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How to Flawlessly Apply Your Foundation

May 17, 2021

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How to Flawlessly Apply Your Foundation

Your foundation is the focal point of your look. It has the potential to make or break your beauty routine. If you get it wrong, your entire makeup look can appear sloppy. Foundation acts as more than a base – it camouflages your skin and hides imperfections. Whether you’re a beginner to makeup or a seasoned pro, wearing a face mask has brought a new level of difficulty to your foundation application. Your foundation needs to withstand having fabric pressed against it for hours a day.


Your foundation takes the role of evening your skin tone, diminishing the appearance of imperfections, while adding a radiant glow to your skin. You need your foundation to work in every situation – whether it’s a Zoom call with your colleagues or a day out wearing your face mask. Your foundation should look as good in real life as it does on Zoom – and just as good under your mask as it does above it. Your mask can cause your foundation to become patching, which isn’t ideal if you’re wearing a mask while commuting to and from work.

Our foundation guide covers everything you need to know about how to achieve a flawless foundation application. These are the same tips and tricks used by professional makeup artists and they’re the best kept secrets in the industry.


You’ll make a note of these tips for the next time you’re applying your foundation, so you can notice a visible difference in your skin.

Do Your Skincare First

The condition of your skin will usually dictate how your foundation sits on your skin. If you want flawless application, you need your skin to be as smooth as possible. You want to do your skincare routine before applying your foundation, as it’ll remove any dead skin cells and plumps your skin. You can add in products with vitamin c or hyaluronic acid as a way to naturally brighten your complexion, meaning you can use a smaller amount of foundation.


You should finish your skincare routine with a moisturizer to lock in the active ingredients in your other products. A moisturizer will give your skin a hydrating boost and help smooth the surface of your skin. When your skin is cleansed and hydrated, your makeup and foundation can apply more evenly.

Add a Primer

If your foundation smudges throughout the day, or if you have an oily skin type, you can use a primer to help keep it all in place. A primer adds a layer between the foundation and your face, preventing your makeup seeping into the cracks or imperfections in your skin. You want to choose a primer that is rich in skin-nourishing ingredients that can work in partnership with your skincare routine.

Use Less Foundation

The most common mistake people make is that they apply too much foundation. Sometimes, less is more. Start out with a thin layer of foundation and build up the coverage to get your desired look. Another way to stop yourself from being too heavy handed with your foundation is to apply it to the back of your hand first, before using a beauty blender or sponge to apply it from the back of your hand to your face. This method makes it easier for you to control how much foundation you’re putting on your skin. A lightweight foundation makes it easier to layer the product.

Work from The Centre of Your Face

Instead of starting with your forehead or cheeks, you want to focus your application on the centre of your face. Use a beauty blender to pat your foundation onto the sides of your nose, before moving outwards to the top of your cheeks and under your eyes. The majority of your foundation should sit on the centre of your skin, which is then blended outwards. Once you’ve taken the foundation to your cheeks, you want to simply blend out what’s left on your skin.


Avoid putting foundation on the tip of your nose – instead, focus on applying it to the side of your nose. Keeping the front of your nose makeup free gives the illusion that you’re not wearing any foundation in the first place.


This tip is essential during the pandemic, as your mask will sit on top of your nose, meaning it can lift the foundation from the bridge. The rigid frame on most masks cling to the contours of your face, limiting the airflow to your skin. Whatever foundation you have on your nose is likely going to smudge.
Before you put your face mask on, it’s a good idea to take a sponge and remove any excess foundation from the bridge of your nose and blend it to the side of your nose and cheeks.

Try Applying with Your Fingers

There’s a common misconception that you shouldn’t apply your foundation with your fingertips and that a beauty sponge or brush is a must-have for your makeup routine. Using your fingertips allows you to warm up the foundation, which will make you skin look and feel better. When you use your fingertips, you have more control over the amount of foundation hat you use. You’ll naturally use less foundation with this method than if you use a brush or sponge.


The easiest method for applying foundation with your fingertips is to pat it onto your skin using either your middle or ring finger, blending it outwards with the same finger until it blends in.


If you’re not a fan of using your fingertips – especially if you’re wearing acrylics – you can use a makeup brush instead. If you insist on using a makeup brush, it’s best to choose one that has softer bristles, as this will make it easier for you to blend the colour. You can avoid streaks in your foundation by using the brush to blend it upwards in the direction of your hairline.

Know How to Correctly Use a Sponge

The most popular way to apply your foundation right now is to use a sponge. If you choose this method, you want to make sure you do it properly. The main issue with using a sponge is that it can absorb too much of your foundation, wasting some of your product. Before you add the foundation to your sponge, dampen it with a water spray to avoid this. You want to use the side of the sponge or whichever side of it has the largest surface area. Start by patting it onto your skin in a bouncing motion before blending.


If you’re using a beauty blender, take the pointed end to evenly blend the foundation under your eyes and in the creases of your nose. You want to avoid swiping your foundation across your face, and instead pat it for a natural look.


When you have dry skin or a breakout, you can use a wedge sponge to push the foundation into your skin to cover your imperfections and help build the coverage.

Tips + Tricks for Applying Foundation During COVID-19

In an ideal world, you wouldn’t wear any makeup under your mask, as the fiction between the fabric and makeup can irritate your skin. With more of us heading back to the office, this isn’t a luxury most of us can enjoy. You still want your skin to look good whenever you remove your mask, which means you’ll want to use at least a little makeup on the lower half of your face.


The best advice is to avoid high coverage foundations. Thicker products will melt under the heat of your mask and can smear across your face or leave marks on the inside of your mask. Instead, swap your foundation out for a concealer and target it only on the areas of your skin where you have imperfections. You can set your concealer with a touch of translucent powder to prevent is smudging under your mask. If you’re heading out for the day or want to add a little colour to the lower half of your face, you can swap your foundation out for a tinted moisturizer. You want to use a lightweight on and apply it across your face with as little product as possible.


If you still want to use your everyday foundation, you can make it more sheer by adding a drop or two of an oil-based moisturizer. You can hydrate your skin, while still getting a little colour and coverage for your skin.

 Blend It with Serum

The secret to applying flawless foundation is to use a smaller amount and to focus on gradually building the coverage to get your desired look. Whether or not you’re wearing a mask, you can customize your coverage by adding a few drops of your favourite serum to your foundation to give it a more natural finish. Adding a serum to the mix can make it easier to apply your foundation and give you a sheer but buildable coverage.


How do you apply your foundation? What tips and tricks do you use for a flawless finish? Let us know in the comments below!

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