How do you keep your makeup from looking cakey? Share your tips!
It’s mostly using the right products and textures for my skin type, and I usually do a final spray of water after I’ve powdered, which helps a lot!
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I think a big part of it is finding products that don’t work against your skin type. I an still working on it u.u
I use only the make up I need, we tend to use a lot of concealer, foundation and powder and sometimes we don’t need all that or we do but not in big amounts. You can spray rose water in your face too, just don’t do it to close (a few inch away will be ok) I love the way it smells, is really good for your skin and is very refreshing.
I love the work you do here, I wish you include more drugstore dupes or products, but is grate! A big hug from Colombia.
I use my Mac Fix+ spray to do the trick for me and it works. I am happy with it so far.
Mario Bodescu facial spray after foundation and after I finish the whole face
I usually apply a serum before my powder. I don’t use foundation very often, so I look forward to seeing comments about how to avoid cakeyness.
I like to spray ELF’s mist spray or Mario Badescu rose water and aloe (or something similar, no need to by high end prices for the same ingredients IMHO), it really helps lessen the cakeiness.
I use a stippling brush for foundation so I apply as little as possible, and then make sure I tap excess powder off the pouf before using that, then a final brush off using a clean powder brush.
Plain water helps? I’ve heard people use Mac Fix plus spray but I don’t have the heart to spend money on that, haha. I’m looking forward to everyone else’s suggestions.
I just use water!
Layer my liquid foundation gradually but quickly before it dries, and be sure to knock off excess setting powder. With powder foundation, I use a moisturizing primer so it goes on smoothly. With either, I always pick up with my brush, then tap the product lightly all over my face before I blend, that way there’s no place that’s too heavily doused with foundation. Usually works for me.
Thermal water. I just mist it on all over my face after I’m done with powder/concealer/foundation and it really helps eliminate the dry and powdery look
Also my beauty blender is a freaking godsend for blending it all in.
I use a stippling brush for application and use little amount of foundi to build up coverage in layers so that it doesnt look cakey.. I will try that Spray thing next!! thanks for sharing! 🙂
Some personal preferences: do not wear foundation over your entire face. Lay down tinted moisturizer first and then just apply foundation where you need/want a bit more cover. Lately, I just can’t stand the look or feel of all over foundation..and I stay away from heavier coverage foundations and I also avoid primer. In my opinion: while it looks amazing behind camera or in media applications, it looks fake and mask like in the real world. Second: steer clear of all this insane OTT concealer, highlighting and contouring, bronzer business. More layers=more gunk and the potential for cakiness. Third: spritz your final look. My fav is Jane Iredale D20.
That’s good advice. I saw similar tips in a Lisa Eldridge video and really like applying foundation closer to just the centre of my face, then spot concealing if required. Basically, applying everything in its proper place and not layering it all over the face.
Enough said. I don’t even have to comment..! U said it perfectly dear!!
Great advice *looks at self in mirror*. I can be heavy-handed with foundation due to my history of acne. I used to pack it on all the while knowing that heavy foundation looks ridiculous! Although my skin is now clear from using good skincare, I’m learning to lighten up. Nothing is more beautiful to me than great skin with well appointed foundation and concealer that still looks like skin. It looks so polished! Thanks for sharing your tips.
This kind of ties in with your Sephora brush reviews, but I’ve found brushes make a huge difference! I’ve started using the Sephora fan brush for my foundation (Full Coverage Airbrush #53) and I love it, even when I use my Matte Velvet foundation. I used to use the Pro Airbrush #55 or a beauty blender, but I just love the #55 so much that I rarely use the others now!
First by using a primer that I know works for me and then often following that with either translucent powder or a flesh-toned shadow to provide a soft, “blendy” base so that the other shadows sort of glide over the powder base.
I stopped wearing foundation about two weeks ago and I am loving it! But that’s just because my skin is looking good enough to go without at the moment. It might not last… So when I do use foundation I always apply it with a damp beauty blender. It gives me the most natural-looking finish.
I keep a MAC Fix+ bottle with ELF Mist Setting spray in it! Lol…The regular Elf bottle’s sprayer is terrible!
I think that if it looks cakey, it’s probably applied wrong, if not just totally the wrong makeup for you. One thing that helps with application is switching to something like a Beauty Blender. I find that even super matte foundations look dewier when applied with the BB- may or may not be the look you want in the end though.
UD All Nighter setting spray returns some dewiness to my skin as well.
I believe good skincare makes everything else you use work better. I was blessed with skin that behaves pretty well, but I still have a morning/evening routine and use lots of moisturizer. It makes it so I don’t need that much foundation to start with (I only use sheer-to-medium coverage; powder in the summer, liquid in the winter). I hope to get to a point where i can go foundation free!
Nothing, cause I use very little amount of make up. I moisturize and prep and just take my time to build extremely thin layers so the result is as natural as possible.
