A Make-Up Artist’s Guide To Achieving ‘Minimal Glamour’

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“I’m not trying to change people’s faces, I’m just trying to make them look like the best versions of themselves,” explains Nikki DeRoest, whose clients include the glowing likes of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Hailey Baldwin.

The LA-based make-up artist’s signature is ‘minimal glamour’; think simple but polished-looking beauty. “I like to get from A to B in the simplest way I can with an element of glamour,” she tells us. “It’s effortless, but you still look put together. Really chic and healthy.” It sounds, and looks (via her Instagram), like the beauty holy grail – and here the bareMinerals ambassador schools us in the secrets of it.

Back to base-ics: Glowing skin

“A glowing skin look starts with your skincare regimen. Then anything else you do is going to emphasise that. Firstly, exfoliating is really important. It’s a forgotten about step in skincare, whether that’s with a physical or chemical exfoliator (scrub or pad). Then prep with the right serums and moisturisers or oils for your skin type. If your skin’s not prepped properly, you could use the most beautiful finish foundation you’ve ever seen, but it won’t look good if the skin is dry and flaky, or dehydrated. Sometimes people look over this because they want to go straight to the make-up. If this sounds familiar and you see dryness, take your base off and redo your skincare. You might need to exfoliate to slough off the dead skin.”

Nailing natural contour

“For a very natural look, put your contour on prior to foundation. So, do a bit of a contour then apply a light-to-medium base on top (like the bareMinerals Complexion Rescue), then it will show though. Alternatively, natural contouring is a lot about how you’re applying it – really blending and buffing until you look at yourself in the mirror and see definition without seeing the make-up. In terms of formulations, if I’m using a powder foundation I’d use a powder contour product, because I feel like the formulas marry well, but if I’m using a cream base I’d use a cream contour product. A cool tip is to use the new Complexion Rescue Foundation Stick which is coming out this March, for your base and contour – if you choose one three shades darker than the other. The formulas together lead to a very natural contour. I did this on Hailey Baldwin for a campaign recently.”

The textured brows technique

“The secret to textured brows that aren’t too heavy, is using a really good brow gel and backcombing your eyebrows when applying it. Personally I have full enough eyebrows that I don’t have to fill them in, but for texture I apply my brow gel (holding the wand) the opposite way that the hairs lay. That starts pushing them up for texture, and then I gently lay them back down by going the other way. If you fill your brows in, do that first just where needed. You always want to go ashier than you think with brow products; eyebrows look the most natural when they’re ashy. It depends on the person, but if you’ve already filled in some areas to get depth, you typically don’t want to darken them with a gel on top as well, so in this case I would use a clear gel. But if you have a naturally full eyebrow use a soft shade in your brow gel to give depth but so it’s not too weighty or heavy looking.”

Achieving your-lips-but-better

“In my eyes I think ‘nude’ is just a little bit of a play off from your natural lip colour. To find your right nude you really do have to try on. Even with me I can have a friend and swatch something on my hand and think it’s a good nude for them, but on the lips it looks weird. So it’s trial and error, and then once you find one that works you can visualise your tone. Always go a little bit darker than your natural lip colour, because when it’s lighter it’s a very dated look. It looks ‘60s or Kardashian – which is a look, but not a very natural one…”

The monochromatic make-up trend

“I like multi-tasking and right now I’m really into using lip product for eyes and doing a beautiful monochromatic look. With a lot of brands I’d be hesitant to put a lip product on the eye – I don’t know what that’s going to do – but I feel safe using the new bareMinerals barePro lipsticks on the eyes because they have a clean, vegan formula. I like to use them diffused on the lips for that lived-in lip look, and as a velvety blusher and eye shadow. Pinks are often misunderstood on eyes, it’s really quite beautiful.”

The importance of inside-out beauty

“I absolutely believe in an inside-out approach to beauty. I think it’s probably why in my 30s I feel better than ever. I’m a big water drinker, I monitor that to make sure I have a specific amount that works for my body a day. I don’t want to say I choose sleep over fun, but I’m definitely particular about sleep and whether missing it is worth it! I feel my best when I sleep well. I use exercise as a mental release, a physical release, a creative outlet – and any aesthetic results are a bonus, but that’s not why I do it. I also think a great sweat is good for detoxing and for your skin and body.”

From: Harper’s BAZAAR UK