5 Makeup Application Mistakes You Could Be Making

At this point in your life, chances are you have a morning makeup routine that you follow on a daily basis. In fact, you probably have a group of go-to products that work for you—and even though your medicine cabinet may look like a complete mess to some, you could navigate through it to find your favorites with your eyes closed if you had to.

Still, despite your best efforts, there are some common makeup application mistakes that plenty of people make—and you might not even know you’re doing them! From skipping out on primer to forgetting to exfoliate your lips before swiping on a highly pigmented shade of lipstick, these are five makeup application mistakes that it’s time to put the kibosh on pronto.

Makeup Application Mistake #1: Not Applying a Primer

Do you always reach for your concealer and foundation immediately after moisturizing? It’s time to take a step back and consider primer as the first step in your makeup routine. A good primer can help to act as a base for the rest of your makeup, allowing for your foundation, concealer, blush, and bronzer to go on smoothly. Plus, it can also help to keep your makeup in place—and if you’ve got oily skin, you know how difficult that can sometimes be (hello, oil slick!).

The L'Oréal Paris Studio Secrets™ Professional Magic Perfecting Base has a silky, lightweight formula that glides onto skin, leaving it feeling velvety-smooth. What’s more, it smooths lines and hides pores. After moisturizing, apply the primer dot by dot and blend it in a gentle circular motion over your entire face or to target areas (think your under-eyes to smooth over fine lines, your nose and cheeks to minimize the look of pores, and your T-zone to reduce the look of shine). You can wear this primer alone for a matte (a.k.a. non-shiny) finish or under your foundation.

Makeup Application Mistake #2: Forgetting to Exfoliate Your Lips Before Wearing Bright Lipstick

Applying lipstick to dry lips may not give you the pretty results you’re after. So, if you know you’re going to be wearing a highly-pigmented lipstick hue, make it a point to exfoliate your pout beforehand. Sloughing off dead skin cells from the surface of your lips can help your lipstick go on smoothly. After exfoliating, swipe on a moisturizing lip balm and then move on to applying lipstick.

Makeup Application Mistake #3: Skipping the Invisible Lip Liner

Does your lipstick feather or bleed out soon after you put it on? That’s probably because you forgot to use an invisible lip liner first. If this always seems to happen to you, try lining your lips with an invisible wax liner before moving on to lipstick. An invisible lip liner can grab on to color, helping it last longer and preventing it from feathering. Start by lining the outside of your lips with the invisible liner to help fill in any fine lines. Then, fill in the rest of your lips with a liner in a shade that matches your lipstick. Finish off by applying your lipstick and you’re good to go!

Makeup Application Mistake #4: Rubbing Your Face with a Makeup Sponge

We all know the amazing things a makeup sponge can do when it comes to makeup application. But if you want that flawless-looking airbrushed effect, it’s all about your technique. Instead of rubbing your face with a makeup blender, try “stippling” your foundation on with the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Blend Artist Foundation Blender. This entails gently tapping the sponge onto your skin and blending using quick, patting motions.

Makeup Application Mistake #5: Forgetting to Clean Your Makeup Brushes

Hey, we’ve all been guilty of this one before, especially when we’re in a rush to get out the door.

But you should never use a dirty makeup brush. Dirty makeup brushes can collect dead skin cells, oil, and bacteria—so you don’t want to put those back on your face, now do you? Make sure you wipe your makeup brushes off with a cleansing solution every so often to help avoid this.