How to create a polished skin finish

“I love this skin finish as it’s a look that’s about real women looking amazing in real life,” says makeup artist Lynsey Alexander. “It’s absolutely not about the skin looking matte and flat, just luminous, polished and velvety.” Here’s how to achieve complexion perfection…

Your skincare is almost more important than your makeup to achieve this gorgeous skin finish. For Alexander, the focus is on “gently resurfacing the skin every day – it’s not so much what you do once a week with a mask and peel, but your daily routine with products that lightly polish, like Sunday Riley’s Good Genes. I’m a huge fan of vitamin C creams and serums, plus retinol for night and a gentle AHA lotion or serum to resurface.” Make this the basis of your on-going regime and skin becomes more luminous and hydrated. “For your face cream, look for something light and hydrating (all the hard work has been done by the serums and lotions), but if your skin is at all shiny, don’t use cream on the T-zone – and save anything rich or balmier in texture to use at night.”

“Your foundation also gives moisture to the skin, as today’s formulations include so much skincare technology,” says Alexander. But irrelevant of which base you choose to use, it’s how you apply it that gives that super-luxe skin finish. “On models, I use a small, flat eye-shadow brush to apply it, not the usual big foundation brushes – this way, you get the base where you need it, rather than all over, which flattens the face. I use my fingertips for applying my own, but either way, after applying the base and concealer (Clé de Peau’s concealer is life changing) I use a medium-sized soft brush (Kabuki brushes are too dense) in light circles to buff and polish your base – it gives it a light, airy, seamless finish. I’m not a huge fan of powder, except for micro-fine feather-light powders like Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder or La Mer The Powder. But apply any powder with a small fluffy blending brush – using a big brush just makes the skin look matte and flat.”

If you want to add a little colorless, clear sheen to skin, Alexander suggests using a skin cream patted onto cheekbones, “or the beautiful clear shine in the Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate palette. On a sunny day the light naturally picks up on the skin, but on a dull, gray day it helps to have a little sheen on the cheekbones.”