Applying makeup is an art, which requires different techniques depending on outcomes and the mediums you’re using. Applying liquids and creams may require a gliding hand and a thick brush. Adding a soft-focus highlight or finish may need a dewy setting spray and plush sponge. And for powders? Well, do we have a new application trick for you.
One of the biggest powder mishaps people experience is loose and excess powder shedding and falling where you don’t want it. But in a recent TikTok, makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes explains how to apply powder makeup—in her video, it’s eyeshadow specifically—without fallout.
How to apply powder makeup with little to no fallout.
When people apply powder, they tend to sweep it on—almost like they were applying the product with a duster or broom. This motion can push the pigments out and away from the area you intended it for, resulting in some errant color elsewhere. You’ve likely noticed the most when applying eyeshadow: You know that dusting of powder that collects just below the eye when putting on your product? Yep, that’s the stuff we’re talking about.
“If you suffer from a lot of fallout, press the product on the lid first,” she says while applying a delicious shade of sandy terra-cotta with a medium-size eyeshadow brush in small dotting motions. “Really get it where you want it to be, and then blend. Do not apply and then blend straight away, because then you are literally just moving loose powder around on your eye.”
And while this video was eye-look specific, we wager that the technique will do just wonders for your powder blushes, bronzers, highlighters, and even foundations.
For powder pigments, the key is to be precise with your movements—or else you run the risk of moving your product all over your canvas. Then once you let it set in place? Feel free to blend away.
