The "island girl makeup" look seeks to recreate the glowing, sunkissed complexion of island life. Photo: AFP
It is not often that everyone goes on vacation, let alone to the beach. But that doesn't mean you can't emulate the various benefits of this kind of lifestyle, say social network users.
As in previous years with the "tomato girl", "strawberry makeup" and "fruit makeup" looks, social media users are on a mission to recreate that coveted sunkissed look with makeup.
And the idea is to keep it as natural looking as possible (– or as much as you can, given that it's all created with makeup.
This means avoiding the caked-on effect, and relying on techniques that embellish the skin rather than conceal imperfections. Similarly, the focus should be on lightweight product textures.
That's precisely the name of the game with the "island girl makeup" look, which aims to recreate the beauty aesthetic of those who live all year round on an island (– and therefore presumably in the sun (– or, at the very least, who go there on vacation.
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As you'd expect, the result is a subtly golden complexion, with a pinkish tinge to the cheekbones and bridge of the nose for a slight sunburn effect (make sure you apply sunscreen to your face to avoid this inconvenience in real life).
This beauty look is designed to make your skin glow, whether or not you're going on vacation.
For several weeks now, the trend has been spreading rapidly on the Chinese social network TikTok, to the point of generating no less than 10.5 million posts to date.
As you'd expect, there are all manner of tutorials on how to recreate this makeup look, which is fast becoming this season's key aesthetic.
As is often the case, the techniques used are many and varied, but in all cases, the aim is to give yourself that luminous, radiant look you get from spending time in the sun.
Before starting on the makeup, it's essential to prepare your skin. As well as cleansing the skin and applying a serum as required, it needs to be deeply nourished with a day cream, if possible one with an SPF to protect against the sun's harmful rays.
Once this first step is complete, conceal any redness with a concealer, but only in small touches to preserve the natural effect, then work on the complexion with bronzing powder and blush – the centrepiece of this beauty look.
A touch of mascara and lip gloss finishes off this look beautifully.
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Sidelined for many years, blush has made a remarkable comeback since the world emerged from the Covid-19 lockdowns, prized for its ability to deliver a healthy glow without excess product.
This comeback has given rise to a multitude of techniques to experiment with in order to recreate the "island girl makeup" look, such as "douyin blush", which involves applying blush in a "V" shape in strategic zones, "glazed blush", using cream blush and highlighter, and "sunset blush", which involves applying blush in a gradient of colours.
And these are just a few of the tricks you can use to achieve the radiant glow so coveted right now. – AFP Relaxnews
