1. Skin prep
As any make-up artist will tell you, you need to spend as much time prepping the skin as you do making it up. A thorough cleanse, gentle exfoliating polish and layers of hydrating skincare provide the perfect canvas, but as Alanna Arrington demonstrates – it needn’t end there. Single-use masks, packed with active ingredients, will help to brighten and plump the skin, especially when applied to areas that might be showing signs of dehydration, such as the under eyes or forehead. And don’t forget your mouth – no doubt this lip mask further enhances Arrington’s pillowy pout.
2. Defined eyes
What’s an Angel without wings? Eyeliner wings, that is. Defining your eyes with liner is an age-old way to make them appear bigger, but for a Victoria’s Secret-worthy look you don’t want the actual product to become the focus. Therefore, a soft gel liner (like the Estée Lauder Double Wear Gel Eyeliner in Stay Onyx, applied with a brush) is preferable to a liquid ink pen – sometimes you want that dense, bright colour, but not now. Draw your wings with gentle precision, and remember that less is more. Cotton buds are your friend (and Alessandra Ambrosio’s).
3. Healthy blush
You might think it’s all about contouring and highlighting, but blusher – which is often overlooked – is just as important for structuring the face. Applied to the apples of the cheek (you don’t have to smile, as Devon Windsor proves) and swooshed up towards the temples (think of a shooting star), blush can lift the cheeks and grant an instant look of health.
4. Glowing skin
While we’ve got glowing skin down pat when it comes to the face (thanks to this handy how-to guide), we often neglect the skin on our body. While we might tend to have ours more covered than your average Victoria’s Secret Angel would, their body highlighting hacks are useful to note when doing a cold shoulder here or split leg there. Firstly, a light-reflecting body moisturiser can be applied (such as the Glossier Body Daily Perfecting Cream, followed by a sheer creamy highlighter such as the Marc Jacobs Glow Stick in Spotlight. Trace the collarbones, shoulders and high points of the limbs to gives the skin a mist-like radiance, while enhancing your natural shape.
From: Harper’s BAZAAR UK