What is Nude Makeup? Characteristics and Uses

Nude makeup is a trend that has been in our society for a few years and it is that, for some time, the ornate and artificial-looking makeup styles have been left behind, to make way for more softened and natural-looking techniques, as is the case with nude makeup.

This style of makeup will favor most types of face and skin color, in addition to leaving a person’s features visible.

In this article we are going to see what nude makeup is, what products are used in this technique, how to do it step by step, and what its characteristics are.

What is nude makeup?

Nude makeup is a makeup technique that gives the face a clean appearance in which it is not noticeable that there is makeup. That is, it seeks to offer an image of a freshly washed face.

But we also understand by nude makeup, those colors that are similar to the color of the skin, so that, when applying them, it is not appreciated that there is makeup.

Therefore, we can imagine that nude-style makeup, also called a washed-out face, is going to have to be done entirely with nude colors.

Advantages of nude makeup

Nude makeup offers a series of advantages, which have made it so popular in recent years, becoming a trend for famous personalities and celebrities.

These advantages are the following:

• Nude makeup offers a natural, clean and uncluttered look. This is its main advantage, since we are going to wear makeup, without it appearing that we are wearing makeup.
• It offers an appearance of the face without makeup, but minimizes and eliminates imperfections such as spots, small wrinkles, pimples… in a way that allows the characteristics of each person to be exposed and natural, while hiding those imperfections that we have mentioned.
• It is not necessary to apply a large amount of cosmetics, since you are going to use the minimum, and with the minimum number of shades.
• It is a type of makeup that looks good on the vast majority of women.
• Since nude makeup is very discreet, it goes perfectly with almost any style of clothing.
• This makeup is valid for women of all ages.

Disadvantages of nude makeup

The disadvantages of nude makeup are not going to be as limiting as it is with other makeup styles, since it is a very simple and subtle form of makeup.

Among these disadvantages are the following:

• Nude makeup is too simple for depending on what occasions. For example, for events such as company dinners, weddings or graduations.
• On faces with many imperfections, it may not be enough to hide all of them, since too much concealer or a very dense foundation should be applied, losing that sought-after natural appearance.

How to do nude makeup

We are going to see the steps to follow to be able to do nude makeup, and thus be able to show off our face in all its splendor, never better said, thanks to the characteristics of this style of makeup.

1: Apply the foundation

The first step for nude makeup is to apply the base that offers the effect that we like the most, although the most recommended is a matte base.

We must keep in mind that, in order for the skin to show a clean face appearance, the base that we are going to use must be very light, trying to unify our skin tone.

To do this, we must choose the color most similar to our skin.

When applying it, we will do it with our fingers or with the help of a sponge, thus achieving a more natural appearance; and always from the center to the ends of the face.

In the event that there are some very visible imperfections, a concealer can be used very occasionally before applying the foundation.

2: Correct dark circles and blemishes

As we have said, in nude makeup we can use a concealer, in a very specific way, to correct imperfections that are highly visible, and also to hide dark circles.

Typically, the concealer tone is one lower than the skin tone, since then, when mixed with the foundation, it will end up having a similar tone to the skin.

We must also take into account the color of the imperfection that we are going to try to correct, taking into account the following:

• We will use a green tone concealer for red color imperfections.
• We will use a yellow concealer for purple and blue blemishes.
• We will use an orange concealer on dark spots.

3: Apply the highlighter

In nude makeup, if we wish, we can apply illuminator in some areas of the face.

In order for the effect to be as natural as possible, we must choose an illuminator in cream format, instead of in powder format.

Applying an illuminator is what will allow us, within nude makeup, to highlight certain areas and shapes of the face.

A point where we can apply the illuminator is in the tear duct, thus highlighting our eyes.

4: Apply a blush

Exceptionally we can apply a blush, or color on the cheeks, to give a more natural and youthful appearance to the face.

In this case, we will only apply the blush if it is strictly necessary, since in nude makeup we must try to use as few cosmetics as possible, and with the most discreet tones that are similar to our skin.

These tones will be pink or toasted, depending on the tone of our skin. The pink ones for lighter skins, and the toasted ones for darker skins.

5: The eyeshadow

In this case, we are talking about another optional step. The eye shadow seeks to unify the tone of the eyelids.

If we are going to apply eye shadow, we must choose nude tones, avoiding strident or very striking colors.

In the case of eyeliner, in nude makeup it is preferable to avoid it.

6: The mascara

In nude makeup, using a mascara with an elongating effect is going to be the best option to give our eyes more prominence, but in a subtle way.

It is going to be important that it is not a very dense mascara, so that it does not leave lumps and, with it, it ends up making the nude ensemble that we are trying to achieve ugly.

7: Define the eyebrows

In nude makeup, everything is of great importance, and the eyebrows are not going to be less.

In those people who have quite thick and dense eyebrows, a little eyebrow gel can be applied, thus ensuring that they remain fixed, avoiding a careless or messy appearance.

In the case of people in whom the shape and growth of the eyebrows is irregular, a thin-tipped eyebrow pencil can be used. This way you can make finer strokes to fill in the gaps and shape our eyebrows.

8: Touch up the lips

Lips are an important point in nude style makeup.

Here we must take into account that the aspect we are looking for is that of a natural face, so we are going to avoid strong, marked or extravagant colors.

The best option will always be to use a moisturizing balm, which gives a little shine to the lips, revealing its color.

If this is not enough, we will use a lipstick or lipstick in nude tones, which are similar to those of the lips, and which also has a matte finish.

With these 8 steps we will have already obtained a very successful nude look, showing off a youthful and natural face, and without having to resort to 1000 cosmetic products.

Things to take note of in nude makeup

One aspect to take into account in order to use nude colors correctly is to differentiate which tone will be appropriate for each person.

In the field of makeup, people are classified according to scales taken from colorimetry, and that use the seasons of the year.

Thus, depending on the color of the hair, eyes and skin tone, any professional make-up artist should know how to pigeonhole each person in a station, to choose the proper shades for each face and apply them properly.

These characteristics are the following:

Spring: it is a warm season, but with pleasant temperatures. It includes people with fair or peachy skin, green or gray eyes, and blonde hair with golden undertones.

They may have rosy cheeks. The tones that favor these people are camel and coral.

Summer: this is a season marked by high temperatures. People who are part of the summer season have fair skin and an even tone, approaching pink and peach undertones.

His hair is part of the range of blondes that go from the lightest tones to dark ash. The eyes are light, from shades of blue to green and even hazel.

People of this season are favored by using soft colors of pink or bluish tone.

Fall: People who are in the fall season have warm colored skin, with yellow, peach and beige undertones.

Hair is dark brown, copper, or red, but also includes very golden and dark blondes. They encompass the entire range of coppers and warm colors.

The eyes are dark brown, caramel, deep green, or sky blue.

These people are favored by brown tones and ocher tones.

Winter: People of the winter season have white, beige or pink faces, but they can also be people with very dark skin tones, almost black.

The hair of these people is of dark colors, from deep black to strong brown.

The eyes are also black, dark brown, also appearing intense blue.

The tones that favor them are white and dark tones, consistent with these skin colors.

The nude makeup style is one of the trends today, and that is why every professional makeup artist must learn its characteristics and implementation.

Read Also: The 7 Best Foundations For Oily Skin

As we have already commented throughout this article, it is going to be important to choose the right tone for each skin, since this is going to be what determines the fact that nude makeup is noticeable, or not, since what matters is the latter.