Sometimes makeup can be your best friend—or your worst enemy. When it comes to foundation especially, a flawless application is more of a fight. Since not everyone has time for a weekday beauty school session, here are typical makeup mistakes that you can avoid to make your makeup application more manageable.

1. Properly test for your shade: Since you don't usually wear makeup on your wrists and hands, don't do a color test there. Test between your nose and cheek and to really find your match, and test three different shades all in a row.

2. Never use your fingers: Even if you wash your hands before, the natural oils in your skin impact how the foundation is applied. Professionals suggest starting with a synthetic foundation brush and ending with a beauty blender or makeup sponge.

3. Go easy on the powder: With foundation, less is often still too much. To avoid your face makeup looking caked on, only put concealer where you need it and try a translucent powder rather than tinted.

4. Don't stop at your jawline: Blending the foundation into your skin is the key to even makeup application. Start at the center of your face and sweep outward all the way to your neck.