One of my favorite aquired tricks when I apply my foundation in the morning is to wet the foundation sponge a little bit with cold water. It seems like something you wouldn’t want to do, after all, why would you want to keep wetting something that you store every day, possibly encouraging mildew growth? Well, I make sure that I dry it out by squeezing it in the dry hand towel that sits right by my medicine cabinet after I’m done using it.
This just helps to ensure that you won’t get mildew growth on the sponge if you decide you really like this makeup application technique. Of course, you also want to regularly wash your sponges as well, I like to hand wash them with some soap and let them air dry, this also help discourage bacteria and mold growth, and ensure that you are rubbing a safe sponge on your face every day.
So, what does wetting your foundation sponge do for you? Well, it makes you foundation look much more sheer, instead of cakey, and it tends to give a more natural, dewy look to your skin. Why? Because 1.) It helps to ensure that you are not putting too much foundation on your face by diluting it. The water soaks up the sponge a bit, so the sponge is not as porous and cannot over-absorb the foundation, so you end up with less spackle on your face and 2.) The water dilutes the foundation and imparts a more natural, sheer look instead of the opaque or matte look that is really out today. Today, makeup is all about sheer, natural, dewy and fresh looking, not procelain and matted looking, which was in back in the eighties and nineties.
If you use this technique for applying your foundation with a sponge, then you really are going to make it look the most sheer, natural and becoming color and tone that you can. I tend to like foundations that are anti aging and anti wrinkle in nature, and they can tend to look a bit heavy if they are not diluted. Not only that, your face won’t feel bogged down by too much foundation, and you will find that it blends much more readily, reducing the likelihood of the splotched or smeared look if it dries too quickly and doesn’t go on evenly.
I’ve seen this on my own face when I forgot to use the water, and it’s hard to re-blend it correctly so it looks natural again. The water is a great, cheap way to get your foundation on, looking the best it can.