A trip to cloud nine is a big lift. (It’s a long haul, expensive, sold out hotel rooms, et cetera, et cetera.) But dreamy cloud skin is a pretty good compromise. This soft-focus, matte, marshmallowy look is an angelic wedding day look and isn’t terribly hard to achieve. “It’s basically just healthy, fresh-looking skin without a reflective highlighter shine,” says makeup artist Jenny Patinkin. Stick to matte or satin-finish foundations and bronzers and finish with a mattifying setting powder to keep shine at bay.
Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation
Patinkin recommends bouncing a satin-finish foundation like Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation onto the skin with a damp makeup sponge to help set it in place.
Buffing this demi-matte Westman Atelier cream blush onto your cheeks gives your cloud skin a healthy glow. Patinkin also likes how long-lasting this formula is.
As a finishing touch, Patinkin recommends setting your soft-focus look with this mattifying powder, paying particular attention to your T-zone (no shine allowed on cloud nine).
Gently Sculpted
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There are two types of people: those who paint brown and white stripes on their face and buff it out for a perfectly sculpted look (TikTok) and those who prefer something a little more subtle. Subtle is your friend when it comes to natural wedding makeup, so underpainting your contour — applying your contour and highlighter before your foundation, instead of on top of it — can help to soften things up a bit. “It also allows more room for error,” adds makeup artist Kate Mellinger. The result is less jungle cat and more Greek statue.
Mellinger recommends this blendable matte contour as a first step. Apply to the sides of the nose, under the cheekbones, under the jawline, and around the temples, then blend it out so there are no hard edges. (Remember, we’re going for “gentle” here.)
Apply a cream or liquid highlighter on the bridge of the nose, tops of the cheekbones, cupid’s bow, and brow bone. This gel formula should dry down nicely and allow you to apply foundation on top without losing the shape altogether, says Mellinger.
Sweet and Blushy
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