucial areas with powder. Recently we’ve traded in our usual compacts for the tried-and-true Nichido loose powder, this time in Ivory Glow; we do not know what Nichido puts in their powder but it blurs out fine lines without dehydrating them further. We also like the finishing powder from Popique for its unique baked texture.
The Base That Changes The Game
As we’ve said before, a good base routine is a game changer; you could put any kind of makeup on and it will still look radiant and glowing as long as the base is solid. And while it takes a lot of discernment to find the perfect base products, we can assure you that once you have the base routine down pat, you will never complain about your makeup looking terrible ever again.
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