How to avoid patchy foundation

One of the biggest reasons foundation looks cakey? The color is too light or too dark—so it’s even more obvious that you’re wearing it. To pick the perfect shade of foundation, look for one that literally disappears into your skin.

You don’t apply primer before your foundation

“Primer acts as a barrier between skin and makeup, so if you’re oily it will stop the oil from seeping through and making make-up slide. “And if you’re dry, it will stop your skin from almost ‘drinking’ the foundation which can make skin look patchy and uneven.”

A creamy concealer is one of the best ways to treat the dry patches that re-appear after applying the foundation. To use a concealer to treat dry patches, apply it over the affected area and gently dab with a finger to blend it. To avoid any mess, do not use a sponge or a makeup brush to blend the concealer.

“The wrong formula of foundation, mixing products with ingredients that don’t match or dehydrated skin are all culprits,” she says. “Also, most people are not as oily as they think they are, and using ultra matte foundation on already dry skin is another recipe for a patchy face.”

If your foundation separates, disappears, oxidizes, or otherwise looks like trash really soon after applying, there might be another culprit: your baking powder or your primer. Or both. When wearing foundation, I often recommend wearing it once without primer and just powder. Once with primer and no powder.

Use your makeup sponge or a foundation brush to smooth out your foundation and blush. Use a gentle buffing motion, making sure to smooth things as you go but not rubbing off all of your makeup. Apply a little extra concealer under your eyes to brighten and give skin a refreshed look.

Makeup Touch–Ups. If you apply your original makeup with care, there’s no reason you should need to reapply more than once a day (excluding lipstick or gloss, of course). Applying more often will just clog your pores and give you that “makeup mask” look.

In order to achieve a totally smooth face makeup look, you’ll want to apply your foundation and concealer of choice using a makeup blender, like the L’Oréal Paris Infallible Blend Artist Foundation Blender. Using this blender to blend everything out will make for a super smooth makeup application.

Foundation goes orange throughout the day

You’ve blended your foundation to perfection, but after an hour or so your makeup seems to have transformed into a dark, orangey hue (nice). This is called, oxidation, and yes, we know, it’s really annoying.

Blotchy Makeup on a Bare Face

Another reason your makeup can look blotchy is because the skin has a lot of natural oils, whether you have oily skin or not. If you apply blush without applying foundation or at least a setting powder underneath, don’t expect it to last for more than a few hours.

No matter what your skin type, most of the time your skin tends to become oily after applying makeup. Oil on the skin can melt your makeup, clog the pores and also trigger the appearance of pimples on the skin. Generally, makeup oxidizes on your skin which in turn produces oil on your skin.

It’s the same exact thing with our skin. When we exfoliate, cleanse, and moisturize we are prepping our skin for the perfect canvas for our makeup. You’ll notice your makeup will glide on smoother and your makeup will look so much more even and radiant.

Now that your skin is well moisturized, prep your face with primer. Whether you’re planning on applying a light coat of foundation or a full face of makeup, primer is an important first step. Using primer under your makeup will make your look last longer.

The truth is, you should always apply moisturizer before reaching for primer (seriously, always)! Moisturizer (or sunscreen) should always be the last step in your skin care routine. Primer should always be the first step in your makeup routine.