Eyes First

So sometimes, when I am doing someone's makeup for the first time, I get about 10 minutes in and they nervously ask "Did you forget to put any foundation or concealer on me?"
No Silly! I always start with the eyes. Remember those beauty magazine articles that told us to put a heavy application of loose powder under the eyes to protect your perfectly applied concealer from any falling eyeshadow? Just sweep it, and any stray shadow, away! Yeah right, and why don't you just put an age-stipple under there too while you're at it.
Why have we been told to do our concealer BEFORE our eye makeup?? A lot of makeup artists I know do the same thing: EYES FIRST yes, its nice to have a clean canvas of perfectly primed skin to start from, but it won't stay that way once that new Burburry Khaki eyeshadow has fallen where you didn't mean it to. Eyes First allows me to really get in there and do what I need to do on the lid and underneath the eye, stick a swab in a bottle of Lancome eye makeup remover (yes, its the best), and sweep up where makeup is not meant to be.
Sometimes, when doing my own face, I will do whatever eye makeup I plan on wearing before I have even moisturized. In the sticky, hot humidity that is Summer in NYC, I have trouble pulling my eyelid taught in order to put on eyeliner if I already have sunscreen on my face and hands. Conversely, if doing makeup on a client, I moisturize first and the time it takes for me to do their eyes has allowed the moisturizer to soak in.
Voila! Perfectly perfect eyes and no concealer re-do.