Sometimes with makeup you have to be willing to take a leap of faith — that’s what one popular makeup pro is asking us to do with a viral TikTok video that shows her nailing the elusive underpainting makeup technique. This bold technique promises to highlight your features and contour your face beautifully and is aimed especially at women over 50 who may be trying to combat the effects of gravity and aging. But, take heed: it can look all kinds of wrong until it looks right:
https://www.tiktok.com/@meaganonline/video/7218327345818602794
Here are some of her best tips on how to make underpainting work for you, including the products you will need and the steps you’ll take to achieve this look.
Start with a Darker Foundation
The first product that Meagan uses is L’Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Fresh Wear foundation, but she chooses a color called Chestnut that is much noticeably darker than her skin tone — our first clue that she is about to use makeup in a slightly unconventional way.
Meagan applies dots of the darker foundation to her cheekbones — not below them because, as she explains, “we’re working against gravity.” She also applies dots to her upper forehead, and along the sides of her nose bridge. She uses a makeup sponge to blend them well.
One trick when blending this foundation is to use the more pointed end of your makeup sponge because you want to keep the makeup in the areas you applied it and not drag it away from those points too much (it’s all about creating a lift). She then applies two more dots of dark foundation along the jawline right by her chin and pats the sponge to blend. When she is finished, the foundation is noticeable — that’s how you’ll know you’re doing this right. As she keeps reminding us, underpainting will require “trusting the process.”
Next Step: Highlighter
Next, Meagan takes a liquid highlighter by L’Oreal and applies it everywhere on the face where you want light to hit. Some examples of good areas to target include right beneath the cheekbones, the center bridge of the nose, the center of the forehead, the center of the chin, and right above the lip in the cupid’s bow. Once again, take a clean sponge and blend these into the areas in which you applied them.
Glow With Liquid Blush
Liquid Blush is next — this provides a creamier and more moisturizing effect that powdered blush and could be better for mature skin that’s on the dry side. Meagan applies three dots of blush in an upward angle — a lot higher on the face than you might be used to. Instead of starting the blush on the apples of her cheeks, she blends it up and outward from the upper region of the cheekbones toward the outer corner of the eye. This gives a much more lifted look.
Final Step: Apply Your Regular Foundation
This last step is going to throw you off at first. After all of your contour underpainting has been completed, NOW is the time to apply a small amount of your regular foundation in a shade that suits your skin tone. Apply this in dots and blend well. The effect should be a diffused and subtle contouring, thanks to the fact that your deeper and highlighted shades have been placed beneath your foundation and not over it.
If you love this look, it’s relatively easy to achieve by yourself with just a few products. It turns everything you’ve been taught about makeup and contouring on its head, but the look is super soft and natural.
