How To Do The Prettiest No-Makeup Look Your Skin Will Love

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While we’re taking a social step-back in quarantine, we’re letting our skincare take center stage. When we do want to spice it up or join a Zoom call, we’ve created the perfect skincare-meets-makeup beauty routine that lets our skin live its best life in the most natural way. These skin-enhancing skincare products and skincare-meets-makeup beauty products subtly take our basic routine to the next level by creating the most perfect no-makeup makeup look. Literally, it’s barely even makeup. It’s perfect for quarantine life, runways (see inspo above and below), Zoom calls or just for casual weekend vibes.

Here’s the step-by-step and products we’re loving for achieving this ultimate natural beauty look.

Step 1: Prep Your Base

We all know flawless skin starts with a smooth canvas, and gentle exfoliation is the best way to get there.  The WISHFUL Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub, $39, is our fave exfoliator for smoothing, evening, and giving your skin that natural glow. Alternatively, swap out a scrub for a gentle AHA toner like the COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner, $23. Once you’ve gently retextured your skin, it’s time to layer on hydrating products.

Extra Glow Hack: To up your glow game and boost skin hydration, layer a facial mist between the following skincare steps. For a nutrient-rich burst of hydration, try the fresh Vitamin Nectar Antioxidant Glow Water, $24, which is packed with brightening vitamins and antioxidants that give your skin a mega glow.

Step 2: Hydrate

This beauty look doesn’t end with the help of a highlighter palette, instead, it’s a natural glow that’s boosted by layering up your hydrating products. If you have time for a sheet mask, then now is the time. Our new WISHFUL Thirst Trap Cocoon Mask, $9, is the ultimate skin hydrator that’s packed with aloe vera and sodium hyaluronate to soothe and hydrate, and allantoin and niacinamide to brighten and protect.

If you ain’t got time for that, start with an essence like the Peach and Lily Wild Dew Treatment Essence, $39, which will feed your skin with vitamins and hydration and help the following skincare layers absorb more efficiently. You can also just use a hydrating serum like The Versed Hydration Station Booster with HA, $20. If you’re using an essence, don’t be shy to pat in several layers of essence and then follow with a hydrating serum.

Step 3: Serum Glow Booster

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We’re obsessed with the PlantGenius Brightening Survival Serum, $68, by new clean beauty brand Alypyn Skincare; why you wonder? Firstly, it contains amazing ingredients that are actually making a noticeable difference to our skin – like brightening vitamin C, and smoothing azelaic, glycolic, and lactic acids – secondly it contains a unique pearl base that illuminates your skin giving it a totally ethereal glow that looks natural yet so pretty.

If you can get your hands on this genius serum, then we have a hack for faking this skincare meets makeup finish. Take your fave serum (it can be vitamin C, hydrating, or clarifying) and mix a couple of drops of serum with one drop of liquid highlighter, then massage the combined shimmering serum into your skin. This will create the most amazing, radiant base with the added benefits of your fave serum.

Step 4: Lock It In

You all know moisturizer comes next. For daytime, consider a moisturizer with SPF like the Murad Essential-C Day Moisture Broad Spectrum SPF 30, $65 – we love the lightweight texture and added hydrating and brightening skin benefits of this protective formula.

Otherwise, our go-to moisturizers include the Glow Recipe Banana Soufflé, $39 – super lightweight but also very hydrating, making it great for all skin types – the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Pink Juice Moisturizer, $21, ideal for oily skin types, and The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA, $6, is also great for all skin types. Extra bonus (and glow) points if you use a facial mist before your moisturizer.

Step 5: Add Color

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Monochromatic makeup and glossy, creamy skin are big beauty trends this year. Using a cream blush stick that works for eyes, lips, and cheeks will blend perfectly with your skincare base and add a little life to your look. A product that perfectly fuses skincare with makeup is the Josie Moran Argan Color Stick, $22, which is made with hydrating apricot and argan oil, and tons of skin-loving ingredients. The unique formula comes in seven gorgeous colors that can be applied directly to lips and cheeks.

