Foundation is supposed to make our skin look better— so why does it so often leave it looking WORSE? Instead of hiding and smoothing our flaws, the makeup instead seems to highlight every raised pimple, enlarged pore, and bit of flaking skin. Packing more on doesn’t help, and even taking it all off and starting over leaves our faces red, irritated, and in worse shape than ever.

Other than giving up entirely, what’s an at-home makeup maven to do? Follow these tips from Stephanie Lange! She’s showing us today the correct way to apply foundation to rebellious skin so that it leaves it looking flawless, not worse for the wear. Watch and learn, then read on for our recap!

So did you catch all of Stephanie’s tips, tricks, and dos and don’ts? Let’s make sure we have them ALL down for future flawless faces!

Don’t . . .

• . . . apply a thick concealer first, and especially don’t rub it vigorously into your skin. It’ll just make your pimples and other imperfections stand out even more than they already do.
• . . . use a too-thick foundation that’s too pigmented for your skin type.
• . . . rub your foundation into your skin.
• . . . use a powder that’s too thick and too pigmented on top of your foundation, and don’t apply it with a brush.
• . . . try to fix oil accumulation throughout the day by applying more pigmented powder.

Do . . .

• . . . apply a lightweight, liquid concealer after your foundation, and only on the spots the foundation hasn’t manage to hide all on its own.
• . . . find a foundation that combines the thinnest consistency you can find with the level of coverage you want and need.
• . . . use a damp beauty blender sponge to gently, but firmly, press your foundation into your skin.
• . . . set your foundation with a finely-milled translucent powder, and use a sponge to pat a small amount of it onto your face.
• . . . use a beauty blotter sponge – or just tissue! – to gently blot away oily spots during the day. After blotting, you can gently press on a bit more translucent powder.

So good to know! So many of these tips were so surprising to me – especially the concealer and powder tips! – but I can’t argue with that side-by-side comparison on Stephanie’s face. I’ll definitely be changing my makeup routine.

What about you? Will you switch up your routine? Were you surprised by some of these tips? Wondering why Stephanie recommends applying your foundation this way? Make sure you watch her video, and tell us your foundation tips and troubles in the comments!