How to Fake an Airbrushed Complexion Like a Pro

If we’re being completely honest, the “pretty” filters on our social media platforms are the best things that have ever happened to us (and our skin). Okay, maybe not the best thing, but — even on our worst days — they sure do know how to make a girl feel #flawless. Although we can’t actually wear these filters IRL, with blurring primers, blemish-hiding concealers and illuminating highlighters, we can create the illusion of filter-worthy skin. Learn how with our step-by-step guide to faking airbrushed skin, here.

STEP 1: Hydrate With a Lightweight Skin-Care Oil

Before going to town with your blurring makeup primer, highly pigmented concealer and illuminating highlighter, it’s important to take the time to hydrate and nourish your complexion with a lightweight skin-care oil, such as the Youth To The People Superberry Hydrated and Glow Oil. Not only can hydrating the skin with a nourishing skin-care oil help leave the skin feeling soothed and comforted, it can promote glowing, healthy-looking skin, too.

STEP 2: Protect With SPF

After you’ve nourished your complexion, it’s time for some necessary protection. Protecting the skin with SPF before makeup application is a vital step in any and all skin-care routines, as it can help shield the skin from some of the harmful — read: damaging — effects of the sun’s UV rays. We recommend reaching for a physical sunscreen, such as SkinCeuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50. The ultra-sheer, ultra-transparent, non-comedogenic sunscreen can provide lightweight — yet effective — protection without clogging pores and leaving the skin with a noticeable oil slick.

STEP 3: Prime Your Face

The next step in filter-worthy skin? Priming with a blurring makeup primer like the Maybelline New York Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser of course! Formulated to smooth the look of large pores and mattify the skin, this drugstore makeup primer can leave you with (you guessed it) baby soft skin that is ready for flawless makeup application.

STEP 4: Perfect With a BB Cream

After prepping your complexion with a blurring makeup primer, it’s time to apply a little lightweight coverage. For a flawless yet bare-looking finish, reach for L’Oréal Paris Magic By Studio Secrets Magic Skin Beautifier. Formulated to hydrate, prime, perfect and correct, this drugstore BB cream can blur the look of skin imperfections and give you a no makeup-makeup effect.

STEP 5: Conceal and Contour

After you’ve primed, prepped and applied some lightweight coverage, it’s time to conceal. For highly pigmented yet natural-looking coverage, reach for the NYX Professional Makeup Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Concealer. Don’t let it’s $8.50 price tag fool you, this drugstore makeup concealer can hide pesky dark under-eye circles, blemishes and areas of discoloration.

STEP 6: Illuminate and Glow

Once you’ve concealed, it’s time for some illumination. To highlight the high points of your complexion, use the NYX Professional Makeup Born To Glow! Loose Powder Illuminator. We love this all-over powdered highlighter for its versatility and effectiveness in creating filter-worthy skin.

STEP 7: Set With a Cooling Spray

After completing your filter-worthy makeup look, you’ll want to top things off with a cooling and hydrating setting spray like the Urban Decay Chill Cooling and Hydrating Makeup Setting Spray. Formulated to “chill” the surface of your makeup, this makeup setting spray can help create a long-lasting makeup look that promotes dewy, glowing selfie-ready skin.

Photo Credit: Chaunte Vaughn

Model: Estelle

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