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inga-krohn
lauren-williams
yara-flinn

10 years ago by

In honor of “nude week,” I decided to explore the au naturel, bare beauty trend that we keep seeing more and more of. I wanted to know, does it really exist and what does it take to get it right?

After conducting some really, really serious research, I found that it ranges from a super natural look (you don’t notice anything at all) to slightly made up (you can notice it, but it’s not going to look like that 6-year-old you babysit gave you a makeover). When it comes to doing nude makeup, it’s all about enhancing your best features.

So I decided to take test out this theory and asked three friends of the blog to come over to the studio and give their faces to Tatyana, a makeup artist who knows how to make everyone look their best (and is also full of some serious beauty tips, which I promise I won’t keep to myself for long).

When we started, I kept asking Tatyana all of these general questions like “Okay what color foundation should a girl with her same skin tone wear?” and “What always works for fair skin?” And what she told me is that it is totally different for everyone. I know, you were hoping for (believe me, I was too) a bunch of super specific answers, but hey, its my job to tell you the truth and here it is.

There isn’t a universal shade of foundation for dark skin or a go to concealer for olive skin or the one perfect blush for fair (and there are definitely way more skin tones than those three). Perfecting the skin is the one of the most important steps. You want to find the right moisturizer, the right color and the right texture. The key is to try everything. Isn’t it always?

So here are Inga, Yara and Lauren (Note: there is absolutely no photoshop on any of these pictures!) (Note from G: just great light and Garance genius!) (Note from G #2: okay, and natural beauty and makeup artist genius) showing their best natural beauty looks and a few tips to get you on your way!

Inga:
– Use a warmer foundation and skip the bronzer
– Blush should match the natural color of your lips
– Choose a brown mascara with blonde hair
(Inga is wearing foundation, blush, Dior Addict Lip Glow, brown mascara and a brown cream shadow).

Lauren:
– Pick a lip color that matches the fullest part of your lips
– Use black liner on the insider corner of your eyes
– Keep skin luminous with bronzer on your cheeks and lids
(Lauren is wearing foundation, Diorskin Nude bronzer, NARS The Multiple in Laguna and St. Barts, black eyeliner, brown eyeliner, black mascara and lip stain.)

Yara:
– Keep the middle of your face light when contouring
– Apply mascara heavier at the roots
– Olive skin: use a rosy foundation
(Yara is wearing foundation, bronzer, black mascara and Lucas Pawpaw Ointment on lips.)

Makeup by Tatyana Makarova.

58 comments

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  • These girls are beautiful, beautiful and natural!!!
    Kiss!
    Passa a trovarmi VeryFP

  • lots of rest and water always help! :)

    http://littleaesthete.com

  • Inga est sublime comme ça !

  • Trop bien les photos ! J’adore parce qu’elles sont évidemment très jolies, mais “normales”/jolies comme tes copines que tu trouves canons, et pas comme Bar ou Gisèle dans un mag.
    Merci le studio !
    Baci, Ali
    http://www.alidifirenze.fr

  • I agree with a little bit of each! I’m from latin america so my skin is a little different than the 3 in these pictures. I would say, skip foundation bc it clogs yours pores. A little bronzer and if you want blush it should match the color of your lips (very light). Eye liner on the top of your eyelid, mascara and lipstick with a red tone.
    Xo,
    Belen
    http://blog.androbel.com

  • Natural beauty! love this!
    almu
    http://www.mavieenroseblog.com/

  • Moi aussi je suis toujours très naturelle. Il faut dire que sur ma peau en plastique de mannequin de vitrine, rien de tient!! Mais j’aime la beauté au naturel !!

  • Tres belles photos et tres belles filles!
    Bon, je dois absolument essayer mais je ne suis pas sure d’avoir les bons produits…

    Bonne journee!

  • Oh my gosh, they are so beautiful it makes me wanna cry

  • Oh wow, both my namesake and the other two girls look fabulous! This might just finally convince me to try brown mascara!

  • Natural is an interesting concept in beauty and make-up. When I performed, one of my favorite make-up artists struggled with my make-up and finally decided the best thing for me was to put it all on and then wipe most of it off. He was completely brilliant.

    These days people think I’m wearing nothing , but I wear light concealer under my eyes, Benetint on my cheeks, and curl my eyelashes every day. Sometimes a small bit of brown-ish powder shadow in the eye crease. Burt’s Bees Red Dahlia lip balm, and powder with a tiny bit of color and sunscreen on my otherwise very red nose.

    When I put on mascara I look “Made-up”. And some light lipstick.

    But any more than that and I look like a drag queen.

  • Chouette post, merci Alex ! J’aimerais beaucoup avoir d’autres astuces make-up, vous qui avez la chance au studio de fréquenter des gens hyper talentueux. Même si sur des filles aussi sublimes, le maquillage n’est qu’une option…

    Bonne journée !

