How to: Use a Foundation Brush

By Beaut.ie | Mar 9, 2010

Paintbrush-style base brushes are a bit of a pain in the hoop, as far as I'm concerned. Best for stick foundation, I always got the dreaded brush-stroke-face from using them with liquid products, but in between staring at the handsomness of Claude at the recent launch of Clarins new Everlasting Foundation SPF15, I managed to pay a bit of attention to what he was actually, y'know, doing. Glad I did too, because he taught us a little trick, and that was how to avoid streak-cheeks.

So, what should you do?

Pump a couple of dollops of product out onto the back of your hand (I use my left as I'm right handed, but do vice versa if you're a ciotog)
Grab your foundation brush and just put the top bristles a small way into the foundation blob, drawing it down the hand. This ensures you only take a small amount of product each time and that's the basic thing that'll help prevent brush stroke marks. Only use one side of the brush for applying your foundation - you'll use the other side later. Basically, do not dip the brush straight into the foundation blob and mush it about, or you just won't get this to work for you.
After your first swipe, your hand should look like this, with lots of product remaining

This is how the brush should look after your first swipe through the foundation. Now begin to apply to your face, starting in the centre of your noggin, and gradually working out.
As you gently dip your brush back into the product on your hand, the side of the brush you're using will gradually become saturated. Continue until your left (or right) hand is free of product or you're happy with the coverage you've gotten - you can always pump out another dollop of foundation if you like.
Once you've gotten your base to where you want it to be, you can turn the brush around to the clean side and blend in any areas you think might be looking a bit suspiciously paint-brushesque.

That's it! And it works - I can attest. Wanna know what product I'm using in the pics above? The foundation is Bourjois' new Healthy Mix and the brush is the new Estee Lauder foundation brush.