Face makeup should enhance your natural beauty, but too often, it can actually make skin look worse. Whether it’s powder settling into fine lines, concealer looking cakey or blush appearing too harsh, there’s a lot that could hold back your look. Luckily, choosing the right products and applying them in the right way can make all the difference. Are you ready to perfect your no-makeup makeup look, step by step? We’ll break it all down for you here so that you can start your day with makeup that looks just like your actual skin, only better!

• Step 1: Moisturizer

• Step 2: Primer

• Step 3: Blush

• Step 4: Foundation

• Step 5: Concealer

• Step 6: Setting spray

• Save time with this multitasking tinted moisturizer

1) Moisturizer

Just as it’s important to prep before applying foundation to dry skin, achieving a no-makeup makeup look means making sure the skin underneath is smooth and balanced. Before reaching for your cosmetic bag, apply a moisturizer, like LovelySkin LUXE Ultra-Rich Peptide Moisturizer, and be sure you allow time for it to sink into skin and offer its full hydrating and anti-aging benefits. “We formulated this moisturizer with powerful peptides to help reverse cellular damage caused by free radicals,” says board-certified dermatologist and LovelySkin CEO Dr. Joel Schlessinger. “It also contains afaLUXE, which improves your skin’s natural moisture barrier.”

2) Primer

You’re not quite finished prepping once your moisturizer has absorbed. The next step to achieve a no-makeup makeup look is applying a primer to help your makeup last longer and go on effortlessly. Choosing a silicone-based formula will help minimize the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, scars and large pores. Try Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Mineral Primer, which contains a blend of silicones to create an even surface for your makeup and blur imperfections. It also contains vitamin E to protect your skin from free radical damage and jojoba seed oil to help soothe irritation.

3) Blush

The secret to no-makeup makeup is applying blush before foundation. Yes, that’s right—before! Just make sure that it’s a cream-based blush or cheek stain, so its texture doesn’t clash with your liquid foundation. Apply jane iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain to your cheekbones and gently blend with your fingers. Don’t worry about applying too much, as applying foundation over top will help everything look seamless. If you want to take this no-makeup makeup look up a notch, this stain doubles as a natural-looking lip color as well.

4) Foundation

When applying liquid foundation, you’ll achieve the most natural look by blending it with a sponge or brush. Add a little foundation to the back of your clean hand or palette, dip your brush in and start buffing the foundation on from the center of your face outward. One of our favorite liquid foundations for a no-makeup makeup look is Glo Skin Beauty Satin Cream Foundation. It provides smooth, buildable coverage that dries to a satin finish, helping to camouflage acne scars and blemishes and create an even tone and texture.

5) Concealer

Now comes one of our favorite tips for a natural-looking no-makeup makeup look. When you apply concealer after foundation, not only will you wind up using much less product, you’ll also avoid wiping it off during the process of applying product to the entire face. Dermablend Quick Fix Concealer’s convenient stick applicator makes it easy to apply concealer exactly where you need it. This full-coverage formula helps to hide any dark undereye circles, acne scars or areas of discoloration that might still be visible after applying your foundation.

6) Setting spray

For no-makeup makeup, we’re skipping the powders completely. Instead of reaching for your favorite setting powder, lock your makeup in place and add a dewy finish with a setting spray. We love COOLA Organic Makeup Setting Spray SPF 30 for its anytime refreshing powers and mega-dose of antioxidants from algae extract. It’s also infused with hyaluronic acid, cucumber extract and aloe vera to help keep your makeup looking fresh and your skin’s hydration levels balanced throughout the day.

BONUS: A multitasking tinted moisturizer

Looking to simplify things even more? Tinted moisturizers like Revision Intellishade Tinted Moisturizer SPF 45 can be a gamechanger in your no-makeup makeup routine. This multitasking product can take the place of a facial moisturizer, primer and foundation. It provides sheer coverage to naturally diminish dark spots, redness and discoloration, helping to even out your skin town and leave you with a natural, glowing finish. Because it also contains an impressive lineup of anti-aging ingredients—including peptides, green tea extract and SPF 45 sunscreen—it really goes above and beyond a standard moisturizer.

Looking for more makeup tips? You can check out our favorite picks for lengthening mascaras here on the LovelySkin Blog.