How do I achieve a natural makeup look?

So you love makeup but want to keep things subtle and natural? Natural makeup is definitely for you! The nude makeup style has been trending for the past few years. The idea is to accentuate your features with a sheer, light hand. Discover Clarins’ three easy steps to achieving gorgeous natural makeup looks that are you, only better!

1. Step One: Your skin care routine

Skin that is clear, smooth, and beautifully dewy in appearance is your first step to achieving the nude makeup look. They don’t call it the ‘no-makeup makeup look’ for nothing! But let’s face it, how many of us have naturally clear, smooth, and gorgeously hydrated skin without a bit of help from a few quality skincare products?


Our skin faces a constant battle against environmental aggressors, and our busy, stressful lifestyles. Clarins’ aim is to give every woman the best skincare products she needs for skin that’s visibly smooth and radiant-looking.

2. Step Two: Back to basics with primer and foundation

The best natural makeup is about the freshness of youth. What does this look like? Flawless, dewy-looking skin, eyes that shine with clarity, cheeks that glow, and lips that look plump, and youthfully moist. It’s easier than you think, all you need is a bit of practice! Here’s how to do natural makeup the Clarins way.


The no-makeup look is all about using color sparingly. So if you’re going to use fewer makeup products for sheer coverage, you’ll need to get your primer makeup just right. But, what is primer? Primer helps to color-correct the appearance of your skin tone while also hydrating the skin and helping makeup to go on easier. It also helps your makeup looks last longer. A hydrating primer is always best for the no-makeup look.


Clarins SOS Primer is an oil-free, color-correcting makeup primer that visibly hydrates and preps skin for a flawless nude makeup application. This best primer is lightweight and infused with Organic Sea Lily – a super-hydrating plant extract that provides the skin with hours of moisture. Clarins’ exclusive High Lumitech Complex is a combination of pearls and soft-focus powders. Choose your shade based on the type of corrections you'll be making. If you want to brighten up your complexion, go for the translucent, luminous Shade 00 universal light. Looking for a dewy glow? Try 01 rose for the instant appearance of radiance. Need to conceal redness? 04 with a hint of green helps to counteract red tones.


Now you’re ready to find out how to apply foundation for the no-makeup makeup look.


The best foundation for achieving the nude makeup look is one that delivers moisture to your skin while letting the freckles and imperfections that make you uniquely you shine through. The beauty of Skin Illusion Broad Spectrum is that it has a smooth, flawless, bare skin feel with buildable coverage that puts you in control of how much foundation your skin needs to achieve a natural makeup look. This is Clarins’ first serum foundation that combines the fluidity of pure plant oils with the perfect amount of pigments. It allows your skin to breathe. Red Jania reveals a luminous-looking complexion while Mary's Thistle Oil visibly softens the skin, and Organic Leaf of Life extract hydrates for hours of dewy wear. You’ll get the best effect by applying foundation with a buffing foundation brush or a sponge to keep the dewiness.


A word about concealer: Natural makeup looks best without concealer. The less makeup you apply, the better the chance of achieving a sheer finish.

3. Step Three: Natural glowy makeup for eyes, lips, and cheeks

The next reach-for product in your all-natural makeup kit is a bronzer. The best bronzer highlights the skin in a way that mimics the natural healthy glow of your skin tone. Learn how to use bronzer. Start with as little powder on your bronzer brush as possible. Add color to the apples of the cheeks until you have just enough glow. Blend carefully up onto the temples and the top of the bridge of your nose. Figuring out how to apply bronzer can be daunting so try this expert trick, next time you’re flushed from exercise, take a selfie. Now all you have to do is apply bronzer to the areas where you flush, naturally. That’s taking all-natural makeup to a whole new level!


To get natural eye makeup just right – first, apply an eyeshadow primer to your lids. Eyeshadow primer is the foundation for your natural eye makeup looks. Your eyelids are prepped for smooth eyeshadow application, a flawless effect, and extra-long wear.


Once you’ve applied your eye primer, use a fine-textured eyeshadow in a shade that’s close to your skin tone or sweep your bronzer across your lids, blending up from your lash line and fading as you get closer to your brows. Keep brows as natural as possible, using them to gently frame your face. And keep mascara to a minimum. Even better, if you have naturally dark lashes leave them nude. Or for lighter lashes, use just one coat of brown mascara.


Youthful-looking lips round off your no-makeup look. If you’re lucky enough to have naturally plump, deep-colored lips, use your best lip gloss with a hint of color or a clear lip gloss to finish off the nude makeup look. If you need a lip color – go for barely-there shades based on your skin tone.


If you have a cool skin tone or fair skin tone, use shades of sheer pink lip color but avoid nude which could give you a washed-out look. A warm skin tone or olive skin tone can carry off sheer lip colors with a touch of red or orange. Use a lip gloss as your last natural makeup step.


When it’s time to take it off, Clarins Cleansing Milk with Gentian and Moringa is a soothing cleansing milk for combination or oily skin that gently cleanses and comforts skin. It helps to gently lift away makeup without the need for water. It offers the best preparation for the next time you apply your natural makeup look.

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