Beauty Trend Alert: Make Your Skin Glow with Minimal Makeup

While you can have glowing skin with little to no makeup, it all starts with keeping your skin clean and healthy.
While you can have glowing skin with little to no makeup, it all starts with keeping your skin clean and healthy.

Summer months are all about lightening up from head to toe. You're giving your hair a boost of warm color, swapping shoes for sandals, and showing off your shoulders with adorable summer dresses and tank tops. You even change up your makeup style, and this summer's beauty trend--bare beauty--definitely follows the idea that less is better. In other words, wear your makeup to appear as if you're not wearing any makeup.

Celebs and models are rocking nude makeup on the runways and red carpet. Light touches of neutral and natural color tones on their eyes, cheeks and lips gives their complexion a vibrant look. The goal of bare beauty is to help your skin look fresh without appearing as if you just visited your makeup artist. Think of it as minimalist makeup. If you're going for a sun-kissed glow you've gone too far.


While you can have glowing skin with little to no makeup, it all starts with keeping your skin clean and healthy. Ready to lighten up your look for summer?

Wash your face.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that you wash your face no more than twice a day--once in the morning and once in the evening--with a mild cleanser and lukewarm water. No need for a washcloth, just use your fingers. In the evening, you'll want to remove your eye makeup first, and then wash the rest of your face.

Exfoliate regularly.
One dermatologist to celebrities recommends that you exfoliate your facial skin on a daily basis. Exfoliation removes the dead skin and other debris from your face, and helps the deeper layers of your skin get more oxygen. The jury is out on the order that is most effective. One solution to solve this dilemma is to use a cleanser that has exfoliating micro-beads within the product, like Olay's Regenerist Luminous Brightening Cream Cleanser. Whatever you decide, make sure you're using an exfoliation product that is gentle on your skin and fits your skin type. If you want the benefits of exfoliating without adding it to your daily face-cleaning routine, talk to your dermatologist about microdermabrasions and glycolic peels.

After properly washing your face, apply a moisturizer to help your skin from drying out. Even if you have oily skin, a moisturizer is critical to protect your skin from turning dry after using cleansers and other facial products. According to the Mayo Clinic, moisturizers also help improve your skin tone and texture, two essentials to help your complexion maintain its natural glow without with little or no makeup. In the daytime, be sure to use a moisturizer with SPF for ultraviolet (UV) protection.

Even when your skin is sparkly clean, you may still opt to add cosmetics to get your minimalist look
. What should you do? Apply your foundation with an extra light touch and blend, blend, blend. Dress up your eyes with neutral-colored shadows and use only the thinnest swipe of brown or olive eyeliner as close as possible to your upper eyelashes. Skip the blush; your cheeks will get some color naturally as you move about. Curl your eyelashes, brush your brows, and finally, set your makeup with a hydrating mist.