Foundation or primer: What goes on first? Should you do your eyes before you do your lips? Or should you contour your cheeks before doing either? Who knew make-up application could make you want to pull your hair out in frustration or lead to an existential crisis? Like all things in life, there is a correct order to applying make-up. Adhering to it is important if you don’t want your bronzer disappearing an hour after application or your mascara to flake off.
Step 1: Primer
Whether it is for the face, lip or eye, Primer ALWAYS goes on first. A good primer will fill in fine lines, minimise pores, and colour correct your skin’s imperfections to allow seamless foundation application. It also helps your make-up to last longer.
Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch Makeup Base (Rs 1,924)
Step 2: Foundation
Although some people like to conceal before applying foundation, it should be the other way around. Most foundations offer good coverage, but you might still need some concealing for dark circles or redness. Applying foundation before concealer also means you don’t need to use too much product.
Make Up For Ever High Definition Foundation (Rs 3,152)
Step 3: Concealer
If you reverse the order of foundation and concealer, you will have unblended splotches on your face where you have spot concealed. Applying foundation later will disturb all the lovely concealing work you have done. Depending on the level of coverage your foundation offers, nearly half your concealing effort is accomplished when you apply foundation. You only need to go over certain spots and blend it well with colour correcting concealer later.
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place High Cover Concealer SPF35 (Rs 1,825)
Step 4: Bronzing or Contouring
After you’ve created a good base with the primer and foundation, apply bronzer to the hollow of your cheekbones to create dimension in your face. You can opt for contouring too if that’s what floats your boat!
Guerlain Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder (Rs 3,262)
Step 5: Blush
If you use bronzer after blush, it will look as though you’ve bruised yourself. Remember, blush follows bronzer and not the other way around.
L’Oréal Paris Lucent Magique Blush (Rs 850)
Step 6: Highlight
It helps to have your contours and blush in place before your start highlighting (or strobing, in case you skip contouring).
Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator (Rs 808)
Step 7: Powder
Dust translucent powder on your T-zone i.e. forehead, bridge of the nose, cheeks and chin to set your make-up in place.
Ben Nye Bella Luxury Powder (Rs 792)
* Editor’s Note: There’s no consensus on whether one should do their eyes first or the lips. Some make-up artists prefer getting lips out of the way since it is easy to go overboard with the eyes, while others prefer to do the eyes first and then balance out the look with the appropriate lipstick. However, we’ve found that doing lips first can get rather messy. If you’re not careful, you could smear it all over the place and then probably have to redo your base. Smarter then to just keep it for the end, no?
Step 8: Eyes
The correct sequence is: Eyeshadow –> Eyeliner –> Eyelash Curler –> Mascara –> Falsies.
The Balm Shady Lady Shadow Palette (Rs 2,796)
Faces Beyond Black Long Stay Liquid Eyeliner (Rs 539)
Shiseido Eyelash Curler (Rs 1,165)
Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express Waterproof Mascara (Rs 375)
Inglot Eyelashes – 17N (Rs 650)
Step 9: Lips
The correct sequence: Lipliner –> Lipstick –> Blot –> Reapply lipstick –> Lip gloss.
Colorbar Definer Lip Liner (Rs 550)
Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick (Rs 2,197)
L’Oréal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Gloss (Rs 449)
Step 10: Setting Spray
Often ignored, a setting spray ensures your make-up stays put for a solid six hours or more through heat, humidity, tears (the great Indian wedding saga) and other assorted irritants that may wear your make-up out. Just a few spritzes is all you need to keep everything in place.
NYX Cosmetics Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray Matte Finish (Rs 1,505)