Skin prep before makeup

Preparation is three steps: cleanse, moisturise, wait. The third is skipped most often and it changes the most.

The five-minute wait exists so the moisturiser absorbs. If foundation goes on before that, the two products mix — and the result goes patchy within an hour rather than immediately, which is why the cause is rarely identified.

Preparation is not universal, and the wrong approach produces a worse result than none at all.

• Dry skin — a richer moisturiser and a longer wait
• Oily skin — a light gel, and mattifying only through the T-zone
• Combination — two different products on two parts of the face
• Sensitive — minimal steps, and nothing new on the day itself

Primer does not replace moisturiser, and that is the commonest misunderstanding about it. On dry, unprepared skin a primer is just another layer.

Primer's job is to create a barrier between skin and base. It makes sense once the skin is already prepared — not instead of preparing it.

Exfoliation makes skin more even and genuinely improves how base sits. But not on the day of the makeup.

Freshly exfoliated skin is temporarily more sensitive and slightly flushed. The right timing is one or two days beforehand, never the same morning.

Lip preparation is its own step and it matters most for matte formulas: exfoliating and moisturising twenty minutes before makes even a matte lipstick comfortable.

Eyelids go the other way — they do not want moisturiser, they want an eyeshadow base. Those two areas are the only places where general face preparation does not apply.