The Correct Order to Apply Your Makeup, According to a Pro
Makeup is all fun and games until you realize you've been doing it wrong you're entire life.
This happened to me a few years back, and boy was I surprised. I consider myself to be pretty well-versed in the beauty world, so after finding out I'd been making a few mistakes in the application of my makeup, I was floored.
It wasn't anything crazy like applying bronzer where blush should be, but it had to do with the order I was applying it. For years, I'd been applying my concealer then immediately blending it in. Some of you might be cringing, but I'm willing to bet most of you don't see the issue here. And guess what—I didn't, either! Instead of promptly blending in the concealer, I should have waited for it to dry up a bit and get tacky. By blending it right away, I was essentially forgoing all the benefits that concealer provides.
In order to ensure I wasn't making any other makeup mistakes, I took the debate to one of my fave makeup line's cofounders. Taylor Frankel of Nudestix broke it down for me. Here's what I learned:
Common Mistakes to Avoid
It's super important to keep your complexion in mind. Starting out with a clean palette is ideal, and according to Taylor, this will allow for an easier, cleaner application of products:
"You want to start with cream products and then finish off with powder. If you put cream or liquid on top of powders, it tends to look cakey on the skin."
Keep Your Skin Type in Mind
Before delving into the order in which to apply your makeup, it's important to know which type of makeup you should be using. Taylor says:
"If you have oily skin, you want to ensure you're using products that have more of a cream to powder finish. If you have dry skin, you want to stay away from powders and use mostly cream or liquid products."
Keeping all of this in mind, go through your makeup collection and confirm you're using the accurate products for your skin type. Once this step has been completed, it's onto the order.
The Actual Order to Apply Makeup
If you were to ask 20 people the correct order to apply makeup, you'd get answers varying across the board. It's honestly up to the user—what they're most comfortable with and what they think works best for them. However, most makeup professionals agree that there is a preferred order. Here's what Taylor suggests:
"I typically start with my brows and then my eye makeup. I usually do my eye makeup before my face makeup to avoid potentially ruining prior base makeup application. This way I won't have to wipe away any mess made from eye application. Then I'll do my base makeup (foundation, concealer) moving onto my contour, blush and finally, highlighter."
Need some makeup inspo? Look HERE for three quick and easy makeup looks to wear to school.
