Sometimes, I just love the perfected look of a full coverage base; the velvety finish that’s so glamorous and Old Hollywood, the way that my dark underye circles are obliterated and the redness around my nose totally erased. Mostly I tend to go for very sheer, “real skin” foundations, but every now and then (especially if I’m filming) I’ll go the Full Foundation Monty. That flawless, airbrushed finish that a full coverage foundation gives always makes me feel so polished and pulled-together.
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But there’s a fine line, I think, between flawless and fake; it’s quite easy to over-apply a heavy foundation and suddenly look as though you’re wearing a comedy mask. If the skin isn’t prepped properly then the foundation might look cakey or patchy, if the base isn’t applied well then it will look obvious and thick where it should blend seamlessly and undetectably. Full coverage foundation formulas tend to be quite heavy on the powders and pigments and so they can cling to dry patches or  be difficult to blend – add to that the fact that most of them are longwear and fast-setting and you have a product that presents plenty of opportunities for disaster! So a few tips, then, for applying a full coverage base. I managed to get hold of mega-makeup artist Caroline Barnes to give us some expert foundation advice (Caroline works on some of the world’s most glamorous faces) and you can ...