  • I adore these beautiful natural beauties! I just can’t seem to embrace this nude look for myself – I feel undressed without some mascara and a darker lip…
    xx,
    Kristi

  • I love these natural beauties! I think that less is more, I don’t like to wear too much makeup.
    Mafalda ?
    http://www.mafaldadotzero.blogspot.fr

  • OMG, they are so beautiful
    DH empire

  • All 3 beautiful girls. What a great feature and brave! Depending on the skin tone, Nude requires a different interpretation AND good, perfectly matching foundation that lets the natural skin shine through which is still a small challenge to find especially for darker skin tones.
    A lot of brands are finally picking up how complicated it is to create foundations for darker skin tones that really match, which is great as that will (hopefully) result in better matching foundations for darker skin. A great, prenium brand with lots of shades for darker skin tones is Kevyn Aucoin, they understand the complexity of it.

    http://www.sablebeauty.com

  • Interestingly the one thing they all have in common (apart from their natural look and beauty) is groomed eyebrows. maybe this is the key to the nude look!

  • C’est beau !

  • Je vais poser une question digne comme si j’étais un mec : pourquoi faut-il se maquiller pour avoir l’air naturelle ?

  • Je préfère charger les yeux donc ce maquillage n’est pas fait pour moi… En revanche, je pense qu’il nécessite une bonne dose de pratique (et de maquillage!) et un bon coup de main pour être réellement réussi et flatteur.

  • Great !

    À bientôt, Laëti

  • Love this post! Keeping your face fresh and clean is always the most beautiful, letting your natural beauty shine. Also, it will be better in the long run because lots of product can be super harmful to your skin.
    http://www.emilyhart.ca

  • Wow, ce post est super bien fait Alex. Je ne suis pas une fan des posts “beauté” à la base, mais celui-ci fait que je m’incline: les photos des Garance sont superbes, les filles (blanche, noire, mate!! yeaaaah!!!!) sont jolies et super bien maquillées et ton billet écrit est très intéressant. Bref, je kiffe. Pour moi qui ai la peau noire, j’avais renoncer à espérer lire un jour, sur un “gros” blog, un vrai article de qualité, sur le make up nude des peaux noires. Thanks Alex, merci Garance xx

  • eastvillagesiren January, 30 2014, 12:02 / Reply

    Hi Nicola,

    I think you’re right about your eyebrow observation. They seem to “anchor” the face. I’ve been trying a bolder brow lately, and I find that it looks best with less mascara and a more subtle eyeliner.

    I also just re-purchased the Dior Lip Glo. It’s so easy I don’t even need a mirror to put it on; it looks like my lips, but better!

  • Très beau résultat ! avec un petit faible pour la photo d’Inga !

  • J’adore ! Ces filles sont magnifiques, et j’aime la façon dont leur beauté est soulignée.

  • J’aurais aimé qu’il y ait 3 vidéos qui accompagnent les photos. Pour une prochaine fois?

  • That girls sooks sooo nice. But I am only soooometimes without any make up.. hm..

    http://www.fashiondenis.com/

  • Dominique January, 30 2014, 12:47 / Reply

    hmmmm i don’t wear so much make up sorry!

    http://www.dominiquecandido.com

  • Je me suis toujours demandée quel intérêt de se maquiller quand on est aussi jolie? Moi si j’avais une aussi jolie peau je me casserai pas la tête à trouver le produit miracle et facile qui lisse et fait un joli teint!!!
    Un peu de mascara et du rouge et le tour est joué! non?…

  • great post and beautiful pics !

    I wrote about natural nail polish last year after Vogue USA selected the new nude colors of the summer
    http://www.fashionsphinx.com/summer-will-be-natural-i-hope/

    I am so into nude looking toes and hands now
    I would keep a bright red color on hands only for a big glam evening out , but otherwise i am much preferring a nude look

    in my opinion pretty well taken care off feet with a natural nail varnish is so sexy and sensual

    http://www.fashionsphinx.com

  • Le tournant que prend ton blog me plaît beaucoup. Les nouvelles signatures aussi. Et je ne suis pas d’accord avec ceux qui pensent que le blogueurs de la première heure, dont tu fais partie, sont des fossiles. Il faut savoir durer et fidéliser son lectorat. Merci pour ce que tu proposes.

  • Super post! Quelle est la marque de l’encre à lèvres utilisée par Lauren? Thx

  • Très belles femmes et photos ! Le thème me rappelle le projet Natural beauty de James Houston…

    Concernant le baume Lucas Pawpaw, je l’ai découvert en Australie et c’est vrai qu’il est super efficace, mais en cherchant plus d’infos à propos des ingrédients, je ne crois pas en réutiliser…
    http://www.davidsuzuki.org/fr/champs-dintervention/sante/enjeux-et-recherche/substances-toxiques/petrolatum/

    Sinon, pour un parfum naturel, j’aime bien l’eau de fleurs d’oranger :)

  • Dejà que je suis une quiche quand il s’agit de fond de teint, je vais me contenter du mien qui ma foi m’a l’air pas trop mal avec ma peau. Et je note au passage quelques bons conseils, merci :-)

  • Camille Reddress January, 30 2014, 2:29 / Reply

    So happy to see diversity in your beauty pages x

  • Ces maquillages sont très réussis, je trouve beaucoup de charmes à ces maquillages presque invisibles :)

  • Hi G, Fantastic British make up artist Lisa Eldridge does great “no make up make up” and has excellent video tutorials on line. Lisa works on her own face from straight out of the shower (absolutely no make up) and progresses to finished looks. Take a look – she really knows her stuff. BX
    PS Obviously good skin care, diet, sleep etc vital for a pretty and practical “nude” look that can really works in the real world day to day.

