How to look polished??

[Isobela]

I believe it's about a foundation but I'm struggling to find a decent one that won't mess up my oily skin.

I did try L'Oréal infallible but it's made my skin bumpy.

Can anyone suggest anything else to give me that 'polished' look?

I'm not sure I quite understand what you mean by polished? I'd usually think of polished being an all over/clothes and style thing.

You just need to go round lots of counters, have make over and get a foundation that suits your skin.

Yes the problem is that what suits one person won't suit another.

I use Estee Lauder double wear and it's great on my skin. I know some people find it too heavy but it's really fairly light on me.

Go to a large Boots or department store and trail around trying them all. You need to have good boundaries to not buy until you have tried everything though - just be honest and say you are trying them all before making your decision.

I think the trick is to make it obvious you are wearing foundation but it has to be applied flawlessly with a bit of a dewy glow. When I see people who look polished I have worked out this is often the case. For me it takes a mild fake tan underneath to even things out before I start and a good primer, then a glowy powder like Hourglass ambient. Then I think my make up looks done in that slightly OTT way that looks a bit expensive.

Is that what you mean?

Yes that's it lady. Which products do you use? Which primer etc?
I'm going into town so want to have a look at a few and see which is best.

I use Good Genes by Sunday Riley, then any old moisturiser then Rodial Dragons Blood serum which ( on my skin, anyway) kind of tightens everything up and acts as a primer. It's soooooo £££ though that I only use it when I want to look polished, otherwise I use MAC Prep and Prime.

I mix a couple of drops of Niod Photography fluid into my foundation. Currently using Marc Jacobs full coverage but I go sparingly with it.

Beauty blender and fingers to get the coverage I want them a squirt of water ( Evian mist thing) all over face which sort of meshes everything together. Let dry.

ByTerry Tea to Tan liquid used as a bronzer with a buffing brush on cheeks, Bridge of nose, chin, forehead.

Nars multiple in Orgasm on cheekbones for ' gleam' ( very important!)

Eyebrows squooshed through with whatever pencil/gel I'm currently using ( my eyebrows are a lost cause so I just tidy them up)

GOSH ( Superdrug) Forever eye pencil in nougat all over eyes and up
past socket. It sets fast and doesn't budge and suits absolutely everyone ( Caucasian, can't speak for other skin shades) Makes your eyes look 'done' without looking over done.

Some kind of brown eyeliner

Mascara - I use Hypnose

Lipgloss - something nude but not too caramel works for me.

So there you go. I can get this done in 15 minutes, 20 minutes if I'm really faffing about.

I LOVE make up and I know how to do it well ( on me, crack handed on anyone else!) I often get people ask me what I'm wearing/ how I applied it, so I think I'm getting it right.

I also think good earrings 'frame' the face well so I factor that into how I want to look.
I'm totally over invested in this, aren't I??

That's so helpful lady thank you so much!
I'm now currently going through your products and googling them

Happy to help!

Other products you might like which I think help give this look:

Hourglass palette in Sunset
Benefit Hoola Powder bronzer. No sparkle, so you can use other gleamy stuff under/over and not look like a disco ball.

Anastasia Beverley Hills dipbrow. Amazing stuff, doesn't budge.

Nars Sheer Glow foundation for a lighter less 'done' base

EL double wear is slightly less spenny than Marc Jacobs but not as good imo.

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit is the best single make up item I've ever bought. I carry it everywhere and wear it every day.

I second everything Lady has said, I love Nars Orgasm but have switched to a dupe of it, Luminoso baked blush by Milani Cosmetics (think you can get on amazon) as its about half the price and longer lasting and seems, to me, better quality.

I also love Clarins Beauty Flash Balm under makeup, although it took me a while to realise how to apply it properly as it keep beading up on my skin and I thought it was rubbish at first. I sometimes as add a small amount over the top of finished makeup too, and then set very lightly with a tiny dusting of powder.

Nivea's Q10 anti ageing pearls serum used overnight seems to make my skin really smooth and bright, and so makes my makeup look much better the next morning.

I completely lurrrrrrrve Hourglass. So much so that the staff in Liberty are like " Oh Hiiiiiii!" when I go in now.

This is really helpful thank you.

What's so good about the hourglass? Is it just a powered foundation?

No it's a brand they do lots of different things - the best things are the Ambient Lighting powders, blushers or highlighters. They just make you look amazing. At the moment I'm mostly using the Edit, pic included. I put the light powder all over my face, sometimes with the bottom two shades (a bronzer and highlighter) all mixed together, and then the blushes.

I was using the palette all the colours mixed all over my face for about a year, but I've completely run it out.

Basically - how to look luminous

Place marking

I think it's as much about application as product - a blending sponge is a must. I like the Real Techniques ones (available from Boots). Make sure your skin is well moisturised and bleeeennnd everything so that it's even, no caking or dull patches. I vary between Chanel Les Beiges (which is a great medium coverage foundation) and using a tinted moisturiser. For the latter I usually use Clinique Cityblock SPF40 but there appears to be a supply issue with it at the moment, which is annoying! So I have gone for a cheaper version instead, which is No.7's in SPF15.

Set using a powder. If I'm wearing foundation then I use a translucent loose powder with a tiny bit of light reflecting powder added to it to give some 'glow' but without any obvious sparkle. If I'm wearing TM then I use a combination of translucent loose powder with Bare Minerals powder (which gives good coverage). Big brush to loosely dust across the face, then use the blending sponge to sweep away any caking, ensure that powder doesn't sit in fine lines etc. Then mist with a fixing spray (it does make a difference).

Another good dupe of NARS 'orgasm' is Sleek's blusher in 'rose gold'. I think that looking polished depends on looking like a natural version of yourself but better IYSWIM? So brows need to be tidy rather than really obvious, foundation blended really well into your skin and the right colour. The current trend for really heavy makeup doesn't look polished to me - it looks great in photos and on Insta but IRL it looks very heavy and cakey.

Ask the team in your local Space NK. I swear by hourglass primer and Laura Mercier foundation, I think I'm using the Photo Perfect one at the moment as SPF free so better for flash photography. I wear Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser on normal days. Also colour correcting concealer for different things e.g. Green for red spots. Yellow round the eyes.