How To: Get a Glowy Skin Complexion

I don’t know about you but I’m all about having that dewy, glowy, radiant skin as opposed to the matte look and since it’s Summer (which I find hard to believe with all the rainy storms we’ve been having) the glowy look has become even more desirable because it’s season appropriate, although I’ll definitely still be slaying the glowy look in the Winter months. The glowy, highlighted look always looks effortless on the skin, giving you an ‘I woke up like this’ appearance when you’ve actually used a lot of product on your face and you’ve definitely not woken up like that. Nobody needs to know your secret though.

 The problem with trying to get glowy skin is that you can either end up looking sweaty and damp, or you can look youthful and radiant so you have to get it right to get the proper look. I’m going to talk you through the products that I use to ensure that I get a glowy skin complexion, including the perfect highlight, so that you can achieve the look too!

First of all, we’re going to focus on the base. You’ll need to set your makeup off in the glowy direction from the very start so that, as you build up multiple layers of product on your face, you are still able to attain the glowy look by having an illuminated base that mixes and blends with the rest of your makeup to keep your entire face looking radiant. For my base, I prime my skin with MAC’s Strobe Cream (I have the mini size) and work it into my skin with my fingers, like a moisturiser. The best thing about Strobe Cream is that it keeps the shimmer present in your face even after you’ve applied foundation, concealer and powder and that’s what we need to give the natural, authentic, youthful glow to the skin.

Once you’ve made sure that your skin has a natural glow to it all over, you can begin the highlight stage (after the rest of your face makeup, obviously). The secret to making your highlight last all day is to do what you’d do with your face makeup, use a liquid product and set it with a powder product. I always opt for a more pink toned highlight because I think that it suits my skin tone (despite my skin being yellow toned rather than pink) and because pink is just too pretty, so the products that I use here will be of the pink coloured variety but you can use alternative products in any colour that tickles your fancy. I’ll be offering suggestions of other products for a white toned highlight and for a champagne toned highlight because those are popular highlight colours aside from pink.

The first stage of highlighting your cheekbones is the liquid stage. Since you already have a glowy base radiating through the layers of your makeup, when you apply the liquid highlight its glow will be more enhanced with the help of the Strobe Cream that is already on your skin. My liquid highlight of choice is the coveted Benefit High Beam. I paint a short line of highlight on the tops of my cheekbones and I use my finger in quick, tapping motions to blend the product along my entire cheekbone and into my skin. A champagne alternative is Benefit’s Sun Beam (although this is on the darker, more brown side of champagne) and a white alternative is MAC’s Strobe Cream which, although already mentioned as a base, can double up as a liquid highlight.

The second and final stage of highlighting your cheekbones is the powder stage. Using a powder will set the liquid and add yet another layer of glow to your skin. The powder highlight that I use is MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle. I sweep it across my cheekbones, onto my browbone, down the bridge of my nose and onto my cupids bow using the Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush from their Core Collection. A champagne alternative is Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in the shade Champagne Gold, and a white alternative is MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade. 

Another product I want to mention (that isn’t pictured) which can be used for your undereyes, forehead, cupids bow and chin (where you might use a concealer that is a shade or two too light for you) is the YSL Touche Eclat in any shade that you please.

When I start up my YouTube videos once again (which will be around the end of September / start of October as that’s when I’ll get a new laptop with editing software) I will probably make this into a video tutorial or include it in a makeup look so that you can see the products in action!

So that’s how I get a glowy skin complexion and perfect my highlight on my cheekbones, I hope this helps some of you! What’s your favourite glowy, shimmery product?

♡

Yasmin