Apply make-up from the skin outwards, and from liquids to powders. In practice that means skincare and primer first, then foundation, concealer and powder, then bronzer, blush and highlighter, then brows, eyes, mascara and lips, with a setting spray to finish. Each step gives the next a surface it can hold to. Below is the order step by step, why it works, and the primers, setting powders and setting sprays we would choose for the steps that bracket everything else.
Why Does the Order Matter?
The rule underneath every step is simple: liquids and creams go on before powders. A cream blends into a cream, and a powder settles onto a cream and sets it. Reverse that and the cream drags the powder with it, so colour turns patchy and the base looks heavier than it is. Keeping wet textures first and dry textures last lets each layer stay thin and even, and it is the reason the order below works for almost any routine.
The Order, Step by Step
- Skincare and primer: moisturiser and, by day, sunscreen, then a primer chosen for your skin.
- Foundation: a thin layer, built only where you want more coverage.
- Concealer: after foundation, so you need less of it.
- Powder: to set the liquid layers, where your skin tends to shine.
- Bronzer, blush and highlighter: creams before powder, powders after it.
- Brows: shaped once the base is in place, so they sit in balance with it.
- Eyes: eyeshadow primer, then eyeshadow and eyeliner.
- Mascara: once the lids are finished.
- Lips: liner, then lipstick or gloss.
- Setting spray: a fine mist over everything, as the last step.
Skincare and Primer
Make-up sits only as well as the skin beneath it. Let your moisturiser and sunscreen settle for a few minutes before anything else goes on. A primer then bridges skincare and make-up: a thin layer that gives foundation a smoother surface to hold to. Choose it by the finish you want, matte for skin that shines, luminous for skin that looks dull. Apply a small amount, concentrating on the areas that need it most, rather than a thick layer over the whole face.
Chanel's La Base Matifiante is a mattifying and moisturising primer, meant to be worked into the areas that tend to look shiny. MAC's Prep+Prime Skin Base Visage is an oil-free gel primer for a smoother-looking base before foundation. Clarins' SOS Primer, formulated with edelweiss extract, gives a luminous, hydrated-feeling finish. Sensai's Glowing Base is a glowing make-up base with pearlescent particles and SPF 10; that is light protection, so keep your sunscreen in the skincare step.
- La Base Matifiante Perfecting Makeup Primer
- Prep+Prime Skin Base Visage Primer
- SOS Primer Primer
- Glowing Base SPF 10 Primer
Foundation, Concealer and Powder
Foundation comes next, then concealer. Concealer after foundation is the order most make-up artists keep, because the foundation evens much of the skin first and you need less concealer on what remains. Our guides to choosing a foundation shade and undertone and to choosing the right concealer cover both in detail.
Powder sets those liquid layers. Tap a little into the lid, take it up on a soft brush or puff, tap away the excess and press or dust it lightly where you shine, usually the centre of the face. Baking is the heavier version: a generous layer pressed under the eyes, left for a few minutes, then dusted away.
Sensai's Translucent Loose Powder is finely milled and translucent, with luminescent pearls, made to be dusted lightly over the face with a brush or puff. Chanel's Poudre Universelle Libre is a loose powder with a natural, satin-translucent finish. Revolution Make Up's Translucent Baking Powder adds no visible colour and is made for setting liquid foundation and concealer, all over or for baking. Essence's Banana Loose Powder has a pale yellow tone for brightening under the eyes and comes with a sponge.
- Translucent Loose Powder
- Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder
- Translucent Baking Powder
- Banana Loose Powder
Bronzer, Blush and Highlighter
Here the liquids-before-powders rule matters most. Cream and liquid bronzer, blush and highlighter go on after foundation and concealer but before powder, so they blend into a surface that is still soft. Powder versions go on after powder, so they glide rather than catch. Warmth first with bronzer, then colour with blush, then light with highlighter. Our guides to choosing a blush for your skin tone and to choosing and applying highlighter go further.
Brows
Brows come after the base so you can judge them against the finished complexion: frame the face first, then balance them to it. Brush the hairs upwards, fill only where they are sparse with light strokes, and set them with a brow gel if you use one.
Eyes and Mascara
An eyeshadow primer gives the lids the same help a face primer gives the skin: a smooth, even base, so colour applies evenly and stays where it is put. Apply a thin layer, let it settle, then follow with eyeshadow and eyeliner. Some people do their eyes before their base, so any dark eyeshadow fallout can be wiped away without disturbing foundation; either order works, as long as powders still come after creams.
Mascara goes on last of all the eye steps, once shadow and liner are finished, so nothing brushes over the lashes afterwards. A lash primer can sit beneath it. Our guide to choosing a mascara covers formulas in detail.
Glam of Sweden's Shadow Primer is a lightweight eye primer in a compact tube that slips into a make-up bag. Artdeco's Pure Minerals Mineral Eyeshadow Base Sensitive Primer is designed with sensitive skin in mind and contains bisabolol and vitamin E. Estée Lauder's Little Black Primer is a lash primer with a sheer black tint, worn beneath mascara or alone.
- Shadow Primer
- Pure Minerals Mineral Eyeshadow Base Sensitive Primer
- Little Black Primer Mascara Primer
Lips
Lips come last because they are the step most easily disturbed. Smooth on a little balm while you do the rest, blot it, then line and fill with lip liner before your lipstick or gloss.
Setting Spray
A setting spray is the final layer: a fine mist that melts the powder into the skin so the face looks less powdered, and helps the whole look keep its place. Shake it, hold it at arm's length, mist evenly over the face and let it dry without touching. Choose it by finish, as with primer: matte for skin that shines, dewy for skin that feels dry.
Guerlain's Parure Gold Mist is a finishing mist for a soft, radiant veil, with glycerin and a delicate floral-peach scent. Max Factor's Lasting Performance Setting Spray is an oil-free fine mist for longer wear. Catrice's Matt Fixing Spray is made for oily and combination skin and gives a matte finish without a dry feel. Nyx Professional Make Up's Dewy Finish Long-Lasting Setting Spray leaves a soft, dewy sheen and contains niacinamide.
- Parure Gold Mist Setting Spray
- Lasting Performance Setting Spray
- Matt Fixing Spray
- Dewy Finish Long-Lasting Setting Spray
In Short
If your routine already works, change one thing: the bookends. Add a primer chosen for your skin before foundation and a setting spray in the matching finish at the end, and keep every cream before every powder in between. Those two steps are what help make-up stay where you put it through the day.
