Put it on in five minutes, color first.

What is IIID makeup?

IIID stands for three dimensions. Instead of one flat foundation all over, you use three kinds of cream color, each with its own job:

• Lights (Highlight) bring things forward. One is your base, close to your skin. A lighter one brightens the high points.
• Darks (Contour) push things back. They shape the cheekbones, jaw and brows, and they are what make a face look 3D.
• Color (Lip + Cheek) adds life. One cream works on both your cheeks and your lips.

Those four tins are a whole face. Bronzer, illuminator and eyeshadow are extras you can add later. The tins snap into one compact, so your whole routine fits in your hand.

Seint sorts every skin tone into twelve levels, from the fairest to the deepest, and each level has its own set of shades. The quiz finds yours in two minutes, or you can start with a ready-made palette for your level.

Where each color goes

Step by step

1. Moisturize, then wait two minutes. Cream glides over skin that is hydrated and grabs onto skin that is dry.
2. Color first. Swipe a short stripe of Lip + Cheek on the top of each cheekbone and blend it up toward the temple. Tap what is left on your fingertip onto your lips.
3. Then the darks. Draw a thin stripe of Contour just under the cheekbone, a little along the jaw, and at the temples. Blend each one upward so it melts into the color.
4. Then the light. Your lighter Highlight goes on the high points: down the bridge of the nose, under the eyes and on the center of the chin.
5. Base last, and least. Your main Highlight goes only where you want evening out, usually the forehead and around the nose. Leave the rest of your skin, freckles and all, showing.
6. Blend the edges, not the middles. Buff only where two colors meet, with the IIID brush or clean fingertips. Blending the middle moves your color away from where it belongs.
7. Finish if you like. A touch of illuminator on the top of the cheekbone, and a light mist of setting spray or a tiny bit of powder only where you shine.

Five common mistakes

• Too much product. One thin swipe is plenty; the pigment is rich.
• Foundation everywhere first. Put color on first and you will need far less base.
• Checking in the bathroom. Warm bulbs fool you. Check by a window before you leave.
• Contour too low. Keep it just under the cheekbone and blend up, never down.
• A splash of water at night. Cream lasts all day, so take it off with a real cleanser every night.