I’ve had this happen so many times where my skin looks completely fine… and then I put foundation on and suddenly it looks flakey, dry and starts to pile. This sometimes happens instantly, seconds after applying foundation.
It’s maddening, especially when it happens just before leaving for work. Other times the flakiness happens after a few hours which is still very annoying and makes me conscious.
I thought:
- my skin was dry
- I needed better foundation (even though the one I use is £35 & a top brand)
- I need to revamp my skincare and buy all new (but where the hell do I start?)
After a lot of trial and error, it was simply 1) skin prep 2) skincare I was using didn’t sit well under foundation 3) changing the way I applied the foundation
TL;DR (summary)
- Preparing the skin is important – exfoliation and dermaplaning to get the skin smooth is key
- I stopped using a tinted SPF which was ‘sitting’ on my skin, and changed to one that was purely SPF
- Wait between putting on skincare and foundation
- Shake the foundation to ensure it’s mixed up
- Instead of wiping/dragging, I started using the flat side of the beauty sponge to dab on the foundation in large areas
- I bought a new primer that’s great for dry skin and gently dab on rather than dragging. Although this wasn’t needed all the time to get a smooth finish that didn’t dry out and flake.
I don’t have dry skin, so why does it flake?
What threw me off is that my skin didn’t look dry before makeup and I was using really hydrating products. My forehead is oily but it flaked too.
My skin went flaky and started to pile as soon as the foundation was on. Sometimes it wasn’t flakiness. It was blobs of product. Clearly something was going on!
It was awful going to work knowing my makeup looked like crap. I even started doing my makeup when I got to work, hoping it would last longer (my commute is pretty long).
I found myself going to the toilet during the day to remove my makeup altogether and simply using powder/blush to get through the day.
My investigation – testing multiple products
As I work from home, I’ve been able to test this a lot, mainly different products from primer, SPF and foundation. I’ve put time into this because I hoped it was something simple that I was doing, and could be easily sorted (it was!)
I have a lot of skincare and makeup that’s great for my skin, and I like, but it has been expensive to build up.
I reaaaaally didn’t want to stop using or buy new products.
What didn’t work?
Flaky or dry skin = more exfoliation? Wrong!
I started to use more tretinoin and harsher cleansers, thinking my skin had flakes, therefore I needed to exfoliate more. Wrong!! This dried out my skin, and made it sensitive and sore.
I simply needed to remove dead skin cells more effectively in the evening once or twice a week.
From my experience, flaky foundation usually comes down to one or a couple of these:
- skin is a bit dehydrated (even if you’re oily… I have an oily forehead and still get this)
- there’s dead skin sitting on the surface (my problem)
- you’ve used too many skincare products together
- products just don’t sit well together (my problem)
- not putting makeup on properly (my problem)
Treating my whole face the same
I find that using primer only my dry bits (around my mouth) is all I need to do. I don’t need primer, which helps foundation grip to the skin, on my oily skin – such as my forehead.
Buying new products
I bought a few different foundation samples, and tried a different skincare morning routine. Nothing worked – foundation still pilled and caused flaky skin. The new routine didn’t work for me, so I knew I needed to change things back again.
I started buying BB creams, thinking I’ll never be able to wear foundation again!
My top tips – what made a difference? (important!!)
These are my TOP TIPS on how I stopped my foundation looking crap – either instantly or over the course of a day.
I’ve included all tips – not just on the day of wearing foundation. Skincare makes a huge difference, so take prep seriously.
1. Exfoliate twice a week in the evening
I use an exfoliating pad the evening before I’m going to be wearing makeup. I find this gets off the dead skin cells so I’m dealing with a fresh face in the morning. Make sure to use lots of hydrating products after using it.
I use Medicube zero core pads with Dermatica Daily Hydration 5HA+Cica Serum, which contains deeply hydrating hyaluronic acid.
2. Dermaplane once every 2 weeks
It’s more than shaving your face – it’s getting rid of the top skin cells too. I love it.
All the hairs around my lip and my moustache (ha yep!) and down the sides of my face all contribute to the foundation not quite sitting/ looking as best it can.
Cleanse skin properly in the morning
Sometimes, as I was about to put makeup on, I’d look in the mirror and see eye crust, flakes around my mouth & all sorts. Obviously, I wasn’t cleaning my face thoroughly enough.
If you don’t get rid of the flakes then makeup will just sit on top. Now I make sure to clean my face thoroughly but gently every morning with a cleanser and a cloth. I make sure all dead skin cells are off my face so I can create a clean base for my skincare.
I use the La Roche Posay Toleriane cleanser, which is very gentle – great for sensitive skin.
3. Switch up SPF
Some products simply don’t do well under makeup.
