10 Natural Makeup Tips for a Luminous Glow

Natural makeup isn’t just for off-duty days. When you fancy a change from your go-to shade of red lipstick or favourite smokey eyeshadow, a pared-back beauty look is your BFF. Think fresh, polished skin paired with flattering neutral shades to complement your complexion for the most natural look. But creating a truly fresh-faced finish can be a little tricky to achieve – unless you have our makeup artist-approved tips and techniques, that is. Read on to master your most natural makeup look ever with these ten glow-boosting tips. Ready to go au naturel?

1. Brighten Your Base

Prep your skin while improving texture and tone over time with a hard-working primer. Miracle Prep 3-in-1 Beauty Protect Primer SPF 30 is a smart formula with skincare benefits, featuring ingredients like brightening ginseng and pollution-blocking gingko biloba. Plus, the lightweight texture glides on easily, working to reduce dark spots and even out skin tone in just four weeks.

Dot primer onto T-zones and blend using fingertips for a smooth, fresh-faced canvas for makeup. Or, for a no-makeup-makeup day, skip your usual foundation and opt for a sweep of Facefinity All Day Flawless Concealer where needed, blending over this skin-perfecting primer to show your natural glow.

2. Give Foundation a Glow-Up

On the back of your hand, custom-blend the sheerest, most luminous base by mixing one pump of foundation with a drop of Miracle Glow Pro Universal Highlighter. We love using Radiant Lift Foundation for this trick, because its radiant-matte formula ensures the glow looks ultra-polished – never shiny. After creating this dew-boosting blend, tap it on the centre of your face, then blend out with fingers or a makeup sponge for a your-skin-but-fresher effect.

3. Go Light on the Concealer

It may be tempting to cover every perceived ‘imperfection’ with a layer of concealer, but others rarely notice that blemish or patch of discolouration you’ve been obsessing over. So, instead of applying cover-up all over your face, tap it only where you really feel you need it, like under your eyes or on reddened cheeks. Radiant Lift Concealer will disguise signs of fatigue in seconds, and melts in seamlessly when gently patted with your ring finger.

4. Achieve a Rosy Flush

When it comes to making blusher look entirely natural, it’s all about the formula you choose and making sure you apply it to the right spot. So, let’s start with the formula; a creamy blush is our pick for a rosy flush that looks like it comes from within. Choose your shade of Miracle Touch Creamy Blush, then swirl your finger in the pot to warm it up.

Next, smile and use two fingers to tap blush onto the apples of your cheeks, before blending up along cheekbones for a believable glow. Finish by sweeping Bronzer around the outer edge of your face and lightly underneath cheekbones to add a little warmth to your skin.

5. Brush Up Your Brows

Brows have a bigger impact on your natural look than you’d expect. Get them looking too ‘done’, and your makeup goes from barely-there to bold in no time. To give your arches a little extra fullness without looking severely sculpted, go for a brushed-up effect with Brow Shaper, by teasing strands upwards using the built-in brush. Use the pencil end to sketch in definition in short, sharp, hair-mimicking strokes, then add a sweep of Brow Revival eyebrow mascara to plump and hold your brow shape.

6. Create Subtle Smokey Eyes

Give your smokey eye a subtler edge by following advice from Global Creative Director & Make-up Artist for Max Factor, Wendy Rowe. She uses a combination of the Miracle Contouring Palette and Masterpiece Nude Palette in Golden Nudes to create a soft, smudgy look that’s ultra-easy to replicate.

To start, use a small, fluffy brush to apply the darkest shade in the contouring palette, sweeping it back and forth through the socket line to create a diffused ‘C’ shape. Set the cream by blending the sixth shade from the nude eyeshadow palette (a warm brown) over the top. Then, sweep the darkest shade along the upper lash line.

Take the darkest contour cream again, and trace it along the lower lash line, then smudge with your finger. Don’t be afraid to blend it downwards, smoothing it away from the lashes. Smokey eyes, sorted.

7. Soften Up Your Eyeliner

Opting for a natural makeup look doesn’t mean you have to skip eyeliner. Instead, simply swap your usual black liquid formula for a coffee or caramel tone that gives subtle definition. Kohl Pencil in Taupe is ideal for tracing along your upper and lower lash lines, as it lends a touch of sultry, eye-catching colour without the drama of a jet-black liner. Foolproof.

8. Try a New Mascara Shade

Mascara addicts, take note; if you want a fuller flutter that looks natural and enhances the whites of your eyes, a brown mascara will be the new hero of your makeup bag. Using a brown tint, like Lash Revival Mascara in Black/Brown, will still give you all the plumping, lengthening power you love, but with a softer finish that perfectly complements a natural makeup look. Plus, the innovative formula strengthens and lengthens every time you apply. The result? Lashes will appear thicker and fuller in four weeks – even when you’re not wearing mascara.

For full, natural-looking lashes, apply mascara as you usually would, nudging the wand into the roots of lashes, then zig-zagging through to the tips for a glossy, even coat. Flawless.

9. Dial Up Your Glow

Want to add a little extra luminosity to your base? Get your glow on with a touch of highlighter. Use your fingertips to warm the shimmering side of Miracle Glow Duo, then dot and tap high onto cheekbones and browbones, blending under your arches to softly sculpt. Finish by tapping highlighter down the centre of your nose, the top of your cupid’s bow and the tip of your chin for instant natural-looking radiance.

10. Do a Dewy Lip Look

Finish your natural look by lighting up lips with a dewy, glossy tint. We love Colour Elixir Lip Cushion in Spotlight Sheer for a halo of hydrating colour that’s packed with lip-loving antioxidants. Glide it on for a sophisticated swipe of pinky-peachy pigment, or gently blot to achieve a nearly-nude effect, then press lips together to blend.

Looking for more makeup inspiration?

Discover our guide to achieving flawless full coverage foundation or try our colour corrector tutorial.