As we at SPICE are busy thinking ‘Light and Shade’ this month on the site, a highlight for this season’s beauty is one that surfaced on Spring/Summer’15 catwalks everywhere, from New York to London, Milan and Paris: the bare-faced beauty trend, which has seen designers sending out models with ‘barely-there’ makeup.
At Phillip Lim, the look was created with tinted moisturiser and concealer to smooth out the skin; at Ralph Lauren, an effortless, sunkissed look was achieved with all over bronzer; nude lips became even nuder at Michael Kors, where pouts were stained with soft colours; and then, there was truly no makeup at Marc Jacobs’ Spring/Summer’15 showcase, where models took to the runway with just blunt bobs framing their faces.
As Diane Kendal – the makeup artist who created fresh-skinned and natural looks for Alexander Wang and Marc by Marc Jacobs – put it, it’s a;
“…weird time for beauty and hair right now.”
But it’s not just been spied on the runways, as celebrities have also embraced this ‘au natural’ makeup trend spurring on a flurry of celebrity #NoMakeupSelfies, as well as a slew of campaigns advocating for natural beauty – that’s no photoshop – on the Internet. And the awards season has also given celebrities a chance to show off the trend, with some of our favourites spied doing it justice;
Are you inspired to head out sans makeup yourself? Well, below’s a step-by-step to get you started, plus the products to fake a completely makeup-free look;
GET THE LOOK
1. On clean skin, squirt a pea-size amount of sheer liquid foundation onto the back of your hand. Swirl a foundation brush into the foundation and then blend it all over your face to even out your skin tone. For fair skin, we recommend Shiseido’s Sheer and Perfect Foundation SPF 18 in “Natural Light Ivory” ($35, here); for medium-toned skin, By Terry’s Sheer Expert Foundation in “Intense Beige” ($65, here); or for dark skin, try NARS’ Sheer Glow Foundation in “Khatuom” ($ 24.98, here).
2. Next, take your lipstick and place a dot on each cheek. Blend the lipstick into the apples of your cheeks with your fingers. For fair skin, try Jouer Lip Sheer in “Maui” ($24, here); for medium-toned skin, try Boots No7’s Sheer Temptation Lipstick in “Lovely” (£9.99, here); and for dark skin, try IMAN’s Luxury Moisturising Lipstick in “Wild Thing” ($10, here).
3. Work a black or brown eye pencil into the upper lash line, as close to the lashes as possible, smudging it with a cotton swab. Then, define your lower lash line by gently smudging the same pencil on the outer two-thirds of the eye. Swipe one (just one) coat of black mascara onto lashes the lashes to finish the eyes.
4. Groom brows with a brow brush and use a brow pencil to fill in any sparse spaces. Use small quick strokes that mimic brow hairs (see more on perfecting brows in our article, here).
5. Pat the same lipstick you used on your cheeks onto lips with your finger to create a soft stain.
6. Finish the look by using concealer where necessary – under your eyes, around nostrils, or anywhere you have a blemish to cover. For fair skin, try Bobbi Brown’s Creamy Concealer in “Ivory” ($35, here); for medium-toned skin, try Stila’s Perfecting Concealer in “E” ($23, here); or for dark skin, try Dermablend’s Quick-Fix Concealer with SPF 30 in “Deep” ($25, here).
And that’s it – your makeup’s minimal and amazing.
Do you like the barely-there beauty trend? Which runway interpretation of it is your fave? Share your opinion in the comments box below or message us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @SPICETVAFRICA.
Image source: Fashiongonerogue.com, Canadianliving.com, Hollywoodlife.com
