The Prettiest (and Easiest) Makeup for Summer
Photo courtesy of Westman Atelier
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.”
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Subtly Chiseling Vibrating Gold Bar
Jillian Dempsey Gold Sculpting Bar goop, $195SHOP NOW
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.
1
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 one at the apples of the cheeks, then blend upward at an angle for a soft, lifting effect.
Blush
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Electric-Coral Cream
Tata Harper Vitamin-Infused Cream Blush goop, $45SHOP NOW -
Cherry-Red Tint
Ere Perez Beetroot Cheek & Lip Tint goop, $30SHOP NOW -
Dusty-Pink Gel
Saie Dew Blush goop, $25SHOP NOW
Bronzer and 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 -
Creamy Bronzer for Instant Summer Skin
Saie Sun Melt Natural Cream Bronzer goop, $32SHOP NOW -
Warm Coppery Gold (Great for Darker Skin)
Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlight Stick goop, $48SHOP NOW
2
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 buildable multistick, 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, $48SHOP NOW -
Jumbo Nude Crayon with a Shiny Finish
Tower 28 Beauty JuiceBalm Vegan Tinted Lip Balm goop, $16SHOP NOW -
Sheer Blackberry Stain
Balmyard Beauty Baby Love Balm Lip + Cheek Tint goop, $32SHOP NOW -
Hibiscus Multistick for Buildable Color
Ami Cole Desert Date Blush and Lip Multistick goop, $22SHOP NOW
3
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 a wash of iridescent gloss from Jillian Dempsey, a gleamy flourish that’s the sexy essence of summer itself.
Shadow
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Shimmering Gold and Copper
ROEN 75° Warm Eyeshadow Palette goop, $49SHOP NOW -
Chic Metallic Pink
RMS Beauty Eyelights Cream Eyeshadow goop, $28SHOP NOW -
Sheer Plum
Jillian Dempsey Lid Tint goop, $28SHOP NOW
Mascara
Add fluttery, shiny, inky lashes—the sexiest, easiest way to look instantly more rested.
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For Volume
Tower 28 Beauty MakeWaves Lengthening and Volumizing Mascara goop, $20SHOP NOW -
For Fluttery Length
ILIA Limitless Mascara goop, $28SHOP NOW -
Clear Formula for Defining and Shaping
Ere Perez Aloe Gel Lash & Brow Mascara goop, $28SHOP NOW
Or: Natural-Looking False Lashes
You don’t need mascara at all when you wear these easy-to-apply reusable half-lashes.
4
Brows
Shape and define your brows and your entire face somehow looks more sculpted, whether you’re shading in a sparse patch with a creamy pencil, adding volume with a tinted peptide gel, or nourishing with a clinically tested serum designed to support growth.
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Chicest Pencil
Westman Atelier Bonne Brow Pencil goop, $38SHOP NOW -
Superserum for Thicker Brows
Augustinus Bader The Eyebrow & Lash Enhancing Serum goop, $150SHOP NOW -
Peptide Gel for Lift and Hold
Kosas Air Brow Tinted Volumizing Treatment Gel goop, $24SHOP NOW
5
Add Polish with Lip Gloss
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Weightless Pale-Coral Gloss
Westman Atelier Squeaky Clean Liquid Lip Balm goop, $38SHOP NOW -
Sheer-Pink Plumping Oil
Kosas Wet Lip Oil goop, $22SHOP NOW -
Subtle Berry Cream (with Botanical Butters)
RMS Beauty Liplights Cream Lip Gloss goop, $28SHOP NOW
Bonus: For Glowy, Healthy-Looking Skin
Beautiful skin is essential. Here’s our formula: This fantastic eye cream made with a 30-botanical emulsion to firm, smooth, and brighten really helps fake the look of a great night’s sleep. A layer of hydrating primer smooths imperfections and boosts radiance; follow it with a luminizing tinted moisturizer and a truly amazing concealer.
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Nourishing Eye Cream
Tata Harper Restorative Eye Crème goop, $130SHOP NOW -
Featherlight Primer
Jillian Dempsey Mixturizer goop, $34SHOP NOW -
Imperfection-Blurring Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 40
ILIA Super Serum Skin TInt SPF 40 goop, $48SHOP NOW -
Melts-Right-In Concealer
Beautycounter Skin Twin Creamy Concealer goop, $34SHOP NOW
Related Reading
A Next-Level (No-Makeup Makeup) Bronzy Glow
For the Most Natural Look, Use a Brush: Gucci Westman’s Easy-to-Follow Guide
