We’ve all seen girls overdo it on their beauty routine, slathering on whatever they can find in their makeup bag. But there’s no need to pile on the products for your everyday look! When it comes to wearing makeup, sometimes less is more. If you’re trying to appear put-together without going over the top, follow HC’s tips for how to look au naturel.
Skin
The key to any great look starts with your skin. Instead of resorting to cakey powders and other thick cover-up options, bring out your natural glow instead. If you can’t fathom leaving home without putting on a dab of coverage, don’t worry! You can still look natural and wear a full face of makeup.
Products
Lisa Owens, a Metro-Detroit-area makeup artist and licensed aesthetician, recommends using tinted moisturizer instead of other dense foundations to provide coverage without looking and feeling weighed down.
“It’s a two-for-one: you get your moisturizer and you get sheer coverage,” she says. “It can help reduce redness and smaller problem areas to give you a flawless finish. You don’t have to cover [tinted moisturizer] with powder, and so it will leave a natural-looking finish to the skin. It looks very under-done, which is nice.”
Clinique’s Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer ($27) or Stila’s Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer ($32) are perfect products to try out.
For collegiettes with tricky, more pronounced problem areas, such as harsh redness, breakouts or scarring, Owens says using mineral makeup, including light powders, will help you to flawlessly cover problem areas up and achieve a more natural look.
“Bare Escentuals is a big one that is recommended, “ she says. “Many drugstore brands carry [mineral-based makeups], too. They are naturally derived mineral pigments that you brush into the skin with a Kabuki brush. By brushing it on, you get a nice, airbrushed finish to the skin. It appears more matte-like compared to the tinted moisturizer, and so it offers more coverage.”
Kelsey Pomeroy, a sophomore at Ohio State University, says she achieves her natural, everyday look with a few key products. “For a really easy, everyday look, I use Garnier BB Cream as a light foundation and finish by brushing Revlon PhotoReady translucent finisher over top. It evens out my complexion, but still looks sheer and natural.”
Matching and application
It can be frustrating to go through beauty product after beauty product and still be left without the right color for your skin tone. But it will pay off when you find a match! Remember when people used to tell you to dab makeup onto your hand in order to see what looks best? Owens says this trick is a thing of the past, and has new tips for matching foundations and concealers.
“If you are considering a color or two, definitely take a sample of the product before buying,” Owens says. “If it’s a liquid, put a little bit on your fingers and start on your jaw and drag it down onto your neck. You should see no difference [for a match].”
You should also test out the product in natural lighting to see if it’s the right shade for you (and to avoid looking orange once you step outside!). Once you’ve found a flattering, natural-looking color, the next step is the application process.
“If you want a natural look, you need to focus on more targeted applications,” Owens says. “You don’t want to blanket your face in the whole product! Usually, I will focus on correcting under-eye circles, covering blemishes, etc., and so I don’t necessarily put the foundation and concealer on the entire face… that can end up looking mask-y.”
Another quick tip: for liquid foundations and tinted moisturizers, stay away from sponge applicators because they make it harder to blend and your makeup will appear blotchy once finished. Large brushes work wonders to buff the color into your skin evenly.
For your natural look, don’t toss aside your favorite bronzers. You can still look like you’re wearing minimal makeup and have some glowing color.
“As far as bronzing, you want to hit the areas on the face that sun would naturally hit, such as the bridge of your nose, right underneath your cheekbones, on the chin and the center of the forehead,” Owens says. “You don’t really want to go more than a shade and a half to two shades darker than your skin tone if you’re trying to be really natural about it. It’s a great way to get a healthy glow to the skin without looking overly done.”
According to Owens, the tool you use to apply blush and bronzer is just as important as finding the right face makeup color. “If you use a nice, fluffy, dense brush, and you really work the product in and blend it, it’s going to look a lot more natural than if you just swipe it on and skip blending."
Eyes
It’s time to learn to love what you’ve got and play up your natural coloring. Let your eyes do the talking and use shadows that will take a complementary role, not overshadow what’s already there!
First, primer makes a huge difference when trying to achieve a natural eye. “Priming the eyelid is going to be a great step because it’s going to perfect and get rid of any discoloration or redness,” Owens says. Give Mary Kay’s Eye Primer ($20) a try!
When choosing eye shadow colors, Owens recommends sticking close to your natural skin tone. Depending on your tone, you will look for shades that are creamy and taupe or light bronze and soft charcoal. Too Faced has a perfect neutral shadow palette ($36).
Owens says Urban Decay’s Naked Palette ($52) is versatile for every look. “It’s very easy to work with, and you can take it from a very natural look to a very dramatic look,” she says. “The palette will take you many places!”
If you want to wake up your eyes and make them pop, you can play with subtly highlighting them. “Once you choose and apply a neutral shade [to the lid], use a darker color in the crease and highlight the inner corner of your eye and underneath your brow bone [with a lighter color] to help accentuate the eye without looking overdone,” Owens says.
We all know girls who draw on eyeliner so thick that you can barely see their eyes. For your everyday look, why not try tightlining instead?
“Line the inner rim of your upper lash line and work it into the lashes themselves,” Owens says. “It can create a lot of definition [and] make your lashes appear darker and fuller without looking like you’ve done dramatic makeup.”
Lips
There are many ways to flaunt bold lip color when the time, outfit and occasion are right. For your everyday makeup look, it’s important to stick with a nude color that’s effortless and flattering. Every collegiette’s nude shade is going to be different, whether it’s a rosy pink, a shade of mauve or a shade of brown.
Lipsticks with beige, peach or pink undertones will be the best options for achieving nude, natural color. For lighter-skinned collegiettes, beige undertones will complement your complexion nicely and prevent a washed-out look. Darker-skinned ladies should look into shades with peach and pink undertones.
If you’d rather skip the lipstick, you can polish off your look with a sheer gloss.
Owens recommends Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer ($5) or CoverGirl’s Jumbo Gloss Balm ($6.89-$6.99) for natural-looking hydration and a glossy finish.
There’s nothing wrong with sporting a fresh face. Pretty soon it’ll be your favorite accessory! We’ve seen everyone from celebs and fashion models to collegiettes tossing aside their normal makeup regimen to go back to an au naturel look. What do you think of this growing beauty trend? Have any tips to share? Comment below!