​​Nine Steps for a Natural Beauty Look​

This year trends like “skinimalism”, slow beauty and the “no make-up” look are set to take over many of our beauty routines. The trick to mastering this look is about using make-up sparingly and strategically, to highlight your naturally beautiful skin and best features.

It’s no coincidence that for the last few years runway models have been appearing deliberately barefaced. It’s a trend that’s here to stay. The latest look shows models with beautifully enhanced brows and an ethereal glow. These “barefaced beauties” have decided to emphasise clean, fresh skin and have adopted a natural beauty approach when it comes to cosmetics.

Natural beauty techniques can highlight the areas you like and downplay the areas you don’t. It’s all about allowing your natural complexion to shine through. If you want to go for a natural look, start by taking a good look at yourself in the mirror. Take careful stock of your features. Think about the final look you want to achieve.

Achieve a Luminous Natural Look

Start with a Clean Base

The first step towards a natural look is to start with a fresh, clean face. Choose a facial cleanser that is best for your skin type. Massage it into your skin and then wash thoroughly using warm water. Pat your face dry with a clean towel and make sure that you have removed all traces of make-up. Even the slightest bit of leftover make-up residue, especially around the eyes, can drag your look down.

Exfoliate and Moisturise

Exfoliating is a great way to look after your skin. It works by removing any excess dry skin from the surface of your skin to help give you a more youthful glow. You should aim to exfoliate your skin once a week. After exfoliating, it’s important to moisturise your skin so that it doesn’t look dull or dried out. Moisturised skin may absorb skin care products better and make-up will go on smoother and may look fresher throughout the day. Use a daytime moisturiser with SPF to keep skin hydrated and protected during the day and a rich replenishing cream at night.

Go Light with Coverage

When it comes to skinimalism, less is always more. For a naturally sheer and dewy look, use tinted moisturiser instead of foundation. Use your fingertips to apply in small areas, starting with the centre of the face and working your way to the outer edges of your face. If you use solid or liquid foundation, apply it with a brush, stroking from the centre of the face outwards and blending well.

Bronzer and Blusher

Use a bronzer and/or blusher to emphasise features. Bronzers provide a warm sun-kissed tone to skin and a great way to create a natural glow. The most important thing to remember with bronzers is that less is more. You can either dust bronzer along your T-Zone and cheekbones or you can add a light layer to your entire face. Apply bronzer lightly to the areas that are most frequently in the sun’s glow such as the bridge of your nose, cheeks and forehead. For a fresh-faced look, gently add some blusher on top of the bronzer.

Illuminators

Illuminators or highlighters contain reflective ingredients, such as mica or other minerals, to catch the light. If you want to find your best features to highlight, step into the natural light to see what parts of your face capture the light. Maybe it’s your cheekbones, bridge of your nose, chin or your cupid’s bow. Start off with a very small amount and increase as needed using a large Kabuki or stippling brush.

Concealer

First, make sure your concealer matches your skin colour. You may need a lighter shade for underneath the eyes or use a concealer with blue undertones. It’s important to dab concealer on blemishes, spots and red areas, not around, to prevent a halo effect. Gently blend using your fingers or a concealer brush to achieve a natural look.

Eye Make-Up

The no make-up look draws attention to your eyes by accentuating their colour and shape. Swap liquid eyeliner for an eye pencil in a velvety brown and do what’s called tight lining. Start by gently applying your line directly in between your eyelashes and on the underside edge. Use a brush to carefully lift your lid and draw the pencil across the underside edge. Complete the look by curling your lashes with an eyelash curler and applying mascara.

Eyebrows

Eyebrows have been a big beauty trend for the last couple of years and for good reason. Well-groomed eyebrows frame our faces and can even complement our facial bone structure, so it’s important to take care of them. First, get them in shape and clean up stray hairs. Use a soft eyebrow powder and a small brush to carefully fill in any bare spots with a subtle colour that matches the natural colour of your brows. Finish with a brush-on gel to keep your brows looking perfect all day long.

Lips

It can be challenging to find the perfect nude lipstick. One way is to find a shade of lipstick that is the same colour as your tongue. It sounds crazy but it looks very natural with a bit of a punch. Avoid shiny gloss or chalky lipsticks and use a neutral or sheer gloss that’s a few shades darker than your natural lip colour. Apply it straight from the bullet by gently dabbing it onto your lips. Wait a few minutes and then blot it – it should leave a hint of colour that really looks like your bare lips.