The Prettiest (and Easiest) Makeup for Summer
Here’s a counterintuitive makeup-artist secret: You can use a lot less makeup if you wear brighter colors. Summer—when glowy, healthy skin is more on display—is when this trick is most effective. “Adding sheer, intense color to your eyes, cheeks, or lips is an easy way to brighten your face without wearing much makeup,” says LA makeup artist Jillian Dempsey (famous for her vibrating face bar, another foolproof face-waker-upper). “Bright colors can be really sheer and still enhance your natural glow, so you get that no-makeup makeup look with even less product.”
The easiest way to pull off any color—whether it’s hot pink, deep blackberry, bright poppy, or fiery copper—is to apply it as a whisper, as opposed to a full-on statement with lots of texture. As cleantech has advanced, the new pigments for lips, lids, and cheeks are more beautiful than ever; pick a shade that suits your skin and start experimenting. Applied with restraint, every one of these shades is sexy (for day or night), easy, and gorgeous on absolutely every skin tone.
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LIPS AND CHEEKS
Dab color on both your lips and cheeks for an easy, pulled-together look that really flatters the skin. Whether your vibe is more tinted balm or shiny gloss, juicy stain or creamy lipstick, vibrant color or low-key flourish, a warming flush instantly brightens your entire face.
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Sheer Tinted Balms
goop Beauty GOOPGENES Clean Nourishing Lip Balm Trio goop, $42SHOP NOW -
Vivid Peach Gloss
ILIA Balmy Gloss Tinted Lip Oil goop, $26SHOP NOW -
Deep-Blackberry Stain
Balmyard Beauty Baby Love Balm Lip + Cheek Tint goop, $32SHOP NOW -
Bright-Red Lipstick
Kosas Weightless Lip Color goop, $28SHOP NOW
2
CHEEKS
The idea is a softly invigorated flush, as if you’ve just jogged on the beach. Cream formulas enhance a dewy sheen, while powders last longer, especially on oily complexions. Apply either at the apples of the cheeks, then blend upward at an angle for a soft, lifting effect.
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Electric-Coral Cream
Tata Harper Vitamin-Infused Cream Blush goop, $42SHOP NOW -
Cherry-Red Tint
Ere Perez Beetroot Cheek & Lip Tint goop, $29SHOP NOW -
Dusty-Pink Powder
RMS Beauty “Re” Dimension Hydra Powder Blush goop, $30SHOP NOW
BRONZER/LUMINIZER
Blend a little bronzer on top of blush for a gorgeous, sun-kissed burnish. It can also go just about anywhere else—the bridge of the nose, Cupid’s bow, chin, lids, or collarbones. Warm rose gold lights up darker skin tones beautifully, while cooler, shimmer-flecked formulas flatter lighter skin.
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Cool-Peach Shimmer (Great for Paler Skin)
Westman Atelier Super Loaded Tinted Highlighter goop, $75SHOP NOW -
Warm Rose Gold (Great for Darker Skin)
Westman Atelier Super Loaded Tinted Highlighter goop, $75SHOP NOW
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EYES
A faint wash of color across the lids is magic: low-key enough for day and fittingly moody for a night out. You can layer the copper and pink shades below for a full-on metallic effect, use either on its own, or smooth on the sheer plum lid gloss from Jillian Dempsey, a gleamy flourish that’s the sexy essence of summer itself.
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Shimmering Gold and Copper
RÓEN 75° Warm Eyeshadow Palette goop, $46SHOP NOW -
Chic Metallic Pink
RMS Beauty Eyelights Cream Eyeshadow goop, $26SHOP NOW -
Sheer Plum
Jillian Dempsey Lid Tint goop, $28SHOP NOW
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FINISHING TOUCHES:
MASCARA AND A HYDRATING MAKEUP-SETTING MIST
Fluttery, shiny, inky lashes are sexy, transformative, and the easiest way to look instantly more rested. (The one from Ami Colé glides on like a dream and stays put.) Another trick we love for an instant refresh: Spritz on a hydrating face mist to set makeup and to revive it later in the day. The floral-infused one from Mary Allan smells incredible and leaves skin gleamy and nourished.
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Defining Mascara
Ami Colé Lash-Amplifying Mascara goop, $19SHOP NOW -
Gleamy Face Mist
Mary Allan Skincare Infused Beauty Water Regenerating Mist goop, $79SHOP NOW
