How To Apply Foundation

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Applying the perfect flawless foundation is quite easy if you use good technique and the right applicator. It is essential as your foundation determines the quality of your finished look and is worth taking a little trouble to perfect. I’ll focus on how to apply liquid foundation and discuss mineral foundation another day.

You of course don’t need to use a foundation with our Ultra Glow powders as they contain special covering pigments that give a mineral foundation coverage on your face. We’ve also just added some brand new natural foundations to our Beauty Without Cruelty range – click image to see on the main site.

beauty without cruelty foundations

Applying Foundation

Start with a clean base. Wash your face with a cleansing face wash and then dry your face with a soft towel. If you suffer from dry skin then make sure you moisturise afterwards.

Before using foundation make sure you test that it is the right shade for you. The best place to test it is actually along your jaw line as this is the place your foundation will look the most out of place if it is the wrong shade for you. Naturally most women’s necks are a different shade from their face, so it is important that your foundation will look natural there. If you tan very easily in the sun then try to look for a foundation which has a yellow base while if you tend to burn in the sun then look for a foundation which is slightly pinky/rosy.

Best Way To Apply Foundation

There are many different ways to apply foundation but these are the top 3 techniques using different applicators.

How to apply foundation with fingers

Many people use their hands to apply foundation which is fine for touch ups but when trying to perfect your base it will interfere and create blotches and streaks. Also you have to remember that your hands have natural oils on them and will ruin a smooth matte finish.

girl applying foundation with sponge

How to apply foundation with a sponge

Another way to apply foundation is to use a cosmetic sponge. There are 2 types of sponges. One is shaped like a prism or block and the other is shaped like a disc. Personally I prefer the disc shaped sponge as it does not absorb as much foundation and therefore does not waste as much as a prism shaped sponge.

How to apply foundation with a brush

The most commonly used applicator is actually a foundation brush. These are brilliant as they are very easy to use and give a clean finish and generally will use less foundation as they do not absorb as much.  However you must make sure you wash your foundation brush once a week as it will start to deteriorate and go greasy; the best thing to wash it with is actually shampoo as it removes grease.

How to apply foundation properly (my way)

To start with you will want to cover up any blemishes with concealer, targeting under the eyes to cover up tiredness, the t-zone (nose and forehead) and the creases at the sides of your nose. Next using your choice of applicator, try to blend the concealer slightly with your skin by dabbing at the edges. Now depending on whether you are left or right handed squirt some foundation onto the back of your receptive hand, it should be about the size of a kidney bean. You can always use more but it is safer to squirt less and then add more later if you need it. Load the brush with a small quantity of the foundation from the back of your hand making sure it is well coated. Apply small spots to the forehead, cheeks, chin, and tip of the nose. Working  out from the nose blend gently outwards to the ear, working on one side only to begin and then blending the other side to match to get an even finish. Don’t forget to touch up the ears also. Follow with the forehead and chin, working down under the chin and down the neck until there is no visible line. Pay extra attention to the eyes on the eyelids, under the eyebrow, underneath the eye and around the nose. You can apply foundation also to the lips before applying lipstick.

To finish it is a good idea to apply a light dusting of Beauty Without Cruelty Face Powder; loose or pressed in a translucent shade, both work well but my preference is loose.

 New Beauty Without Cruelty Foundations

beauty without cruelty foundations

We’ve spent about 3 years developing what we think is the ultimate natural foundation available. Made with natural ingredients, it gives a beautiful flawless streak free finish and is very easy to apply. It has a smooth thick dense colour consistency which is moisturising and sits lightly on the skin providing perfect non-comodogenic application. The airless pump delivers just right amount of product without wastage and is re-cyclable.

You can see it here on the main site

How To Get The Classic Sophisticated Natural Makeup Look

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This year the trend has been very much the classic Ultra Glow look: Sophisticated Natural. With a real emphasis on natural beauty, it incorporates big eyes, smooth lips and a healthy glow, all achieved effortlessly with Ultra Glow! Just add a nail varnish such as Beauty Without Cruelty’s Gold or Praline to complete the perfect look.

Start with a clean base and apply a light moisturiser. Using either the pressed or loose Ultra Glow Powder and the Large Ultra Glow Retractable Brush, lightly load the brush with powder in swirling motion and then tap as much as possible back off the brush into the pot or compact so that the brush is evenly loaded. Apply in circular sweeping motions from the middle of the forehead down through the cheekbone to the chin not forgetting the nose!. Shorten the brush and apply a little extra under the cheekbones. This causes the focal point of your face to become eyes and lips.

Add a little water to a small quantity of Ultra Glow and using an eyeliner brush, apply a clean stroke from your “tear duct end” to the outside edge along the top of the eyelid. Repeat on the other eye. Alternatively use the Beauty Without Cruelty Soft Brown Eyeliner Pencil to provide the same soft definition.

