It usually doesn't look cakey for me. First I wash and scrub my face and shave super close, then use a very moisturising cream that stunts hair growth a bit (Blitzblank) on my beard area, and a regular moisturiser on the rest of my face. Then I use some creamblend stick for beard shadow coverage (Mehron) that I got from some webshop. I dot it on my sideburn area, jawline, chin and under chin then blend it with fingers. Then add my foundation which is Mac's studio fix fluid which is buildable from medium to full coverage, and I add two layers of it on my beard area and one thin layer on the rest of my face, applying it with a sponge. Then I use a little bit of transparent powder to set it all and really press it in.
That usually prevents it from looking cakey for me, but sometimes if I add too much powder, too much of the beard coverage stick, too much of the foundation, not enough moisturiser, or if the area is still stubbly, then it gets cakey. Also noteworthy is that my skin neither particularly dry nor oily, but I do have some issues with acne.
I'm rather skilled with makeup in general, cause of having practiced and experimented with it for many years, but I'm a bit of a beginner when it comes to beard coverage specifically. I've read some advice about it, watched a few tutorials on youtube, and then just experimented on my face. I've tried using lipstick before but for me that's very itchy and my hair getting stuck in the stickiness drives me half-crazy. Eye shadows worked the best both looks wise (cause much thinner layer) and feels wise (not itchy) but took way too long time to apply and was very difficult to get even. So that stick thing I use now feels a bit like a compromise between the eye shadow and the lipstick, but still not ideal.
