I'm a beauty writer -- of course I tried Uche Natori's viral makeup routine and compared it to my own.

A longtime content creator in London, the self-proclaimed "base queen" has gone viral on TikTok for her flawless makeup routine. The social media girlies particularly love how smooth and snatched Uche does her foundation, highlighting, contouring, and overall complexion. Her now viral base routine has inspired countless TikTok lovers to try out her makeup method for themselves.

When I tried Uche's routine, I happily noticed that quite a few of her steps were ones I already did in mine. As examples, she used two separate concealer shades underneath her eyes for a brightening effect, and she contoured "in the shape of a three" around the perimeter of her face. 

The biggest difference in our routines was Uche doing her eyebrows before the rest of her makeup. I've never been a "brows first" girl -- so framing my face with them first instead of at the end of my makeup routine was a major change.

Uche contoured her nose, which is a step I usually skip. She also opted for no blush -- something I usually always include! Another thing she did differently was use a cream bronzer. When doing my regular routine, I typically use a powder contour and then a bronzer for added depth and warmth to my face.

To give myself the best chance of slaying her complexion routine, I color corrected above my top lip with an orangish shade before applying foundation. I noticed that Uche's "Makeup School" TikTok series didn't include her color correcting at all.

Once the London babe ended her routine, her highlight, contour, and overall base makeup looked more cohesive and blended than mine. I assume it's because of how the shades she used for her skin tone blended together in comparison to how my products did on my skin. My under eye highlight looked stark and unblended into my contoured areas.

I swiped powder foundation in my skin tone shade over my face to tie the makeup together. Ultimately, that small but mighty step really helped me pull off Uche's boldly highlighted and contoured base. Although I ride or die for my beloved radiant face base, Uche's matte complexion definitely stole my heart!

Here are the eight things I learned along the way...

1. Carving Out Your Brows With Concealer Doesn't Make Them Look Dated

I've shied away from cleaning up underneath my brows with concealer for a long time. I assumed it would make me look straight out of a 2016 makeup tutorial instead of like a glammed version of my everyday self.

Implementing this step of Uche's routine made my brows stand out more, which I actually liked. The highlight made the tail ends of my brows look sharper and cleaner in a subtle way.

2. Using Two Powders Underneath The Eyes Can Add The Dose Of Brightness You Want

While I'm used to layering two shades of concealer to get a bright under eye look, I never thought of also layering my highlighting powders. 

Going in -- cautiously and strategically -- with a whitish setting powder after whatever regular under eye powder you use to prevent creasing can boost the face's dimension.

3. Bringing Your Nose Contour Up Underneath Your Eyebrows Adds More Dimension And Definition To The Face

I first learned this trick from Jackie Aina, but Uche reminded me how much of a difference it can make in shaping your face!

*See the picture below for a visual!

4. For Forehead Contour, Go From Just Behind The Front Of Your Brow Toward The Start Of Your Eyebrow's Arch On Both Sides Of The Face

As you can see in the snapshot below, Uche marked her forehead contour just above her brows before she blended it out. I feel like this slightly changed how my forehead looks compared to my usual routine. It was just another area where the highlight and contour were ultimately more noticeable.

5. Set Your Base With Setting Spray Before Setting It With Powder

Uche set her blended foundation, concealer and cream bronzer with setting spray before locking her base in further with powder under her eyes and around the mouth. I kept my makeup on after recreating her routine and I think this step helped it look amazing all day!

6. Using More Makeup On My Smile Lies Actually Gave Me Less Creasing

I always thought having more makeup on around my mouth would make my ever-present smile lines crease all the more. 

I was surprised that with Uche's routine -- more makeup than I regularly wear -- my smile lines seemed less noticeable throughout the day. 

Don't get me wrong -- my smile lines still creased. That said, the creases weren't as deep as they usually are. Also, they didn't show up as quickly as they do with my regular routine. I think Uche setting her face various times, both with spray and powders, was probably the biggest reason why.

7. Don't Be Afraid To Use All Your Brushes

Coming from someone who usually uses one or two brushes to do their makeup routine, Uche's process reminded me that using a different brush for each step really helps your highlight and contour stand out versus look more natural. Using more brushes is what makes your base looked snatched!

8. The Products You Use Don't Matter As Much As The Techniques

I used a mix of luxury and drugstore makeup products to recreate Uche's base. After testing out her routine and noticing how much time she spent on blending and placing her products strategically, I think her flawless results are more due to her techniques than the items she used. 

For the record, I tried the makeup routine Uche shared step-by-step within her "Makeup School" series. I first came across the U.K.-based beauty nearly a decade ago on YouTube -- and I've considered her one of social media's "IT" girls ever since. I love seeing her celebrated on TikTok for her gorgeous and stunning makeup base!

See Uche go through her routine on YouTube below.

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