We’re also going mad for the new Nudestix Nudies Bloom All Over Dewy Color, $32, in shade Tiger Lily Queen, a bright coral color that looks gorgeous on all skin tones and can be applied directly to lips and cheeks – it also comes with a small dense brush at one end that’s perfect for blending blush.

Step 6: Add a Sheen

To finish your glowy skin look, the new Becca Cosmetics Skin Love Glow Glaze Stick is a translucent balm made with a hydrating cold-pressed melon and avocado complex and soothing bitter ginger, that has subtle but undeniable glow-inducing pearl finish that completes this skincare-meets-makeup look. Glide the stick on to the tops of your cheekbones, your lips, your brow bone, and the bridge of your nose for glow goals.

DIY Glow Hack: Mix one drop of your fave face oil with one drop of a liquid or cream highlighter, then dab it onto the high points of your face.

Step 7: Gloss-It-Up

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Bare lips never feel sexy to us, so add your fave tinted lip balm or lip gloss. Our fave new finds are the Kopari Lip Glossy, $13, a divine coconut oil meets lip gloss creation that smells divine and looks sexy AF, and our Huda Beauty Diamond Balm lip balm, which adds a gorgeous subtle sheen that nourishes lips and feels so fun to use!

For gorgeous lip color, we love the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Lip Pop, $22, a three-in-one scrub-to-balm that smooths, hydrates, and tints lips in a universal pink shade. We’ve also always been obsessed with the Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm, $5.50, which comes in three rosy natural shades that look pretty on everyone.

Step 7: Finishing Touches

Brush up and fluff your brows with a spoolie – eh voila, you’re good to go! If you want to add texture and definition try the Loreal Brow Stylist Boost & Set Brow Mascara, $11. Finally, give yourself a mist with your fave hydrating facial spray (and through the day) to keep your glow game strong.

That’s it – super easy, super natural, and really gorgeous. If however, you want to make your skincare meets makeup look more glam, try these additional steps:

For more coverage: After you’ve moisturized and before your blush, you can use a BB cream, nourishing lightweight foundation formula or a little concealer to boost your look. Our picks are: It Cosmetics CC+ Cream with SPF 50+, $40 – a do-it-all formula with mineral SPF, anti-aging skincare benefits, and amazing coverage that wears well all day!

For skincare-meets-makeup on a budget, you cannot beat this Physicians Formula Silk Foundation Elixir, $16 – an ultra-nourishing, weightless, organic elixir made with organic jojoba oil, aloe vera, and botanical cactus flower to lock in moisture and even skin tone. The formula offers sheer-to-buildable coverage in 12 shades from fair to deep.

The Josie Moran Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation, $45, is a lightweight formula boasting Breakthrough color-match technology and skin-strengthening ingredients. And finally, Kosas’ Tinted Face Oil, $42, is another skin-loving formula made with a blend of oils and clever pigments to hydrate, smooth and correct skin with a light but buildable veil of coverage.

To nix blemishes or hide dark circles, the Benefit Boi-ing Cakeless Concealer, $22, blends in beautifully with skincare, while a little goes a long way with the e.l.f. Hydrating Camo Concealer, $6.

For Drama: Add a little mascara to open up your eyes and take this look to the next level. Choose a brown formula or something more natural like the Burt’s Bees All Flutter Multi Benefit Mascara, $13, which is a 100% natural origin mascara made with jojoba oil and naturally moisturizing beeswax to nourish lashes.

For Defined Brows: If you weren’t blessed with naturally bushy brows, fill them in carefully with hair-like strokes using a felt tip applicator like the Mac Shape + Shade Brow Tint, $22, or add volume with a tinted brow gel like the ColourPop Brow Boss Gel, $7.

What do you guys think of this look? Let us know if you’re a fan in the comments below.