Nude makeup is all the rage, but we're not going to lie - its a hard one to master. As much as we love rocking a bright red lip, sometimes being so bold can be tiring, and we long for a stripped back, natural makeup look. The trouble is, wearing the nude makeup look can be just as tricky (if not trickier) than wearing bright hues.
Picking the right shade, textures and finishes of nude makeup can be the secret to prevent that 'washed-out', color-less look. Matte or glossy, beige or browns- we've heard all your concerns. To nail that barely-there beauty look yourself, we've rounded up some top tips for wearing those dressed-down shades.
1. Find Your Base Shade A nude make-up look should be polished and pretty, but not because you have gone overboard with your foundation and powder. Find a shade of foundation which compliments your complexion - it should be the closet match to your natural skin color, adding a sheer, healthy glow. Not sure what shade to look for to suit your skin tone? Use our guide below:
- Fair Skin: Slight honey and Taupe shades
- Medium Skin: Tawny and Caramel tints
- Dark Skin: Hints of Chocolate and Terracota
Make sure your foundation is lightweight and sheer, and has been applied over a lavish layer of hydrating moisturizer. A lot of nude make-up can appear quite mattifying, so you want your base to look as fresh and glowy as possible. The following foundations below have fresh, dewy textures yet provide excellent coverage:
2. Set Your Base The beauty of a nude make-up look is that it looks natural and dreamy, therefore you want your fresh face to last all day. To ensure your foundation stays, set with a light matte powder, just dusting a little amount over the T-Zone. Loose setting powders or those with a silk finish are best for this look:
3. Make Your Eyelids The Focus This look works best when your eyelids are the focus, so keep mascara less dramatic, and completely skip any eyeliner. You want your eyes to look brighter and prominent using just neutral shades, shimmers and highlighters. For a wide eyed look, apply a shimmery shadow in light taupe, peach, or golden brown to your entire lid, and dab a little Q-Tip dipped in your eyeshadow along your lower lash line. If you have blue eyes, focus more on warmer, golden browns. To add radiance, brush a pale champagne highlighter along the brow bone and around the inner corners to give an illuminating finish. It's best to invest in a handy little eye palette which features different shades of neutrals and browns, so you can layer up.
4. Keep Mascara MinimumAs this look is all about the lids, you want to simply enhance your eyelashes rather than make them dramatic. Use a separating mascara instead of a false lash effect, which will lengthen your lashes and add a touch of color, keeping your rich, neutral colored eyelids as the center stage.
5.Sculpt and Define Nude makeup can sometimes look a little flat, especially when keeping your foundation as flawless and natural as possible. A nude face needs a little bit of sculpting, defining and a touch of color to add warmth and shape. Avoid shimmery, glistening blushes - you want to be adding depth to your nude face, therefore a matte blusher/bronzer two shades darker than your foundation color is ideal for your cheeks. Lightly contour, and if needed, sweep an illuminating highlighter powder to the tops of the cheeks for radiance.
6.Creamy, Dreamy Lips Nude lips - the best part of the barely look according to most people! Now this is a tricky one, because you want to avoid looking like you have just simply concealed your lips, which is a common error. a nude lipstick is one that closely resembles the color of your skin tone – nothing too white or too matte. This season, nude lips don't have to be too opaque, and they don't always need a lip liner, therefore they are much easier to wear. We recommend opting for a nude lipstick that has a touch of pink/peach tone, and we also prefer semi-matte finishes. Too much gloss can look a little 'teen', and too matte can give your lips that dry look.
Here's our pick for naked lips!
