This ‘backward base’ makeup hack will transform your foundation game

Struggling to make your foundation look flawless? This ‘backward base’ makeup hack will change everything

Image of smiling young woman applying face powder with make-up brush on a blue template
(Image credit: Future/Getty)

TikTok really is the holy grail for all things beauty, whether it’s guiding us on all the best viral items to buy or changing our beauty routines for the better—like the blush hack for changing your face shape and the viral setting spray hack. And now comes the hack to end them all, meet the backward base makeup hack that will leave your foundation looking flawless.

We all have our best foundation—or favorite non-comedogenic foundation for those prone to blocked pores and oily skin—and even though they might be high-quality, hard-working formulas, it can be hard to make your base look smooth and flawless. For seemingly no reason, you can get foundation piling or your base can look cakey and just accentuate dry patches you didn’t even know you had.

This struggle could be a thing of the past, however, thanks to this new base makeup hack, which basically throws everything we know about makeup, right out the window.

When you think of base makeup, the normal tried and tested steps are; moisturizer or sunscreen as the last step in our skincare product order, then primer, foundation, concealer and powder right? WRONG! According to the hack's creator, user @Jarida.bby (whose original TikTok sound explaining the hack now features in a plethora of videos trying it out) we should be applying our powder first!

It seems crazy, but watching these tutorials suddenly makes it seem like a total no-brainer.

@aselbbh

♬ original sound - Jarida🖤

To create that flawless look, you should firstly moisturize and then go in with your favorite translucent powder. The powder used in the sound is the Maybelline Fit Me powder.

Image

Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder

RRP: $8.49/£6.99

This powder is designed to leave skin looking flawless. It blends smoothly and evenly, creating a natural but diffused finish.


Applying your powder first will help reduce the appearance of pores, prevent excess oil buildup and help your makeup stay all day—even in the summer. And if the end results of these videos are anything to go by, it really does work.

@samyha__

♬ original sound - Jarida🖤

How to do the backward base makeup hack: 

  • Apply your moisturizer
  • Then go in with your favorite setting/translucent powder
  • Spritz your face with setting spray (wait for it to dry)
  • Apply foundation
  • Then finish up with concealer if need
  • Then blush, contour and highlighter

After you apply your translucent power, many beauty-tokers then follow up with their setting spray, but if you’re going for a less full coverage look you can forgo this step.

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Women's Lifestyle team, where she covers everything from entertainment to fashion and beauty, as well as TikTok trends for Woman&Home, after previously writing for My Imperfect Life and GoodTo. Interestingly though, Naomi actually has a background in design, having studied illustration at Plymouth University but lept into the media world in 2020, after always having a passion for writing and earned her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ.


Before working for Future Publishing’s Lifestyle News team, she worked in the Ad production team. Here she wrote and designed adverts on all sorts of things, which then went into print magazines across all genres. Now, when she isn’t writing articles on celebs, fashion trends, or the newest shows on Netflix, you can find her drinking copious cups of coffee, drawing and probably online shopping.