I tried Meredith Duxbury’s famous foundation routine. Here’s how it went.
If you’re on TikTok and anywhere near the makeup community, you’ve seen Meredith Duxbury. She typically rubs a good 12 pumps of foundation on her face using her hands, and even though it’s really scary in the moment, it always ends up looking FLAWLESS by the end.
So, I tried it out (with no touch-ups throughout the day). And here’s how it went.
For this trend, I decided to go all out and use my favorite full-coverage foundation — Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup. This stuff is liquid gold. It gives an amazing base with only a few drops, is super sweat-proof, and lasts all day.
First, I primed my face with Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel and e.l.f Poreless Putty Primer.
Upon applying the foundation, I have to admit, it was jarring to see the foundation spread on my face like peanut butter.
After completely rubbing in the foundation, I really liked it. It definitely was FULL coverage, and felt like there was a lot of makeup on my face (a sensation I don’t mind).
After applying the rest of my base makeup, which included:
💄 Born This Way Super Coverage Multi-Use Concealer
💄 Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
💄 Revolution Vintage Lace Highlighter Pallet
💄 Morphe Continuous Setting Mist
The end result was incredibly stunning.
I really enjoyed the full-coverage look this gave. I’ve never applied foundation with my bare hands before — except for maybe when I was a beginner back in middle school— so it was a sticky and interesting experience. But the warmth from my fingers warmed up the product and applied it seamlessly.
A few hours later, by 2 p.m., I went to check on my makeup and was impressed at how well it was holding up.
It wasn’t setting into my fine lines or running off my face in the Arizona heat. I felt just as airbrushed as I was a few hours before.
But by 5 p.m., though — six hours after the initial application — I could feel it taking a turn for the worst. It did start to feel heavy at this point, but it didn’t look TOO bad.
Aaaand by 9 p.m . YIKES. Viewer discretion advised. (LOL, jk. But still.)
The makeup had started to separate, especially around my nose and mouth. It was also settling into the fine lines on my forehead and under my eyes.
Granted, this was 10 hours after the initial application.
Final thoughts: I definitely think I will do this again, especially for an event or occasion that doesn’t require all-day wear. I absolutely loved the full-coverage finish and was impressed at the stay-power for the first several hours.
A few tips for success when doing this:
💄 Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! Because there is so much product being applied to the face, you want to avoid any dryness to ensure a smooth application.
💄 Finishing/setting spray is your BFF! This is key in avoiding any cakeyness.
💄 Use a glow powder/ highlighter, etc. This base has a habit of being super matte. You don’t need to go crazy with the highlight if it’s not your thing, but a little at the end will add some definition and a nice glow.
Try it out yourself, and let me know in the comments below how it goes! ❤️
