Last updated on April 2nd, 2024 at 03:59 pm

Whether you want a 5 minute makeup routine, a minimalist makeup routine or just an everyday look, you can create your own routine, step by step! Including your foundation routine!

The amount of time you want to spend on your makeup, and what you want to focus on is unique to you!

So why not build your makeup routine, including your foundation routine, piece by piece, by how much time you want to spend. 

These are just general estimates for how long each grouping will take. After some practice, you’ll probably be able to go faster. And if you haven’t done your makeup in a while (hi, it’s me!) you might forget what to do and when!

Throughout this series, you’ll be able to create your own makeup routine from start to finish. How much time you want to spend overall, and how much time you want to spend on each step. 

The Products

Primer

Foundation

Concealer

Powder

Foundation Routine 

One Minute

A one minute foundation routine can be done either with a concealer or a light foundation. Like a tinted moisturizer or BB cream. 

Personally, because I have dark circles, I’ll go the concealer route. Apply some under the eyes, and near the center of your face where you need a little more coverage. For me that’s on and around my nose, a little on my cheeks and forehead. 

Then use a makeup sponge to blend out toward the outer edges of the face. 

Or, put some tinted moisturizer or BB cream on your fingers, warm it up in your hands and spread all over your face. And make sure you get under your eyes too, even if you don’t have significant dark circles you want to cover. 

And then use a makeup sponge to make sure everything is blended in well. 

Lastly, depending on your skin and how you like your makeup to look, dust a setting powder all over the face to keep everything locked in. And/or use a setting spray so it looks less powdery. 

Five Minutes

For a five-minute foundation routine, you’re going to apply foundation and concealer, plus primers! 

I like to use an under eye and face primer, but use what works best for your skin. 

Unless you use a concealer formula that dries down really quickly, I like to apply concealer first and then let it sit for a couple minutes before blending. It’ll start to get a little tacky which gives you more staying power. 

While the concealer is sitting, apply foundation and blend in. An extra step to make your concealer and foundation blend together is to put a little extra foundation on your brush or makeup sponge and then use it to blend in your concealer. 

Don’t forget to finish it off with powder to lock everything in! 

10 Minutes

As we get to a 10-minute foundation routine, this is where we’re going to add in contour and baking! 

Follow all of the steps for a 5-minute face and stop before powder. 

I like using a cream contour because it’s easy to blend out and can look more “natural”. 

If you’re new to contour (and even if you’re not), I really like the elf Cosmetics Contour Beauty Wand. It’s affordable and easy to use! 

Bronzer and contour are different, despite seeming pretty similar. Quick difference is contour is meant to mimic shadows on your face, where bronzer is meant to bring warmth to your face. 

Place your contour a little higher than your cheekbones. If you put it where the hollows of your cheekbones are, it will be too low and pull your face downward. Which is the opposite of what you want! 

Wherever you apply your contour, make sure you blend, blend, blend! On your cheekbones, try to blend upward, rather than downward. You can still clean up a little bit with baking. 

Make sure there’s no harsh lines! You want your contour to look natural, not like you drew lines on your face. 

You could use a powder contour on top of the cream to lock it in, or use a translucent powder to make sure everything is set. 

Baking will clean up any contour that ended up a little further outside where you wanted it. 

With a loose powder, load up your makeup sponge with powder, and place where you want your highlights to be. 

Under your cheekbones, along the bridge of your nose, forehead and even your chin. 

Brush it away with a fluffy brush after a minute or so if you don’t want an intense highlight, or leave for longer for heavy-duty highlighting (and maybe longer than a 10 minute face!). 

After you’re done with the rest of your makeup, use a setting spray to melt all the powder into your skin and look more “natural”.

What do you think? How long do you take on your foundation?