I found that the La Roche Posay tinted SPF didn’t work well under my foundation. As soon as I applied foundation, it would look awful, literally straight away.
Now, I use a different SPF (without a tint) to wear under foundation.
La Roche Posay Tinted SPF sits on top of my skin, which makes sense because it’s acting as a very light foundation.
The Dermatica SPF sinks in, because it’s protecting my skin more, and not meant to work as a light foundation.
This helps the Dermatica be a better base for under foundation and the tinted La Roche Posay good for non-foundation days.
4. Leave time in-between products
This was hugely important! If I didn’t do this, I knew about it instantly because the foundation would cake or go bitty.
When you apply any product to your face, gently rub it in and make sure it’s properly spaced out, even, and actually rubbed in. Don’t pat and leave to dry! This sounds silly but take care to do this for 30 or more seconds.
- Leave at least 6 minutes in between putting on moisturiser and SPF
- Leave at least 10 minutes in between putting on SPF and foundation (even longer if you’re adding a primer too)
Yes I know this is a pain when you’re getting ready. I put a timer on my watch and do other things like my outfit, bag, hair.
5. Pat foundation; don’t rub
Firstly, shake the foundation bottle to make sure it’s all mixed together.
I use a damp sponge (not wet and tapped on a towel to remove any excess water) and put the foundation on the back of my hand. This warms it, making it spread easily. I use the flat side of the sponge which helps to spread it on bigger areas.
If I rub in circles, it ruins my foundation. I think the pulling motion mixes the products in a way that doesn’t work well. I see people in videos apply their foundation with brushes and do so without much thought for how they’re pulling at their skin.
The same can be said for blush, concealer – pat them into your skin and don’t rub!
The results
This result is using the NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in Mont Blanc. I followed all of the steps above to give me this dewy, smooth foundation finish.
This was in the morning at around 5.30am:
Many hours later… back in the car around 4pm after a day of work. The foundation doesn’t look as good, but it’s still keeping my skintone looking even.
And NO flakes!
Setting spray, powder and primer
I don’t use setting spray or powder so I can’t say whether they would help you or not.
As part of my flakey journey, I did purchase a new primer – Grippy by Maybelline. It works well, especially around my mouth, which is the driest and has the most movement.
I wouldn’t say it’s an essential product to reduce flakiness, but it did manage to keep my foundation on for longer.
What should you do if my tips don’t help?
I’d recommend checking your products. Are they old and out of date? Do they clash? Put photos into ChatGPT and ask it to analyse the ingredients to compare any that might not work well together.
Are your foundation brushes/sponges old? Or need cleaning?
Then test test test. If you’re lucky enough to work from home like me, you should be able to test products because if they clumb, you’re at home so it doesn’t matter.
Why some SPFs just don’t work under foundation
It took me a while to realise this, but not all SPFs behave the same. As I’ve mentioned above, some SPFs are tinted and meant to look like a very light foundation. Some feel like skincare. They sink in, feel light, and your foundation goes on top nicely.
So when you then put foundation on top, it’s like layering one thing over another.
That’s when things start to:
- go patchy
- cling to certain areas
- or look flaky
Even if your skin isn’t actually dry.
This being said, some reviews say using the La Roche Posay Tinted SPF works great under foundation! So who knows? Perhaps it’s the foundation they are using, or skin type.
Honestly. at this point I’m done doing any further investigation!
What about tretinoin?
I do use tretinoin, so I did wonder if that was causing the flaking by exfoliating my skin, making it more prone to flaking.
But in my case, I haven’t really noticed that. I’ve used it for years so my skin is very much used to it.
And because my foundation only looks flaky with certain products, I don’t think tretinoin is the main issue for me.
Saying that, if you’re new to it, or exfoliating often, maybe cut back and see if it helps. You might even find that exfoliating the night before wearing makeup isn’t the right thing for you.
Water vs silicone
Like me, you might have seen videos online all about water v silicone. Some people say that the products you use together make a difference. This makes sense, considering how I changed the SPF and it sorted out my foundation problem.
I tried to follow the water vs silicone rule, but all my products had a mix of both – what ended up making the difference was to stop using the tinted SPF that sat on top of my skin (and replaced it with one that soaked in) when I wanted to wear foundation.
Investigating this also overwhelmed me and wanted to make me throw out all of my products and never wear another product again.
Did primer help?
Yes – absolutely! I investigated primers and found people had a really good experience with Maybelline ‘grippy’. Reviews said how it helped their dry skin, so I thought it was worth a try at £11. I bought mine from LookFantastic.co.uk.
I use a pea-sized amount and warm it between my fingers. I gently pat on to the dryest bits of my skin and the areas that flake the worst (around my mouth). I wait 10 mins, then apply the foundation.
This along with the other tips has made my foundation last all day, with no flaking.