diff --git a/__tests__/applyAtRule.test.js b/__tests__/applyAtRule.test.js
index 4de99ffdb..4d7933ca0 100644
--- a/__tests__/applyAtRule.test.js
+++ b/__tests__/applyAtRule.test.js
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import postcss from 'postcss'
 import plugin from '../src/lib/substituteClassApplyAtRules'
+import defaultConfig from '../defaultCOnfig.stub.js'
 
-function run(input, opts = {}) {
+function run(input, opts = defaultConfig) {
   return postcss([plugin(opts)]).process(input, { from: undefined })
 }
 
@@ -168,3 +169,38 @@ test('it does not match classes that have multiple rules', () => {
     expect(e).toMatchObject({ name: 'CssSyntaxError' })
   })
 })
+
+test('it does not match classes that have multiple rules', () => {
+  const input = `
+    .a {
+      color: red;
+    }
+
+    .b {
+      @apply .a;
+    }
+
+    .a {
+      color: blue;
+    }
+  `
+  expect.assertions(1)
+  return run(input).catch(e => {
+    expect(e).toMatchObject({ name: 'CssSyntaxError' })
+  })
+})
+
+test('you can apply utility classes that do not actually exist as long as they would exist if utilities were being generated', () => {
+  const input = `
+    .foo { @apply .mt-4; }
+  `
+
+  const expected = `
+    .foo { margin-top: 1rem; }
+  `
+
+  return run(input, defaultConfig).then(result => {
+    expect(result.css).toEqual(expected)
+    expect(result.warnings().length).toBe(0)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/lib/substituteClassApplyAtRules.js b/src/lib/substituteClassApplyAtRules.js
index cea7167fb..3abb63381 100644
--- a/src/lib/substituteClassApplyAtRules.js
+++ b/src/lib/substituteClassApplyAtRules.js
@@ -1,6 +1,47 @@
 import _ from 'lodash'
 import postcss from 'postcss'
 import escapeClassName from '../util/escapeClassName'
+import utilityModules from '../utilityModules'
+import prefixTree from '../util/prefixTree'
+import generateModules from '../util/generateModules'
+
+
+function buildShadowTable(config, pluginUtilities) {
+  const utilities = postcss.root()
+  const generatedUtilities = generateModules(utilityModules, _.fromPairs(Object.keys(config.modules).map((k) => [k, []])), config)
+
+  generatedUtilities.walkAtRules('variants', atRule => {
+    utilities.append(atRule.clone().nodes)
+  })
+
+  const tailwindUtilityTree = postcss.root({
+    nodes: utilities.nodes,
+  })
+
+  const pluginUtilityTree = postcss.root({
+    nodes: pluginUtilities,
+  })
+
+  prefixTree(tailwindUtilityTree, config.options.prefix)
+
+  const shadowTable = {}
+
+  tailwindUtilityTree.walkRules(rule => {
+    if (!_.has(shadowTable, rule.selector)) {
+      shadowTable[rule.selector] = []
+    }
+    shadowTable[rule.selector].push(rule)
+  })
+
+  pluginUtilityTree.walkRules(rule => {
+    if (!_.has(shadowTable, rule.selector)) {
+      shadowTable[rule.selector] = []
+    }
+    shadowTable[rule.selector].push(rule)
+  })
+
+  return shadowTable
+}
 
 function buildClassTable(css) {
   const classTable = {}
@@ -19,17 +60,23 @@ function normalizeClassName(className) {
   return `.${escapeClassName(_.trimStart(className, '.'))}`
 }
 
-function findMixin(classTable, mixin, onError) {
+function findMixin(classTable, shadowLookup, mixin, onError) {
   const matches = _.get(classTable, mixin, [])
 
   if (_.isEmpty(matches)) {
-    // prettier-ignore
-    onError(`\`@apply\` cannot be used with \`${mixin}\` because \`${mixin}\` either cannot be found, or it's actual definition includes a pseudo-selector like :hover, :active, etc. If you're sure that \`${mixin}\` exists, make sure that any \`@import\` statements are being properly processed *before* Tailwind CSS sees your CSS, as \`@apply\` can only be used for classes in the same CSS tree.`)
+    if (_.isEmpty(shadowLookup)) {
+      // prettier-ignore
+      onError(`\`@apply\` cannot be used with \`${mixin}\` because \`${mixin}\` either cannot be found, or it's actual definition includes a pseudo-selector like :hover, :active, etc. If you're sure that \`${mixin}\` exists, make sure that any \`@import\` statements are being properly processed *before* Tailwind CSS sees your CSS, as \`@apply\` can only be used for classes in the same CSS tree.`)
+      return
+    }
+
+    return findMixin(shadowLookup, {}, mixin, onError)
   }
 
   if (matches.length > 1) {
     // prettier-ignore
     onError(`\`@apply\` cannot be used with ${mixin} because ${mixin} is included in multiple rulesets.`)
+    return
   }
 
   const [match] = matches
@@ -37,14 +84,16 @@ function findMixin(classTable, mixin, onError) {
   if (match.parent.type !== 'root') {
     // prettier-ignore
     onError(`\`@apply\` cannot be used with ${mixin} because ${mixin} is nested inside of an at-rule (@${match.parent.name}).`)
+    return
   }
 
   return match.clone().nodes
 }
 
-export default function() {
+export default function(config, { components: pluginComponents = {}, utilities: pluginUtilities = {} } = {}) {
   return function(css) {
     const classLookup = buildClassTable(css)
+    const shadowLookup = buildShadowTable(config, pluginUtilities)
 
     css.walkRules(rule => {
       rule.walkAtRules('apply', atRule => {
@@ -64,7 +113,7 @@ export default function() {
         const decls = _(classes)
           .reject(mixin => mixin === '!important')
           .flatMap(mixin => {
-            return findMixin(classLookup, normalizeClassName(mixin), message => {
+            return findMixin(classLookup, shadowLookup, normalizeClassName(mixin), message => {
               throw atRule.error(message)
             })
           })
diff --git a/src/processTailwindFeatures.js b/src/processTailwindFeatures.js
index 49f097a7b..fb8f30e20 100644
--- a/src/processTailwindFeatures.js
+++ b/src/processTailwindFeatures.js
@@ -18,6 +18,6 @@ export default function(lazyConfig) {
     substituteVariantsAtRules(config, plugins),
     substituteResponsiveAtRules(config),
     substituteScreenAtRules(config),
-    substituteClassApplyAtRules(config),
+    substituteClassApplyAtRules(config, plugins),
   ])
 }