How to apply foundation, according to a make-up artist

For many, a foundation is a key component in any make-up bag, alongside concealer, powder and often a bit of blusher. But whether you prefer a lightweight tinted moisturiser, a hefty hydrating pick that’s perfect for drier skin or are tempted to try the Laura Mercier flawless foundation that took TikTok by storm, how you apply the product can make quite a difference.

While some people prefer the soothing tap of a soaked make-up sponge, others become artists and paint the product on with a brush. Plus, there’s a good handful of us who find our fingers work best to warm the product into our faces. Although your application of choice will alter the final look and how the foundation sits on your face, it is important to have some understanding of the differences between each method if you’re a big make-up fan.

To run us through the basics of foundation application, make-up artist and beauty journalist Rose Gallagher shared her top tips below. Just keep scrolling to find out exactly how to use that sponge, whether primer really is important and if concealer should go underneath or on top.

Rose Gallagher recommends that you start “by applying your product to the area that needs the most coverage and work outwards. For example, I have redness in my cheeks so I will start there and spread the product out towards my temples and forehead where I need much less coverage.”

She adds: “However you choose to apply (hands, brush, sponge), the crucial factor is using soft pressure. So often I see people rubbing their foundation on aggressively, and more so than anything you are simply moving product around the face when you apply in this way. By using a very soft touch, you are gently pressing the product onto the skin and allowing it to sit, uninterrupted, giving a fuller coverage and leaving the skin below feeling calm.”

Should your neck be a “different colour to your face, use a CC cream instead of a foundation as it is designed to colour correct and will help to marry the various shades together”.

“Brushes are brilliant for when you want to achieve a very flawless finish or when you want to make a tiny amount of product spread as far as possible,” notes Gallagher. Interestingly, “your brush shape will also alter the finish of your base. If you like full coverage, you may wish to use a flat foundation brush”.

When it comes to using a brush, she suggests applying “a pump of your foundation to the back of your hand, or pick it up bit by bit if it comes in a pot. Then, use the brush to pick a small amount at a time from the back of your hand and gently swipe it onto the skin. Lots of small strokes in the same direction with a flat brush will give the skin a full coverage finish with no streaks.”

For a customisable amount of coverage, Gallagher recommends a rounded, dome-shaped brush. She notes that it helps “you to achieve anything from soft and fresh to completely full coverage”. For applying, “start with your foundation on the back of your hand and pick it up bit by bit. I like to work like this because you don’t overload your brush and end up with too much product on the face. Instead, you are in full control of your make-up and how much coverage you’d like. You’ll find that day to day this can change, for example, you may want less coverage if you have caught the sun a little.”

For applying with a sponge, Gallagher suggests you dampen it with some water, “thoroughly rinse it out, apply a pump of foundation to the back of your hand, and gently pick up a bit of foundation at a time and press it gently into the skin”. You want to “bounce the product onto the skin with the sponge rather than dragging it”. This will “give a skin-like finish, no smears whatsoever, and can help you to achieve anything from a super soft to a super full finish”.

One thing to note though is that a “sponge will drink up your foundation like it does water”. To that end, you may “find you need to use a lot more product to achieve the same level of coverage, so you’re replenishing your product far more quickly than if you’d used your hands or a brush”.

Gallagher notes that “all sponges are largely the same and you don’t need to spend a fortune – the Boots blending sponge (£4, Boots.com) is more than great”.

“This is a personal question and entirely up to you,” says Gallagher. “I like to do it last – that way, I can see what the finished skin is looking like after I’ve applied foundation, and see where I might just need a little bit of TLC here and there”. Plus, “nothing else is going to interrupt the concealer because I’m not smudging anything else on top of it”. She recommends the Nars radiant creamy concealer (£21.50, Lookfantastic.com), as it’s “universal and brilliant under or over make-up”.

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“Again, this is a personal choice, but nine times out of ten, I don’t believe in using primer,” says Gallagher. “If your skincare is working in the way that you want it to (for example helping to alleviate dry patches or manage oil production) then you won’t need one.”

Should you wish to use one, she recommends that you “find a primer that has a real purpose. Laura Mercier, for example, offers a range of primers that add glow (£31.60, Lookfantastic.com), mattify (£39.50, Lookfantastic.com) or smooth the skin (£41.50, Cultbeauty.co.uk) in addition to promising longer wear.”

“You want to layer like-minded products on top of each other,” says Gallagher. If “your foundation, blush and bronzer are all cream, apply all of these together, and then finish with powder”.

If your “blush and bronzer are powders, set your make-up first with your setting powder to take the dewy finish off your foundation, and then proceed to apply your powders”. This will ensure that you get a “more flawless finish as no pigment will cling when dewy surfaces meet powders – your setting powder has been the veil between the two”.

While Gallagher says she’s “not a huge fan of powder all over the face”, she notes that “it can work wonders around the T-zone and in natural expression lines on the face just to reduce the appearance of shine”. Applying “powder throughout the day where you tend to get a bit warmer will also exponentially increase your wear time”.

As for the ones to reach for, “you can’t go wrong with Nudestix for blush and bronzer in cream form (£22.50, Lookfantastic.com) or Bobbi Brown for powders (£26, Bobbibrown.co.uk)”.

If you’re applying foundation on mature skin, Gallagher would recommend, where possible, not to set “with as much powder, that way you can still move your creams around throughout the day if they settle into fine lines”. She advises that “mature skin should use lightweight formulas (in as much or as little coverage as you would like), so that there’s less product on the skin, so it’s less likely it is to gather in lines”.

A small amount of “setting powder just in laughter lines can make a big difference to make-up wear time, but opt for a talc-free powder so that it doesn’t look dry or enhance lines – I love IT Cosmetics bye bye pores for this (£31, Lookfantastic.com)”.

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