You’ve finally found your perfect foundation. The shade, the finish, the longevity, the coverage—it’s everything you’ve ever wanted in a complexion product. And then, one day, it starts pilling and clumping as you’re applying it. You feel betrayed! Misled! Hoodwinked! But according to makeup artist Karol Rodriguez, your foundation is not the problem. Look in your magnifying mirror, honey. It’s you. Or, rather, it’s what you’re doing (and not doing).
Rodriguez posted an Instagram Reel sharing four fantastic and super-easy tips to put an end to pilling foundation, and it’s no surprise that better-looking makeup starts with a more mindful approach to skin care. “Pilling happens when makeup doesn’t get fully absorbed into the skin, and your own dead skin cells might be the op,” they say. “If you don’t exfoliate regularly, you’ll have a lot of dead skin cells over top of your skin, and that’s a barrier to your makeup.” Their advice: Stay on top of your exfoliation with chemical exfoliants, or, right before your makeup, use an exfoliating pad like First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads. “These pads tend to have a combination of gentle chemical exfoliants that work really quick, and you can use these right before you put your makeup on.”
Speaking of pre-makeup skin care: “Only use as much skin care as you have time to let absorb. That means if you’re doing your makeup in 10 minutes, it’s not the time for a 10-step skin-care routine because nothing is going to set,” Rodriguez says. When you don’t let your skin-care products set, everything mixes together, and that means a higher likelihood of pilling. “You’ll know when your skin care is set if you touch your skin and nothing comes off on your fingers.”
The next clumping culprit: Brushes that already have product on them. “I know y’all like to tussle with the dirty brushes, but this is another reason why pilling can happen,” Rodriguez says. In addition to using clean brushes in general, try not to apply your skin care products or primer with the same brush that you’re applying your foundation with.
And finally, stop with the sweeping motions. “When you’re applying your foundation, just pat it. There’s no need to swipe,” they say. “You don’t want to create friction. You don’t want to rub anything together. You just want your foundation to lay directly on top.”
