No-makeup makeup. It’s a paradox, right? Unless you’re blessed with an enviably pre-filtered face, then you’ll need to work hard to look like you just #wokeuplikethis. And without a directional oxblood lip/nu-goth eye/glittered brow to distract the eye (and yes, you’ll be wearing all of these by this Christmas) perfect skin really is the thing. Oh, and a satiny eyelid, a glossy (but not too glossy) nude lip, and brows that are just groomed enough.
Layering is your first lesson – rather than a foundation that’ll cover all your flaws but leave you looking dead inside, you need a bare skin-effect base that uses optical illusion (usually in the form of fine-ground minerals) to bounce light away from the skin, both creating instant glow and tricking the eye away from anything you’re trying to disguise. If needed, you can sandwich this between a radiance boosting primer and some colour correcting trickery, but again, layer lightly. Beyond that, keep textures sheer and sheeny and blend, blend, then blend again. Here’s what you’ll need to achieve the look…
Of all the light-giving primers flooding the makeup market right now, this is the one that doesn’t scream disco ball. Layer under (or mix into) your foundation or tinted moisturiser to amp up dull skin, create light-catching contours, and make whatever comes next last far longer.
Beware the skinny-malinky brow pencil – so many fail to make an impression. Not so this best-selling piece of brow brilliance. It’s feathery enough to look all your own, but packs enough pigment (in genuinely real-life shades) to properly transfer onto the skin and then stay there.
This whisper-weight liquid bronzer holds more technology than you’d believe: a caramel-derived tint to warm the skin, bronze pigments to add dimension to the caramel, a filter that cuts out unflattering red and yellow tones and light refracting polymers to minimise imperfections. The bottom line? Skin looks fresh, real and golden.
Sheen (but stopping short of gloss) is the thing here, especially as matte textures can play up flakiness and (unless you’ve found the perfect match) look chalky and pale. Lanolips make some of the juiciest and most nourishing balms around, and this one’s tinted a nude that suits all skin tones.
Your aim with eyeshadow is three-fold: to even out discolouration across the lids, define the sockets very lightly, and all without erasing the natural sheen of bare skin. Cream colours tick those boxes but tend to travel (especially in the heat), so satiny shadows (which suit all skins and every weather) win out.
Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.3 Plush Eyeshadow in The Ingenue, £26
**PROMO FEATURE**
We’d call this sheer and radiant base a ‘real skin’ look, but nobody’s skin looks quite this good. The cushion applicator top is a major boon too, especially when flawless blending is key. Just tap, buff and work into the skin with the sponge for a you-but-better glow.
Estée Lauder Double Wear Nude Cushion Stick Radiant Make-up, £28
Here’s a mascara that’s in it for the long game. Pimped with a semi-permanent tint, it darkens lashes over time (expect to see root-to-tip improvement after two weeks of daily use), so you’re pre-mascara’d on bare faced days.
To mimic the flush you get when your skin’s been hit with some bona fide sun, try stippling a tawny-pink cream blush (so much more glow-giving than powder) not only over the tops of your cheeks but across the bridge of your nose too. Oh, and try a gentle swipe over eyelids to really pull the look together.
Not new, not cheap, but genuinely one of the best. Works just as well under the eyes as on redness and shadows around the mouth and nose, won’t cake or flake, and blends away to almost nothing. If you’ve got reasonably clear skin, a judicious dab of this here and there might even see off your foundation.
Get Less Red, Look Less Tired and Don’t Be Dull are what Smashbox calls these new complexion correcting pencils, and they’re as genius as they sound. Sketch over offending areas to cancel out high colour, disguise dark circles and shadowy patches, or brighten dull skin. Now tell us you don’t want every single one.
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