Our go-to makeup artist shares her tried-and-true tips (spoiler: it does, in fact, require a little bit of makeup).
Fresh, dewy skin. Bright, well-rested eyes. A hint of color on the cheeks and lips. A natural, less-is-more approach to making
up one’s face is getting some well-deserved shine as of late. (We here at Madewell have been fans of the look for
a while, since simplicity has always been our MO—whether we’re talking closets or cosmetics.) But there is something
particularly right now about “no makeup” makeup—and our go-to artist Kaoru Okubo (aka the genius behind our models’
perfect low-maintenance looks) has some thoughts on why.
“People are dressing more casually now. You can’t pair heavy makeup with that style,” she says. “And overall, people
are focused on health, and healthy skin shows that.” So how to
really show off that skin? Kaoru starts with
moisturizer, first and foremost. “Dewy and healthy skin is always well-moisturized,” she explains. A few more
products she recommends to really master the look:
concealer (use sparingly, Kaoru suggests applying by lightly tapping it on with your ring finger), mascara, a
brow brush and pencil (only use it to fill in patchy areas,
never to color the entire brow, she insists) and a smudge of
blush on the cheeks. It’s not a ton of products, but the right ones applied just so (Kaoru’s picks are linked
above).
So while it may not be as easy as just throwing some water on your face and heading out the door, it really isn’t
that much of a lift, and the effect meets our criteria in spades: effortless, tomboy and just a bit sexy too.
Need a fresh outfit to go with that fresh-faced look? Shop our new arrivals
here.
