Why you should save your money and never buy a foundation again

I’ve never been a foundation person. Hear me out: Although I have blemishes on the reg, hyperpigmentation, and incoming fine lines that I absolutely want to hide, I’ve just never liked how foundation looks on my skin. Instead, I prefer a more au naturale BB or CC cream, or a tinted oil like the new Kosas Tinted Face Oil ($42) to keep things even.

Turns out I’m not alone. There’s a whole Reddit thread that goes on about this, and plenty of women are pretty anti-foundation as well, saying that it makes their skin look worse. “I use a BB cream or tinted moisturizer,” says one user. “[It’s] not amazing coverage but it looks more natural and kind of melts into my skin after a bit.”

New York City-based makeup artist Rebecca Casciano agrees with these sentiments, saying that certain ingredients make foundation not-so-good for your complexion. “Wearing foundation isn’t the best for skin if it contains ingredients that can clog your pores, irritate your skin, or keep it from breathing, such as mineral oil or silicone,” she says.

A hack to still getting coverage minus using the OG of, well, coverage? A lot of Redditors are of the agreement that you should simply dab concealer where needed versus applying it to your entire face. “Absolutely wear concealer only where you need it,” echoes Casciano. “Under eyes, around the nose, and the mouth tend to be areas that could use some evening out. Be sure to blend well with the surrounding skin, making sure there are no lines of demarcation.” And there you have it—foundation isn’t the end-all-be-all of makeup. Happy blending.

For more beauty tricks, here’s *exactly* the right order to apply your makeup, plus what you need to know about wearing sunscreen under makeup.