This Celeb Makeup Artist Has the Easiest Fix For Patchy Foundation (2025)

I have a theory that Gen Z is so good at doing their makeup because they had nothing else to do but watch YouTube during the heyday of beauty vloggers. My little sister can whip up a full face in no time, while my skill level stops at tap and blend. Or it did, before I started paying attention to Katie Jane Hughes's makeup tips.

The go-to makeup artist for miss Dua Lipa, Hughes is a star at sharing her wisdom in a bite-size, easy-to-follow format (ie. on TikTok). Recently, she opened up about how she keeps makeup from looking patchy. I tried it, it works, and I'm ready to break it down for you.

Katie Jane Hughes's Brush Priming Tip

The idea here is to "prime" your brush with product before it gets remotely close to your face. The best way to do this? Apply it to the back of your hand or wrist and then smoosh it into your brush.

As you can see, applying her blush brush straight to the cheek offers Hughes a more... shall we say concentrated?... look, whereas buffing the product out on her hand before going in leads to a softer effect. The same goes for concealer. Put it on your hand, work the brush in, then apply.

For what it's worth, Hailey Bieber does this, too. (She's a client of Hughes, so I wouldn't be surprised if she also learned by watching the artist.)

"Prime the brush for better makeup application," explains Hughes in the video. "Get your products into the brush first before applying them to your face. You'll apply less. You'll have better control of where the product goes, what it does, how thick it is, how much coverage you have, all of the above. Everything is better when you get it into the brush first."

Why It Works

As the artist says, "Priming isn't a product, it's a technique." The side of her face where she applied product directly will crease in a moment, while the other, more diffused side won't.

"I can still thin this out more with the warmth of my finger or a little bit more brush pressure, and it will still give me the coverage that I'm looking for," she explained.

While a fan commented that it feels like a lot of product gets "lost" when you do things the KJH way, others chimed in that warming up your product actually makes you realize you don't need nearly as much as you've been applying.

"Where do you think it’s going my skin isn’t like drinking it," added Hughes in an Instagram comment on the same video. "I can pick up more from the back of my hand."

Now, why don't you try it? Selfies of your finished, crease-free look will be graciously accepted.