I love the idea of a "How To" post, but I rarely feel like enough of an expert on anything to pull one together. However, given my penchant for the barely-there look, I thought I'd wrack my brains for a few of my favorite tips when it comes to going for my signature natural makeup look.
Light Base, Pinpoint Concealing
One of the most important things in a natural look, in my opinion, is ensuring your skin looks like real skin and your base product of choice looks undetectable. Of course, we all have imperfections that a lightweight base may not cover. My favorite way to keep my skin looking fresh and bare is using a lightweight, glowy base, like the Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint or bareMinerals Complexion Rescue, and then going in with a high coverage concealer with a tiny brush (like a MAC 210) to pinpoint conceal any spots. For my dry-ish skin, the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer is perfect for this - it's thick and creamy, and it stays put all day without getting cakey. If you're on the more oily side, I'd recommend the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer for this. Using heavier coverage only where needed allows more of your skin to show through, creating the illusion that you only used the lighter coverage base. To further this illusion, sometimes I like to also leave a few minor spots here and there uncovered.
Illuminating Undereye Concealer
For some reason I very often seem to forget undereye concealer, but I just count that as my "leaving imperfections" tip I just mentioned. When I do remember, I like using something lightweight and illuminating to subtly bring light to the area. Some of my favorites are the Onomie Bright Concealing Elixir* and the L'Oreal Magic Lumi Concealer. I love the Glossier Stretch Concealer too but forgot to photograph it! It's more dewy than illuminating, so it's perfect if your undereyes tend to get dry like mine.
Fluffy Brows & Lashes
When I'm going for the natural look I step away from the brow pencils and pomades and stick only to a tinted gel. My favorite, as you probably guessed, is the Glossier Boy Brow. It's more of a wax than a gel, so it remains lightweight and not crispy. It really just looks like you have naturally fluffier brows. Brows are the one thing I can't leave the house without doing, so I always have a few Boy Brow backups on hand. I also like to keep my lashes looking fluttery and fluffy, avoiding dramatically volumizing mascaras. I really love the Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara - it really defines and fans out the lashes without adding too much volume, and the Milk Makeup Ubame Mascara is a great option as well. The shape of the wand really creates the perfect fluttery look.
Tightlining
I've always been a fan of tightlining my upper lashline - I never do any makeup look without it. I like using the Colourpop Creme Gel Liners for this because they're creamy enough to apply easily but once applied they do. not. budge. Tightlining makes your lashes look so much thicker and fuller without even looking obvious.
Cream Cheek Products
My skin is on the dry side, so I always love using cream products on my cheeks no matter what. I find they're perfect for a natural look though, as they blend in so effortlessly with the skin and often have a natural luminous finish. For blush I typically go between the Estee Lauder Genuine Glow Blushing Creme* for a more flushed cheek and the BECCA Beach Tint in Fig for a more neutral shade. Both are super easy to sheer out or build up to desired pigmentation. For bronzer, my top pick is of course the Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer - everything about it is beautiful, and it leaves such a natural warmth on the face. For a natural look I prefer a more dewy, less "metallic" highlight, so I like to pile on the rms beauty Living Luminizer or, my holy grail, the Glossier Haloscope in Quartz.
Tinted Lip Balm
Last is lips - something to give them a wash of color while still nourishing them throughout the day is key to a natural look. Tinted balms are my favorite so I have enough to fill up a whole handbag probably, but the ones I reach for the most are the Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink (no idea how I haven't run out of this yet), the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Petal, the Glossier Generation G lipsticks (I like Crush for more of a flushed color and Like for something more natural), and the Covergirl Oh Sugar Lip Balm in Candy (seriously an underrated gem and quite similar to the Fresh lip balms).
What are your tips for a natural look? Do you prefer natural or dramatic makeup?
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