If you’re wondering what on earth ‘cloud skin’ is, and why it’s trending, allow me to enlighten you.
In a juxtaposition to social media’s obsession with dewy, ‘glass skin’ for the last couple of years, ‘cloud skin’ advocates a soft, pillowy, almost airbrushed finish (essentially, a soft cloud-like look). You might be thinking this sounds somewhat familiar, and you’d be right – TikTok’s latest trend is none other than a re-hash of the previously popular soft-matte makeup look.
But before you dismiss the trend as another industry recycling project, there are some updates – mainly that the natural, so-called ‘clean’ look, is still very much at the forefront of the 2023 beauty aesthetic. Rather, ‘cloud skin’ can be thought of as the oily-skin friendly counterpart of the much loved ‘glass skin’ trend; to ensure a radiant, lush finish, skincare can be mixed with makeup.
Want to try the look for yourself? Here are some tips to make sure you get mistaken for the fluffiest cloud ever.
Ensure you start off with hydrated, glowing skin
The key to making sure you avoid your makeup looking cakey, or flaky (especially if you have dry skin) is to start off with moisturised, dewy skin. In fact, if you think you’re looking too shiny, that’s perfect – since you’ll be setting with powder, this’ll give you that lit-from-within finish we’re after.
To achieve this, you can mix your favourite illuminator with your moisturiser, or after using a dewy SPF (and SPF is a non-negotiable in this house!), use a pearlescent highlighter to target the high points of your face.
Use blurring primers strategically
This step is optional, but highly recommended. Using a blurring, typically silicone primer, can help with makeup longevity along with that all-important airbrushed effect.
Remember that a little goes a long way, and focus the primer on the centre of your face (nose, forehead, under-eyes) as well as any other finicky areas – I tend to get smile creases in my makeup almost immediately, so I always bring some residual primer further down my face.
A little secret tip – give yourself some time between when you apply your primer and subsequently, concealer. The silky texture of silicone primers can sometimes make your concealer ‘slide’ around instead of staying put. I recommend waiting a full five minutes if you can.
Setting spray before powder
I used to make this mistake all the time, and would find myself wondering why my makeup seemed to separate after powdering. It wasn’t until I watched this video by @roseandben on Instagram, that I learned what I was doing wrong – under the impression that setting spray would lock everything in, I had been using setting sprays as the final step in my routine.
Now, as Rose Siard kindly explains, adding a liquid on top of powder, can cause the powder particles to separate resulting in something that is reminiscent of a television static noise glitch.
Swirl, don’t bake
While the mainstream makeup consciousness has generally moved on from baking, when it comes to soft-matte looks, an easy mistake to make it to overdo it on the powder. That’s what I feel helps to really differentiate ‘cloud skin’ from traditional soft-matte makeup looks.
I personally find that putting an even, light layer of powder on a brush and swirling it around my face helps take out some of the shine, without going fully opaque. If I feel I need a little more, I can build up the opacity by repeating the steps (even layer and swirl).
In addition to swirling, you want to make sure you set the entirety of your face, not just the centre or under-eyes. Run the brush lightly over your contour, blush and high points – I like to then go in with a powder blush to bring back some of the vibrancy.
At the end of the day, makeup is supposed to be fun and there really is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way for makeup to look. Trends are something that come and go, and who knows, in a few years there might be another version of ‘cloud skin’. If you do try this trend, I’d love to know how you got on with these tips, and of course I’d love to know what your tips and tricks are for achieving ‘cloud skin’.
So what’s the verdict? Is ‘cloud skin’ something you’ll be trying – or are you completely over makeup trends and rehashes?
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