I have many friends and clients that truly want to look as “natural” as possible when it comes to their makeup. They want to wear makeup, but they want the no makeup makeup look.
And finding that right balance of what products to use in order to achieve the “naturally beautiful” look, can seem overwhelming to some, so they decide to just forgo makeup all together.
Well we can’t have you doing that – giving up and not having a little bit of fun with your face!!
We all deserve to know how to enhance our natural beauty without going overboard. Which, um, I am totally guilty of as a professed “more is more” kinda makeup girl. Ha Ha! But for some, spending 30 minutes in their bathroom applying makeup (hello, that’s me!) isn’t realistic or something they enjoy doing.
So when it comes to “natural” it does require a little bit of makeup and know-how application wise. I am going to show you how to master the no-makeup makeup look, step by step, and the products that can help best achieve it. (Affiliate links provided below each category so you can shop the exact products I have used in this post)
#1. SKIN : Moisturize + Conceal
As long as you have a clean and moisturized face to start with, you’re already doing good on your way to naturally beautiful skin.
Most women that truly want natural looking makeup, can forgo foundation but need to use concealer applied in the correct areas. See my wacky looking concealer placement above. (I used Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch concealer in “Nude” for this tutorial, it’s lovely, lightweight, just enough coverage, and has a luminous quality about it).
I apply my concealer like this : in a V shape under my eyes, tops of my eyelids, sides of my nose, underneath my lip in the center of the chin, and a stripe down the center of the nose up into the forehead. Then of course, blend like crazy. I like using my Beauty Blender sponge, it’s truly worth every penny in terms of blending to a flawless finish.
#2. BROWS. Draw in or Fill in or Both
Framework of the face ladies. I can’t stress brows enough. Pay attention to them. If they need lots of work, use a skinny tipped eye pencil with a realistic formula like the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencil I’m wearing here in “soft brown.” Choose a color one shade lighter than your natural brow hairs for the most realistic and non-obvious look! Post on filling in sparse brows here.
But if you are terrified of the pencil and drawing them on and just want a little extra oomph, try Maybelline’s Brow Drama Mascara (shown above – I use it after drawing in my brows to make the hairs stay in place). Brush the wand lightly through your hairs back and forth to add volume.
#3. EYE MAKEUP. Shadow + Mascara
Shop Brows + Eye products below.
Good news, you can skip the dark eyeliner. As long as you add a swipe of peach eyeliner along your lower inner waterline to brighten up the whites of those eyes. This helps to tone down any redness you might have in that area, thus making you look more bright eyed! I love love the NYX Wonder Pencil in color “light” for this.
Add a swipe of neutral shimmer shadow such as a champagne color (fair skin) or a shimmery gold (medium to darker skin) along your lash line to eye socket. My drugstore fave inexpensive shadows are the L’Oreal Infallible Paints Metallics that come in a deep burnt gold and a rose gold shade. One swipe is pretty much all you need for a natural but shimmery impact!!
Finish with a brown or brown/black mascara for a super natural look. And yes, do the upper and lower lashes for added oomph. (I used Dior DiorShow mascara)
#4. CHEEKS & LIPS. Cream blush + Lip stains
Do not forgo blush all together. It makes the best, subtle, beautiful difference in your complexion! Just use a cream blush (if your skin is not too too oily) because you can rub them in to where they look like you are naturally blushing without powder sitting on top of your skin. Peach based blushes tend to look fabulous on every skin tone.
In this look, I used Stila’s Convertible color in “Petunia,” a great peachy pink shade.
Lips can be enhanced best with a lip stain that leaves behind a hint of shine – so it looks like your lips but better! It Cosmetics makes this Vitality Lip Flush lipstick stain, that is basically a balm + gloss + stain all in one, that starts off clear then magically turns your lips into a shade or two darker. It comes in 6 shades so you can choose how deep you want your lips to go. I’m wearing the lightest option, “Je Ne Sais Quoi.” But my next purchase would be to go up a shade darker.
So we went from THIS….
To THIS…
That just right balance of makeup to where YOU wear the makeup, it doesn’t wear you. What are some of your favorite no makeup makeup products or techniques?
