Your grandma was right—there’s a time and place for everything. High-drama makeup is perfect for a fancy night out, but on a hot spring/summer day, it’s always fresher and younger to sport a soft, subtle, barely-there look. The idea is to look like you’re not wearing a stitch of makeup (no one needs to know you spent twenty minutes artfully applying neutral-toned eye, lip, and cheek hues). From Beyonce to Alek Wek, here are the A-listers who make looking au naturale totally easy!
With her sheer berry blush, black mascara and clear gloss, Alek Wek looks polished, but not overdone.
The key to Chanel Iman’s barely-there beauty? Clean, matte skin, defined brows, and a sheer plummy-nude lipstain.
Keisha Knight Pulliam manages to make barely-there makeup look totally sexy! To get the look, line the inner rims of your eyes with a sharp black eye pencil, layer on two coats of mascara, swipe bronzer over your cheekbones and apply a nude lipstick (Pro tip: Blend concealer over your lips and add Vaseline!).
With her softly shimmering lids, sun-kissed skin and soft, bronzey lips, Jada Pinkett Smith looks like she just stepped off some glamorous beach resort.
Gabrielle Union owes her radiant complexion to a touch of highlighter on her browbones, cheekbones, and bridge of nose. Try Sephora Collection Luminous Glow ($12, sephora.com).
Nude makeup can be super-glamorous! Leona Lewis amps up the drama factor by adding a dramatic swoop of black eyeliner. Hot, hot, hot.
Kelly Rowland’s soft, nude makeup is the perfect shopping-with-your-girls weekend look. To get the look, dab concealer over imperfections, set with powder, and add mascara and clear gloss.
Halle Berry accentuates her eyes with a thick black line along top lashline and tons of mascara—but she leaves the rest of her face almost totally bare. So pretty!
Nia Long’s bronzey, natural look is to die for, and it’s not hard to recreate at home! Simply dust a sheer bronzer over cheekbones and the perimeter of your face (we’re obsessed with Iman Sheer Finish Bronzing Powder, $14.99 at ulta.com, and then add mascara and a pearly-nude gloss.
