In What Order Apply Full Makeup

If you are someone who regularly wears makeup across all your features—including skin, eyes, lips, and cheeks—yous likely take an ordered application method that you plough to over and once again. Peradventure y'all always apply foundation and concealer first before moving on to eyeshadow; maybe yous ascertain your brows earlier drawing on eyeliner. Whatever your regimen, if it works for you, information technology's perfect the way it is, says celebrity makeup artist Moani Lee. "I always encourage anyone and everyone to come upwards with an guild that suits them," she says. "I don't believe there is a mathematical approach to how products should be placed. I think the goal is e'er to take fun and enjoy the process, as one would a meditation."

woman applying makeup

Credit: Ridofranz / Getty Images

With that said, if you find that your personal method isn't getting the job done—perhaps your eyeshadow crumbles and smudges onto your freshly-applied base, for example—it might be time to switch things up. I tried-and-truthful pick is the top-downwardly method, explains Lee. Enhance your brows, eyes, and lips, in that exact order; whether y'all begin or end with skin is upward to you. To dig further into this iteration (and many others), we tapped several leading makeup artists to share the product application gild that makes the near sense to them. The main takeaway? Be open to trying a few different approaches to land on the list that works for you; as these professionals assert, there'south simply no 1-size-fits-all routine.

Don't forget to prep your pare.

Co-ordinate to Etienne Ortega, a celebrity makeup artist and Deck of Scarlet brand ambassador, every successful makeup routine begins with effective skin care. "Afterward cleansing the peel, I use micellar water to make certain there's no oil or residue," he shares; a hydrating primer is side by side. Lee agrees, explaining that a rich, nourishing moisturizer, like 111 Peel's Space Anti-Age Mean solar day Face Cream ($270, nordstrom.com) properly prepares the complexion for makeup. If you really want to go the extra mile, she says, consider a treatment; she often begins with 111 Skin's Rose Aureate Brightening Facial Treatment Mask ($32, nordstrom.com), which she lets sit for 20 minutes.

First with either base or eye makeup.

Sarah Lucero, the global executive beauty managing director at Stila Cosmetics, prefers to begin with foundation and concealer—after washing with Dr. Barbara Sturm's exfoliating Enzyme Cleanser ($75, sephora.com) and applying plenty of moisturizer, that is—but if your desired look is eye intensive, you might desire to start there. "If you lot are applying a strong eye or using a pulverisation eyeshadow, y'all may want to do eyes first," she explains, adding that colour run-off or smudging, notwithstanding, is preventable with the correct formula; endeavor her get-to Stila Liquid Eyeshadows ($24, ulta.com), which comes in an assortment of colorways and finishes, from glitter to suede. Lee agrees, noting that eyeshadow shedding could also be the result of improper application: "This could hateful y'all are using fashion likewise much product. You could benefit from flicking the brush to remove some backlog shadow before applying to your eye."

For base, foundation typically comes first—then concealer and the rest of your confront-centric arsenal.

Lee applies foundation—her favorite is Chantecaille's Future Skin ($79, nordstrom.com)—before concealer, and then layers on contour, powder, and highlight (in that exact order). Lucero takes a similar approach—she advises taking your time and melding base products together with a sponge, like the Beautyblender ($20, ulta.com) for a seamless finish—only prefers to "keep confront powder to a minimum, so you don't lose that gorgeous glow." Emmy Award-winning makeup artist Nyssa Green, however, likes to dab on concealer (merely where it is needed) before foundation; so, she reaches for highlighting and contouring products before finishing with loose powder.

Chroma is your wild card.

As for when to apply blush? You accept a few options, say our experts. Lucero, who takes a confront-outset arroyo, applies blush direct afterward concealer; she prefers rich formulas like Stila'south Convertible Color Dual Lip & Cheek Cream ($25, amazon.com), which puts "a petty colour back into your complexion." Lee, a follower of the meridian-down method, gets to cheeks afterward eyeshadow, but before lips.

Whenever you get to your eyes, endeavour defining your brows beginning, pre-shadow.

For Green, eye makeup (sans mascara, which she coats on at the very terminate!) is e'er the first pace—offset with the arches. "Fill in brows with your favorite pencil, brow gel, or pulverisation," she explains, adding that she tackles eyes showtime so she can wipe away any mistakes without unnecessarily disrupting other areas. "It creates a guide for the next pace—and, on a quickie face, a nice, clean, defined brow can exist all you need." Lee oft takes this approach, equally well, "to frame up the centre" earlier shadow, she says.

Lucero, on the other hand, makes the example for a mascara first, brows last arroyo: "I personally apply my mascara commencement—I know this might sound strange to almost, simply it works for me," she says, explaining that the product defines her center shape, which makes eyeliner application more precise. "Information technology helps guide your liner forth and allows yous to create the shape you desire to see versus follow the shape you have." As for the reason why she fills in her arches concluding, post-mascara, liner, and eyeshadow? "You tend to over-utilize and go too heavy or nighttime considering you lot over-compensate for the lack of middle definition y'all get from liner or mascara," she offers. The gist? There are many means to create a pretty eye wait—give both methods a endeavor before choosing a winner.

Lip liner or lipstick first? The respond might exist product dependent.

Virtually all of our experts tackle lips concluding. While Green prefers to "line them directly on the lip line, and then fill them in with color," Lee goes in with lipstick first—then cleans upwards the edges with liner. "I discover myself being able to button lipstick into natural lip lines much more than easily than if given the confines of a liner starting time," she explains. For Lucero, the approach is production dependent. If she's working with a liquid or cream lipstick, she applies that first, before liner. When she wants to utilise a pigmented gloss, even so, she defines her rima oris first: "The liner goes on kickoff, in this case, to shape up my lips."

Your method might change if yous're going for a more than natural expect.

Since you probable don't apply a full face of makeup each and every day, expect your routine to shift when you need less, notes Ortega. While he "likes to do eyes first 80 percent of the fourth dimension," for no-makeup makeup, he prefers a skin-forrad approach. "If we're going with a more than natural await, I focus more on fresh skin and minimal makeup. I add together Deck of Scarlet's new Dual Drama Liquid Eyeliner ($29, deckofscarlet.com), every bit a terminal stride," he notes.

In that location's only ane hard-and-fast rule: Moisturize first and add pulverisation concluding.

"The only step I think requires an club is moisturizer first and powder last," says Lee. "Everything else in between can be based on personal preference. Don't let order confine you to rules of how to do things. Makeup should be an art and the flow of it should be entirely upwards to you. Explore and have fun!"