  • Totally second the comment from Bernadette about Lisa Eldridge’s “no makeup makeup” tutorial!

  • Thanks for this piece.
    I think everyone should be comfortable in their own skin and the bare makeup trend is something that can help with this. I wear little to no makeup every day but I might start using some of the above tips.
    Kiri
    http://www.fashionblender.com.au
    http://www.facebook.com/FashionBlender

  • Mariateresa January, 30 2014, 6:42 / Reply

    Inga c’est simile a Julie Gayet…mais le president, quelle maleducation!

  • The free-est that I have ever felt in my life is when we lived on a mountain for two months in the summer. We did not know how much water was in the well so we did not want to waste it on clothes washing. We lived nude, only putting on clothes to go to town for supplies. I was 42 years old, my son was 7 and my husband was 44. What joy!

  • Marta Pozzan January, 31 2014, 2:20 / Reply

    Inga is so flawless

  • Les beautés naturelles sont vraiment les plus belles, rien à dire. Elles sont parfaites. Bravo à toutes!
    Béné
    http://www.begetsee.com

  • Yes, I know your subject is make up to begin with. So when you talk about going au naturel, about bare beauty, you don’t mean this literally. But to me it sounds so funny, al this effort to look natural. To me, natural means simply wearing no make up at all. Never. My bare skin is really bare… (and I’m not just being lazy! I honestly feel most beautiful being au naturel in this literal way.)

  • Love your blog!
    I’m posting looks from Los Angeles and accessories:

    http://www.thegavlaks.com

  • Elles sont vraiment sublimes, j’adore cette beauté naturelle.

    Bisous
    http://www.Lauralexo.com

  • Je ne suis pas adepte du nude mais je trouve ça magnifique sur pas mal de filles! Moi j’aime bien jouer avec les ombres à paupière (enfin je dis ça mais je n’ai qu’une palette la Naked qui est géniale, je n’en n’ai pas 100). Ici c’est plus que réussi j’aimerai bien avoir cette beauté naturelle ! Moi j’ai l’impression que le maquillage plus voyant (j’ai pas dit que je me tartiner du bleu sur les paupières le matin) me met plus en valeur mais l’été c’est à adopter!

  • Je fais des études d’Histoire de l’Art depuis deux ans et je suis de plus en plus fascinée et décomplexée par la diversité des corps féminins dans les œuvres, chaque époque ayant ses propres canons esthétiques on peut se dire qu’on aurait chacune put être un idéal de beauté à une époque différente ! Et c’est avec ses multiples variations que le corps féminin est aussi beau ;)

  • Xara Susanna February, 1 2014, 5:36 / Reply

    Super beautiful! I’m loving this au naturel look and its so wonderful to see real, glamorous women don’t you think? Merci beaucoup Garance and team! xx

  • eveange66 February, 1 2014, 8:38 / Reply

    J’avoue, ce qui me surprend, voire me choque un peu, ce sont certains des conseils pour ces looks “naturels : je cite “mettez peu de contouring”, “oubliez le bronzer” (encore heureux !).
    Déjà ça je trouve ces remarques typiques US dans le genre “trop léché”. Dommage. Pourtant, le net regorge de photos montrant les méfaits et abus du contouring, même “bien” posés Etre naturel, c’est justement ne pas avoir besoin de ce genre d’artifice, déjà un fond de teint suffit, pourquoi faire plus. Mascara, rouge à lèvre, voire blush et c’est bon. Ah les différences culturelles…

  • The women are beautiful but I hope you also featured Asian women.

  • I highly recommend KORA Organics by Miranda Kerr Tinted Day Cream as an alternative to foundation and RMS Beauty “un”-coverup concealer. I have a light olive skin tone and find that Shade #11 works best for me, but Shade #22 may work best for dark/olive skin tones. RMS Beauty also has amazing cream eyeshadows and Lip2Cheek, which doubles as a blush and lip stain! Both brands are certified organic & made of natural ingredients that are brimming with health benefits for glowing skin!

  • I’m so glad there are pictures of people with different skin tones. I love love love this blog and look to it for comfort, but many a time, (with most media), I keep thinking, would this look/colour/style work on me since I’m not light skinned? Love this move ^

  • This is wonderful, I don’t wear a lot of makeup. Just lip gloss and mascara. This is a great celebration of let your beauty shine rather than covering up. Thanks.

  • Moi je suis allée à l école sans maquillage vendredi parce que j avais les yeux qui piqués et au détour d un couloir, j ai croisé le prof de Droit qui s est exclamé “OULA” d un ton horrifié au vu de mon visage.

    Je crois que je ne suis pas encore au point….

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