We tried Meredith Duxbury’s foundation technique and well…

Is it worth the hype?

If you're even remotely on the make-up side of TikTok, then you definitely know what we're talking about when we say Meredith's foundation technique. Meredith Duxbury is a beauty influencer in the US who went viral due to her interesting way of putting on her foundation and instantly, others hopped on the bandwagon to try it out. When putting on her foundation, Meredith uses 10 pumps of the product on the back of her hand and puts it on her face using the end of a make-up brush. Then, she ditches any type of brush or sponge and rubs it all in with her hands like you would with a moisturiser. Yes, it's as chaotic as it sounds. To blend it out, she uses a beauty blender before continuing her routine as normal.

@meredithduxburyGRWM TO GO TO THE CLUB IN TOKYO ??♬ original sound - Meredith Duxbury

Intrigued by this technique, I instantly knew it was something we here at Her had to try out for ourselves. With many convinced Meredith actually secretly redoes her make-up off camera, many others who have seen her do this in person have confirmed she really does her foundation this way.

The method

Trying this for ourselves, I went in with my regular skincare routine to ensure my skin looked the best it could before layers of foundation went over it. Once my skin prep was done, I grabbed a foundation I knew I didn't mind wasting and got to work. Just about getting 10 pumps on my hand, I took the handle of a brush and put it everywhere. And let me tell you, this really does get everywhere. Rubbing this in felt completely unnatural, it felt drier than normal despite using a hydrating foundation. Using as much as I could, I put it on every inch of my face and blended as much as I possibly could using just my hands. I then evened it out with a sponge. Following this, I continued with concealer, powder, contouring and blush. Be aware though, you'll need a lot more than usual to allow it to really show due to the sheer amount of foundation under.

The verdict

The finished look turned out exactly how I expected it to. It felt cakey and as if I had a mask on. The shade of foundation I used normally matches me perfectly, but with the amount of it used, I just looked like an Oompa Loompa from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – which is never a look you want to achieve. I can only assume that in Meredith's case, practice makes perfect and she has been doing this long enough to have learned how it can work for her. But for me, it has to be a no. Full coverage is never something I normally go for and never has been, so this was never going to be a look that worked for me. As the saying goes, less is more.

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