With its sweet name, this brand new beauty trend promises us a radiant face and delicately velvety skin, in short, perfect skin. We show you how to get it.
After an attraction for the shimmering epidermis of the glass skin (glass skin) with crystal shine, and later the mass adoption of the dolphin skin (dolphin skin) with an irresistible wet effect that was just right for last summer, another make-up trend is starting to emerge and promises us skin that is just as desirable, if not more!
This makeup trend that flirts with the skincare and who has something to make us dream of, this is the cloud skin – or cloud skin in French – which tends to create a perfectly luminous skin but which remains, this time, quite velvety. So named by the famous make-up artist Dominic Skinner – whom you may already know if you’ve watched Netflix’s Glow Up series – more precisely consists of displaying a luminous epidermis but which reveals a very soft, almost fuzzy glow, as if the skin was crossed by the soft glow of the solar rays which pierce through the clouds.
Nothing to do with the previous make-up trends which focus on an ultra look glowy and a more or less intense wet effect which ultimately creates unnatural skin textures. With the cloud skin, the skin regains a more real aspect although it is sublimated, thus playing on the right balance between mattness and luminosity. Heaven in terms of skin texture, right?
How to make a cloud skin ?
Good news, recreating this multidimensional skin that oscillates perfectly between the velvety effect of matte and that famous diffuse glow that illuminates the face we were talking about, is not as difficult as we might think, according to makeup artist Dominic. Skinner. Asked about the backstage trend of the Richard Quinn show at London Fashion Week by the site’s editorial staff Refinery29, the make-up artist said: “It all comes down to the strategic application of the powder, a touch of foundation and a facial oil to prepare the skin”.
It is therefore the combination of skincare and makeup that creates the desired effect on the skin, even if makeup products have a lot to do with it. Again, you will notice that the skincare is THE essential basis for a successful make-up since it is above all necessary to nourish the skin well.
So far, nothing new on the technical side or on the product side since the panoply of cloud skin is made up of essentials for many of us, except maybe we use a moisturizer rather than an oil to hydrate our face. The only small originalities to note if one can say so, concern finally the choice of the foundation and the powder: you will have to use a foundation with a matte finish and a translucent powder to obtain an effect. cloud skin so that your skin texture has an almost hazy, cloudy appearance.
The range of products to make a cloud skin
But then what is really changing with the cloud skin ?
The trend cloud skin is not so much about the products used – even if the foundation should be matte and the powder colorless – as how you are going to use it. To reproduce this cloudy effect on the skin, it is more appropriate to play with the different textures of these skincare and makeup products, and to work the makeup meticulously in specific areas. No revolutionary product therefore, everything is in the application which must be rigorous to obtain the desired effect.
Cloud skin: the step by step tutorial for perfect skin
step 1: prepare the skin with the oil to create glow
Start by applying your oil to your face to hydrate, plump, soften and prepare your skin for makeup. Above all, do not neglect this first step because it is the shine from the inside that characterizes the cloud skin. The oil thus applied will also allow the foundation to blend very delicately into the skin for a makeup result that is much more subtle and “soft” to the eye.
step 2: apply the matte foundation to sublimate your skin and make it velvety
To even out the complexion and camouflage the small skin defects (redness, dark circles, veins, pimples), the makeup artist then recommends using a mat foundation which will give the skin a nice velvety finish. In order to easily obtain the cloudy effect so sought after with the foundation, the make-up artist specifies that it is good to apply it by small touches only on the whole face, and to work the material with the finger for the easily melt to the skin. By doing so, you will be able to correct the complexion without overloading it by targeting the areas that require more coverage, and create this subtly opaque-mat effect without excessively mattifying the skin.
step 3: powder with precision to lighten the skin texture
In order to create the illusion of a cloud veil on the luminous but already velvety skin, it is with the translucent powder that you must then play. The latter – applied in a targeted manner – will not only serve to blur the skin texture to give it a hazy appearance, but also to give the impression that other areas of the face are brighter and fresher. And this, without even having to resort to the highlighter which provides a very frank shine that would contrast too much with the softness of this cloudy makeup.
In particular, apply powder to the forehead as usual, but be sure to also apply it to the roots of the hair with your brush so that the mattness created lasts despite the hours, that there is no risk that the skin may appear clammy and only a shine between the eyebrows may appear as the skin grows back throughout the day. So you will never look like you have clammy skin.
Also highlight the contour of your jaw with the powder brush to blur the contours and mattify the area to give the impression, by contrast, that your cheeks are fresher, with a subtle glow.
Also come delicately powder the inner corner of the eyes and the contour of your nostrils to homogenize your complexion. These small areas to be powdered are very important. With this type of make-up that plays on the different textures, the symmetry created by the contribution of a matte texture to these areas on each side of the face makes the make-up more harmonious as a whole.
And here you are with a cloud skin perfect, you don’t need anything more! As the trend-setting makeup artist concludes, in his interview transcribed by Refinery29: “The technique creates a cloudy impression because there is a matt powder and then the moisture in the foundation, and it is the combination of the two that creates this impression of softness”. The skin reveals a beautiful luminosity, but as though through a veil of airy clouds.
You are then free to choose whether or not to enhance your complexion with a very light touch of blush. Then place it on the top of the cheekbones and melt the material by gently stretching it towards the temples.
Why do we believe in the trend cloud skin ?
Because, unlike many makeup trends that set the standard for ultra matte or ultra skin glowy, this promotes a more natural skin. It is thus much easier to adopt (and assume) on a daily basis than an excessively illuminated skin by the highlighter or a very mat complexion which can sometimes tend to become cakey at the end of the day. Also, this trend is more accessible to all skin tones, and in particular to dark skin tones on which the highlighter tends to create a really flashy glow and not always easy to wear during the day. Despite the accumulation of foundation and powder which mattify the skin, the emphasis is on care and hydration, and make-up products are only used in small quantities and in a targeted manner so as not to overload the skin with make-up. Good points. In short, in the end, this may be the makeup trend we were expecting since it offers a healthy and natural epidermis but better, and the beautifying effect of filters without having to use them for them. selfies. At a time when we are starting to shun these, the cloud skin is the perfect alternative!