Yep. If I wear foundation I mix it with serum to thin it and make it more natural looking. I have really been liking the Pericone No Makeup Makeup products. They look just like skin.
I atheist pray that it doesn’t cake up.
And use the beautyblender to smooth things out, lol.
I don’t get cakey makeup anymore because of the products I use and I rarely powder certain foundations!
The main thing I do to keep my makeup from looking cakey is to stay on top of my skincare (especially exfoliation)! I also like wearing light layers of hydrating primers, foundations, and BBs. Being sparing (and picky) with powder is important as well. I spray MAC Studio Fix+ on to set my makeup and use rose water to rehydrate.
I make sure my face is well exfoliated, and give my moisturizer a good five minutes to soak in before applying primer, and let that soak in as well. That makes a nice plump surface for your foundation to cling to! Finally, I know it is passé in the age of foundation brushes, but I generally find I get the most natural look (and use less product) by applying my liquid/cream foundation with my fingers, and my setting powder with a powder puff. I also press my foundation into my skin, and let the warmth of my fingers melt the product into my skin (which really helps disguise my huge pores!).
I use Embryolisse as moisturiser,let foundation set by itself for sometime after blending then powder and after I finish the whole makeup look I spritz Evian. ..just discovered all these very recently and worked so well in this very hot summer days in Dubai. No caking at all. Makeup lasted more than my 8 hour shift at work
Guess I’m just lucky on this one. I’ve never had that problem.
All of what has already commented helps but sometimes just good skin care can be enough. Exfoliating regularly really helps me as the product will sit on the skin far better.
For powder foundation, I spray my whole face with Fix+ and that helps compared to not using it and just going in with the powder. For liquid, if I really want to look good for hours, I’ll prime the oily parts of my face by stippling on some milk of magnesia, letting it dry, and then applying foundation and I’ll use a colorless loose powder. I try to be careful with the powder and not use too much. For some reason, MAC MSF Natural cakes easily on my face.
Through trial and error I’ve found that using less foundation and powder eliminates cakeyness. I put tiny amounts on my fingers and pat and blend it into my skin. When I set with powder I also use small amounts then brush a clean powder brush over my face to remove the excess.
I have combination skin, with medium large pores (as a SA once said).I’m still on the quest of finding my HG foundation. MAC Matchmaster is very good, but there must be better ones. Anyway, I find that the foundation looks best when I use my fingers to apply it. I have tried a lot of brushes. I just ordered the RT foundation blending sponge thingy. I hope I’ll like it.
I use powder only where I need it, and try to use as little as possible. I also use thermal water, or something like that. I have a bottle in the fridge, it was heavenly to use during the heat wave we had in July.
I’m at an age where going without foundation is just not on the radar, let alone make-up. I do not leave the house without make-up on, doesn’t matter what I’m doing, whether it’s an occasion, shopping or cycling 60 miles. It’s down to the right products and the right brushes. Tinted moisturisers (Laura Mercier), BB creams are all good along and the latest YSL Fusion Ink is to die for. Stay away from mineral powder foundations. Primer without question, but not the horrid silicone ones…they do make your foundation ‘roll’. I spray with NYX Matte Spray, or The Body Shop Vitamin E spray. Every woman, in my opinion, young or old, looks considerably better with foundation/make-up on.
Well, since cakiness usually seems to be related to amount of foundation/powder, I generally manage to avoid it by being very, very, almost phobically light with my foundation, LOL! However, that does mean I’ve developed ideas about cakiness that fit with my ciurrent level of foundation wear, meaning that I’m basically hallucinating cakiness. 😛
I think the key is really 1) what you put on your face BEFORE makeup, and 2) knowing how much of foundation/concealer to use. I have realized that my skincare, especially moisturizers and eye creams, play a huge role in whether the makeup will sit on the skin correctly or not. It depends on your skin type as well. When my skin is drier, I can afford to use certain types of moisturizers that are heavier because my skin just drinks up all the moisture and makeup can still stick onto the skin. When my skin is oilier, I can’t do so because what’s on top will just cake up and slide around. Some moisturizers I just can’t use, period. Knowing how much of a product you can use before it gets cakey is really important too, and this takes quite time due to many, many, many attempts at trial and error. I sometimes am already halfway through the foundation before I find out the best way to use it!
I apply a light amount of foundation, concealer and powder then mist a little MAC Fix+. It really helps keep everything looking soft and natural
Really, the biggest difference for me is using moisturizer (for my skin type) everyday before applying makeup, and using nightcream every night, so I don’t have flaky yet oily spots for powders to cake onto. Keeping skin clean and using a masque once a week or so (I’m still not great about remembering to masque). I use the right types of products for my oily skin. I blot oil with blotting papers instead of just applying more and more powder on top of the oily skin.
I usually use e.l.f. Mist & Set spray, or Nu-Skin skin mist after applying makeup, too.
KVD Lock and Load finishing spray works really well for me.