Expert Beauty Tips

6 beauty expert approved ways to get more glow this Autumn

Makeup trends from the Autumn ‘16 runway season had flashes of brilliance, as iridescent makeup was used to fabulous effect. The darker days of Autumn can make us all feel a little lacklustre, so take inspiration from the fashion world and bounce a little light back into your beauty routine by adding some glow.

Glow is a little undefined, a little vague, a little difficult to put your finger on. It’s the moment someone says ‘you’re looking well’, or you catch sight of yourself in a mirror and feel positive about yourself. Here are our tips on getting more glow this Autumn:

Glow Getter 1: H2O

This one is a no-brainer but we have to mention it: regular exercise and drinking plenty of water will help your skin to look and feel its best, not to mention the rest of you. 

Prefer a fast fix? Then read on for easy ways to cheat that glowy look with some clever product recommendations and tips…

Glow Getter 2: Clever Correction

Uneven skin tone can spoil an otherwise uninterrupted smooth, youthful glow. If you have discolouration, under eye darkness, patches of high colour on the cheeks or nose or thread veins, then make sure you are using a product that will work on your specific concern. Generic flesh toned concealers can make the skin look patchy and ashy, and won’t cover well. ReCover has been developed to colour correct and conceal in one multi-tasking step. For anyone with redness or a generally uneven skin tone, we recommend a couple of dots of ReCover Correct & Conceal Red on bare moisturised skin, blended outwards for a seamless finish. The yellow tones will neutralise redness without draining all the natural colour from your skin.

Glow Getter 3: Luminous Base

The new bases have a flattering ‘soft glow’ effect by including very fine pearl and sheen ingredients. Choose just one of these base products, rather than layering all of them, to avoid looking shiny.

Using  Shu Umera Instant-Glow is great at adding luminosity to a dry skin as it is quite moisturising.

The new Estee Lauder Double Wear Nude Cushion Stick Radiant Makeup is a bit of a mouthful, but the cushion applicator lends itself well to this sheer, nude look with a radiant finish. A good choice if you are in a hurry.

The liquid highlighter in Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer in Bright Idea is great for using to accent areas you’d like to ‘bring forward’, such as the bridge of your nose, cupids bow and tops of cheekbones.

Top tip! A word of warning to those who have blemishes; these types of luminous products can be disastrous on spots or acne, as they don’t sit well and only accentuate the raised areas of skin. Steer clear if you have a spot and go for a more matte finish product instead.

Glow Getter 4: Perfect Powders

The best illuminating powders on the market now are a far cry from the chalky formulations of a few years ago. Look for one with no discernible glitter or shimmer pieces in the formulation, as if you can see them, the effect will be too glitzy and fake on your skin.  Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder  is superfine and adds a real luminescence to skin. Others to look out for are The Celestial Powder from Kevyn Aucoin, and my must-have (but admittedly not very purse-friendly) Chantecaille HD Perfecting Powder.

Top tip! Layering illuminating base products can be tricky, so we suggest sticking to one illuminating product for your skin, rather than layer up a primer, base and powder with illuminating ingredients. Remember that illuminating products are also sometimes called highlighting, strobing or luminous in their description, which essentially means they have some sort of pearl or mica ingredient that will reflect light.

Glow Getter 5: Flattering Highlights

Now to accentuate your best bits. Highlights are great for adding a softly reflective area to your face. Remember when you use any highlighting product, it will draw attention to that area.

We love Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit  as it has different shades you can use to highlight your eyes, dust softly along the top of cheekbones, and add glow anywhere the light naturally hits your face. This is like having good lighting wherever you are!

Glow Getter 6: Brightening Lipstick

Lipstick is a great way to add some colour into your face, but did you know choosing a shade with a blue base to it will help your teeth to appear whiter? This is because orange-based lip colours tend to bring out any yellow tones in teeth.

Dolce & Gabbana in Dolce by Dolce 619 is a good example of a blue-based flattering red, and berry shades such along with Surrat Beauty Automatique Lip Crayon in Fucshine, a bold fuchsia.

Or if you don’t want to pair a bold bright lip with your glowy look, then try Du Wop Blue Venom, which is a minty tingly lip gloss with a slight blue tone, working on the same theory.