Sorted: Our Best Tips to Avoid Foundation Sinking Into Lines and Wrinkles
My name is Iain and I've worked in the Beauty Industry for 8 years now. I've been on the front line in store helping people navigate the world of skin, as well as worked in education, artistry and marketing. When I'm not writing about skincare, you can find me over at Instagram talking about beauty or working on my PhD.
Low on time? Check out our key takeaways below
Key Takeaways
- Hydration is crucial for preventing foundation from sinking into lines, so I recommend using a hydrating serum and moisturiser before application.
- A smoothing primer is essential as it fills in lines and helps your foundation glide on more smoothly, in my experience.
- Foundation oxidation occurs due to the interaction of ingredients with skin oils, which can change the colour of your foundation over time.
- Prevent cakiness by applying foundation in thin layers and choosing a concentrated formula that offers full coverage with minimal product.
- Smile lines are common for foundation creasing, but using a damp sponge to remove excess product can help maintain a smooth appearance.
- Bobbi Brown's Intensive Skin Serum Foundation is a great choice as it combines skincare benefits with a flawless finish, preventing settling in fine lines.
- Giorgio Armani's Luminous Silk Hydrating Primer provides hydration and smooths out textural irregularities, making foundation application easier and more effective.
- Setting sprays like MAKE UP FOR EVER Mist & Fix are beneficial for keeping makeup looking fresh and preventing it from creasing throughout the day.
Finding a foundation you love can feel like a never-ending search of trial and error, and the one thing we can all agree on is that none of us wants a foundation that sinks into lines and wrinkles on the face.
In this guide, I first break down the most asked questions about foundation and texture, then I share all the tips you need for a wrinkle-blurring foundation that will not deposit makeup in forehead lines, and finally, I give you some of my top product recommendations.
Yes, this includes the unglamorous basics like double cleansing, skipping the makeup wipe, and that orange peel analogy video you watched at 2 a.m. and immediately regretted.
I also get into specifics like MAC Locked Kiss Ink (because transfer happens), a P.S. you will want to remember, and what to do if you have an oily t-zone, so you can stop blaming your face and start blaming the formula.
How to Avoid Foundation Lines
Unlike the immortal moments captured in perfectly shot images in glossy magazines, our lives involve moving and breathing throughout the day. This means that foundation can leave obvious makeup in forehead lines and become a foundation that wrinkles and creases.
Thankfully, there’s a few things you can do to stop makeup from settling in lines. Prepping your skin with lots of hydration is key. Lines deepen on dehydrated skin, increasing the chance that foundation will settle in them. Find a hydrating serum and moisturiser to help counteract this.
Additionally, a smoothing primer is your BFF! The primer will fill in lines and prevent your foundation from doing the same. At the end of the day, makeup can only look as good as the skin that’s underneath it, so it’s paramount that you don’t skimp on the skin prep.
Why Does Foundation Oxidise?
Now that you know *what* oxidation is when it comes to foundation, I’m sure you’re wondering now *why* it occurs.
The primary culprit in makeup oxidation is the interaction between the foundation’s ingredients and the oils in your skin.
This is why it’s not always immediately obvious that your foundation is going to oxidise when you apply it. It’s only going to happen as the day goes on and your natural oils start to break through.Additionally, foundations that aren’t stabilised with antioxidants may oxidise over time after you’ve opened the bottle. So about a year or so after you purchase your foundation, you may notice that the colour doesn’t look as good on you as it did when you first bought it.
Hey, it’s a good excuse to treat yourself to some new makeup!
How to Stop Makeup Creasing?
When makeup creases, that's when we venture into cakey makeup territory! Most of us struggle to explain what cakey makeup looks like, but we all know it when we see it.
Caking normally happens when a product has been applied too heavily all at once or in too many layers. The excess makeup gathers on the skin and becomes a foundation that wrinkles and creases.The easiest way to keep your foundation smooth and even is to find a foundation that allows you to get your desired coverage and finish with as little product as possible. If you want full-coverage, find a formula that’s super concentrated so you can use less of it.
After you apply your makeup, using a makeup finishing or setting spray is also an excellent idea. These work by melting the layers together into one more cohesive layer of product that’s less likely to crease.
How To Stop Smile Lines in Foundation?
These are the type of foundation wrinkles and creases that are most common! As we talk, laugh and giggle throughout the day, foundation is particularly prone to crinkling in these areas.
Thankfully, there’s also some quick fixes that work great to help prevent this.
Firstly, after you apply your eye cream in the morning, pat any remainder that’s on your fingers in this area!
As eye creams work great to plump and treat fine lines around the eye area, they do the same in this region where the skin is also thinner.
Additionally, by using a damp sponge at the end of your routine to gently remove excess product in this area by bouncing the sponge up and down, this can help prevent creasing throughout the day.
Now you’re armed with some of my favourite life hacks to prevent makeup in forehead lines, foundation that wrinkles and creases, let’s chat about some products that help you achieve that wrinkle blurring foundation effect we all want.
The Foundation That Doesn’t Sit in Wrinkles
What it is: Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation SPF25A high-powered hybrid of skincare and makeup that provides flawless coverage and glow. This foundation for fine lines is an emulsion of treatment benefits from Lychee, Bamboo Grass and Cordyceps Mushroom Extracts with high quality pigments that glide over skin to disguise any lines or wrinkles. Just make sure you give it a good shake before using it and remember: less is more!
Why it’s so good: Not only is this an anti-ageing formula with skincare benefits in mind, but Bobbi Brown has also picked the highest quality ultra-fine pigments that, unlike traditional foundations, do not settle in fine lines. This foundation will fill in wrinkles during application to give you the most flawless coverage, while the SPF25 protects skin from damaging UVA and UVB rays.
Remember: Not To Prime Is a Crime!
What it is: Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Hydrating Primer 30ml A luminous, hydrating primer that gives skin up to 48 hours of hydration while it simultaneously fills in fine lines and wrinkles. The gel texture gently glides over any textural irregularities in skin, to not only ensure that your foundation applies more smoothly, but also that it resists creasing, crinkling, and fading throughout the day.
Why it’s so good: Infused with Rosa Gallica Flower Extract which helps to soothe skin, as well as glycerine which deeply hydrates and nourishes skin, this primer leaves behind softer, smoother, and more radiant skin.
Spritz Your Way To Wrinkle Blurring Foundation!
What it is: MAKE UP FOR EVER Mist & Fix 100ml Spray An alcohol free formulation that boosts cellular oxygenation, this setting spray not only meshes products together for a flawless finish, while coating the skin in an invisible protective barrier to prevent makeup from creasing and separating throughout the day. The super fine spray will also not disrupt makeup whilst it increases skin hydration.
Why it’s so good: This Setting Spray isn't just another makeup setting spray. It keeps your skin looking natural for longer by reducing the cakey or powdered appearance of makeup. Your skin is fresh and luminous, with no oiliness.
Want even more fantastic makeup tips that will prevent your foundation from creasing and caking? Go and watch Amanda’s incredible video on foundations for mature skin here:
Brand and product inclusions are at the sole discretion of Adore Beauty. We do not seek or accept payment from brands or individuals listed in our guides.
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