Seven Easy Ways to Make Your Makeup Look Dewy

If you've encountered me in person over the course of the last few months or even caught a rare good selfie day on my Instagram Stories, you'll probably know that I'm heavily embracing the whole dewy skin and makeup thing. This is something that I was never able to enjoy in the past as my skin always leaned oily and was so acne ridden that I didn't want to draw attention to it with anything shiny. But now, my skin is fairly clear and lands in the normal category, so I can have a bit more fun with what I'm slathering on my face for fun.

Achieving dewy skin genuinely is pretty easy, but if you really want to embrace the dewy look, then I got you with some easy tips. Use one of them, use them all, whatever floats your boat, my friends!

Start with your skincare

All great makeup looks start with your skincare. Give yourself a good base to work with before you head into foundations or any sort of tinted moisturizers. Make sure you cleanse and moisturizer your face. Pop on those eyecreams if that's part of your routine. I like to add a facial oil as well before my SPF just to really kick it up a notch and make sure that my skin is bouncy and healthy looking before I start adding the rest of my makeup.

My current routine: Caudalie Vine[active] Glow Activating Anti-Wrinkle Serum, TULA Hydrating Day & Night Cream, Eve Lom Antioxidant Eye Cream or TULA's Glow & Get It Balm, Sunday Riley Juno Face Oil, Cotz Face Natural Skin Tone SPF 40, and Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi

Use a dewy (duh) foundation as your base

This is a major duh moment, but if you're trying to achieve luminous skin with a matte foundation, sis, it ain't going to happen. Even if you need full coverage, you can still find foundations that aren't matte to add some life and luminosity into your skin. The key to really getting the most out of your dewy foundations is to apply with a damp beauty sponge and gently bounce it onto your skin after you do your skincare and all of that fun stuff. Let it sit and rest on your skin for a few minutes before diving into any next steps.

My current routine: CoverGirl Outlast All-Day Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation (semi-matte, but slightly dewy) and Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation (technically matte, but with a damp sponge and the right skincare can lean somewhat dewy)

Add liquid highlighter to your foundation, if you really want to go above and beyond

If you don't have the most dewy of foundations or need to make a matte foundation work in a pinch, there is a trick that I use and have been using since college for when I had liquid highlighters that I didn't get much use out of because I just prefer powder to cream or liquid. Add some liquid highlighter to your foundation and blend it together with your finger on the back of your hand to easily add some luminosity where it wasn't before.

My current routine: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Soft Light Liquid Highlighter

Set your face (or at least your t-zone) with a luminous setting powder

The dewy foundation and liquid highlighter help, but really what drives the look home is my luminous setting powder. I'm sure others exist on the market, but without the Laura Mercier Transluscent Glow Powder, my skin wouldn't look the same. I don't know who I was before that powder came into my life. I thought nothing would get better than the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette but I was sorely mistaken. I set my face everywhere, but if you prefer not putting powder all over, at least pop it into your t-zone to hit the highest points of your face when the light will catch the most. 

My current routine: Laura Mercier Transluscent Glow Powder

Take advantage of metallic and shimmery cream eyeshadows

You could use powder shadows easily, but cream metallic shadows add for the ultimate foiled and dewy look. Use your ring finger to pop some onto your lid, blend it out by patting gently, and even take a synthetic brush to really blend it out for a natural ombre into your crease. 

My current routine: Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize in Marie Antoinette 

Find a blush and bronzer with flecks of metallic (preferably gold or bronze) alongside your usual highlighter

I mean, if you've already committed to the dewy and shimmery look, you might as well go big or go home. Blushes and bronzers with a slight sheen will just really amplify the dewy look you're going for. It's best to find something with a subtle shimmer as to not deposit any flecks of chunky glitter onto your face.

My current routine: NARS Orgasm blush, Guerlain Terracotta Light Healthy Glow Vitamin Radiance Powder, Too Faced Tutti Frutti Pineapple Paradise Strobing Bronzer

Spritz your face with a hydrating facial mist after you set your makeup

This is just really the cherry on top. Get yourself a fine mist and spritz it on after all over your makeup is gone to really just embrace that dew. I'll sometimes take my damp Beauty Blender and very, very gently press the mist into my skin as well.

My current routine: Eve Lom Radiance Face Mist and Lexli Tone & Balance