How to position the shadow on your eye

Imagine your eye divided as shown to the left. Using the Ultra Glow Mineral Shimmer Powders Nude and Sunkiss (or the Beauty Without Cruelty Mineral Shimmers Serenity and Vanity), apply first the Nude to section 2 with an Eyeshadow brush. The best way is to tilt your head back to avoid spillage. Next apply Sunkiss to section 1 all the way up to the eyebrow and use a finger to gently blend into the skin to make the colour subtle. Now apply Sunkiss to section 3 either with the brush or a finger and create a thin line just to brighten your eyes. Follow this with a further line under the eye with either the wet Ultra Glow or the bwc brown pencil to finish the soft outline. The outline on the top lid may need touching up at this point after having applied the eyeshadow!

Finish the eyes with Cocoa Magic Mascara for the perfect natural look although the Onyx will also look fine particularly for darker hair. Alternatively the new Natural Beauty Without Mascaras give a lovely finish particularly the Ultimate Natural in Walnut.

For the lips all that is needed is a touch of the Ultra Glow Lip Gloss in Pink Mink or Iced Mocha. If you prefer to wear a lipstick try the new Beauty Without Cruelty Natural Infusion Lipsticks in natural shades similar to your lips such as Warm Pecan, Cappuccino, Birch or Praline.  Either way this creates the beautifully smooth perfect finish to make your lips appear soft and natural.

To finish match your nails with Beauty Without Cruelty’s Attitude Nails in Praline, Gold or Rose Quartz.

Now your Sophisticated Natural look created by Ultra Glow is complete!

ultra.glow Powders – Hints & Tips

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ultra.glow bronzing powders

ultra.glow bronzing powders are a very simple but extremely versatile way of creating a great make up. Just follow the hints and tips and achieve a natural looking make up in minutes.

Why is it special?

Your bronzing powder will give you an all over healthy glow with or without foundation and you can also use it as a blusher, shaper, shader, eyeliner, body contour, eye shadow, lip colour and if you want to achieve a coordinated look you can even massage it gently into the nails and apply clear nail varnish over the top. ultra.glow bronzing powders respond to your natural skin tone so you can use varying depths of application to achieve lighter or darker areas and therefore contour the face and body.

Will the colour suit me?

ultra.glow Bronzing Powders are suitable for all skin types and shades from the very palest to the darkest of skin tones. It’s just a question of how much you use. Paler skin tones need a very light application, darker tones can apply more. If the shade is not dark enough you can always apply more to get a beautiful sun-kissed look.

How do I apply it?

With your ultra.glow duster brush at full length, swirl the broom lightly round the compact or pot mesh so that a very fine coating of powder is evenly distributed throughout the brush. Remember! A little goes a long way. To achieve a healthy glow evenly all over the face, begin at the forehead with gentle circular sweeps, work down one side of the face and blend gently under the chin. Repeat the process on the other side of the face and don’t forget the ears. Finish with a few sweeps over the whole face to blend and soften the colour and allow a few seconds for the powder to warm onto the skin. As a blusher use the same brush and a little more powder, sweep a little more colour over the cheeks under the cheek bones.

For the eyes, shorten the brush length by sliding the inner slide half way up or use a fine brush and sweep powder over the eyelid and blend gently upwards towards the brow bone. To make your eyes look deeper set, shade a little more powder into the socket line. Finish your make up with two coats of mascara and your favourite lip shade.

How else can I use my Bronzing Powder?

  • For a terrific eyeliner and lip liner: Mix a little powder with a few drops of water and apply with a very fine brush.

  • To get that elfin look around the shoulders: Lightly brush bronzing powder in a wedge shape just above the collarbone.

  • For a lovely looking nail colour: Simply rub powder into the nails and apply clear nail polish over the top.

Welcome to the blog

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Welcome to the ultraglowshop.co.uk blog.

We’re going to be putting a lot of exciting stuff up in the coming weeks and months and linking in with our other channels.

If you are interested in new tips and insider information on our products and everything else we do then this is the place you will find it!

We would love for you to get involved as well so we are going to be running competitions and other great things to make this is a really active site.

If you have any comments on any post or you have anything you would like to say then you can post at the bottom of each article or you can email us or use the contact form from the top navigation.

We’re very excited to have this new portal open and hope that it will be a useful resource for you – there will be some very exciting stuff on here from some top makeup artists and exclusive stuff on all of our ranges.

We’ll be going through some teething problems for the next few weeks at least while we get all the formats sorted – please bear with us! If you find an error or anything you think looks out of place then please feel free to email or contact us.

ultra.glow