Although it doesn't feel like it, spring is just around the corner. So I've been ditching the full-coverage matte(ish) bases in favor of something lighter and dewier. I'm all about having healthy, glowing skin, and I've gathered my favorite products for rocking a glow.
It really all starts with skincare. Make sure your cleanser doesn't strip your skin (avoid foams), exfoliate regularly (I prefer gentle chemical exfoliators, like the Pixi Glow Tonic, to manual ones), and make sure your skin is moisturized. My new holy grail skincare products to get a glow are in the Glossier Phase 1 Set (read my full review here). These guarantee a natural, dewy glow, and we haven't even gotten to the makeup bits yet.
I haven't been using primer that often because the Glossier Priming Moisturizer does such a good job, but I still have some favorites for getting a glow. The Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Face Primer is a great one if you don't want any shimmer - it gives you a glow because it's so nourishing to the skin. This feels like a nice, light moisturizer rather than a primer. Then there are primers with some light shimmer in them, like the L'Oreal Magic Lumi Light-Infusing Primer, the Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer, and the Revlon PhotoReady Skinlights (may technically be a highlighter but it's got that silicone-y primer feel). The three of these don't have massive amounts of shimmer, but just enough to catch light on the high points of your face and to optically blur imperfections. For your base, you can't get a better dose of glow than with a tinted moisturizer - my favorite is the one by Laura Mercier. If you're needing a little more coverage, the best glow-giving foundation I've tried is the Lancome Teint Miracle - those lighter patches in the bottle in the picture above are actually pockets of shimmer that have risen to the surface. The shimmer is undetectable on the skin, but just gives a fabulous glow without actually looking or feeling wet on the skin. Dark circles got you down? Cover them up with a highlighting concealer like the Estee Lauder Double Wear Brush-On Glow BB Highlighter.
Now, the main event: highlighters. If you want to look like you've got a supermodel glow, your best bet is to throw some highlighter on those cheekbones. I recently got the rms beauty Living Luminizer, and I'm already obsessed. I would bathe in it if possible because it gives such a subtle, ethereal glow. And rumor has it it's the one that supermodels such as Miranda Kerr and Karlie Kloss and also J.Crew models use - so I'm sold. I love that it's all organic and filled with nourishing ingredients like castor seed oil and coconut oil, so you're actually helping your skin, not just faking that you got a full night's sleep and drank your 8 glasses of water. I'll even dab some of this on my cheekbones and inner corners of my eyes on no makeup days, just to help me look more fresh and awake. Moving up a little on the intensity scale, my next favorite is the Benefit Watt's Up highlighter. This one is more champagne-colored, rather than the white pearl of the rms one, so it looks slightly less natural on the skin. But because it's a cream, it really mimics a skinlike finish, so you're left with a beautiful candlelit glow. My most intense favorite is definitely theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer. I've mentioned this a lot lately, but it's really one of the best. This one's a super pigmented, buttery powder, so you have to be careful not to overdo it. It can be applied lightly for a similar glow to the Watt's Up or built up to be quite intense, like you've got a spotlight on you, so if that's the look you're going for, look no further. This one is a lovely champagne color as well.
What are your favorite products for getting a glow?