How to recreate the TikTok clean makeup trend like Red Velvet’s Irene

Besides picking a primer that suits your skin type and needs (e.g. pore-filling for textured skin, hydrating for dry skin, etc), start your base makeup with a sunscreen that doubles up as a colour-corrector.

When you apply a tinted sunscreen, you’ll need less coverage and hence wear less foundation.  This can prevent your makeup from looking cakey.

Use: Sunplay Skin Aqua Tone Up UV Essence SPF 50 PA++++, $27.90. It has a purple tint to brighten dull skin while pearl powders impart a glow.

Foundation goes on next after your skin is primed. A dense foundation brush is useful for those who want to achieve fuller coverage while a fluffy brush or a beauty sponge creates a more natural finish.

Use: Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation, $104. The long-wearing, buildable foundation offers a sheer to medium coverage and is available in 36 shades. Vita-Serum Complex moisturises the skin and combats wrinkles while Diamond Core Powder Technology blurs and smooths imperfections.

Need more coverage? Instead of packing on more foundation, use a concealer instead to go over areas that need more coverage.

Use: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Light Capturing Self-Setting Concealer, $50. The lightweight formula spreads easily either with fingers or a brush/sponge to impart a natural finish. The concealer also promises 12-hour long, crease-free wear.

Instead of setting your face with powder, go in with cream blush to complement the glowing base you’ve created.

To recreate Irene’s rosy cheeks, focus the blush on the apples of the cheeks and lightly sweep it towards the temples to gently sculpt the face.

Use: Rare Beauty Stay Vulnerable Melting Blush, $34. It is available in five shades and has a lightweight yet water-resistant formula that blends into the skin for a dreamy wash of colour.

Irene doesn’t really sculpt her face with bronzer. But if you want to contour for that v-shaped visage, we recommend using a cream bronzer for a more natural look.

Use: Huda Beauty Tantour Contour & Bronzer Cream, $48. It has a cream-to-powder formula that is both sweat- and water-resistant.

This bronzer is pigmented so start with a small amount first and slowly build up to the desired intensity with an angled brush.

To further amp up that lit-from-within glow, follow up with a liquid highlighter. This goes on the high planes of your face (your cheekbones, nose bridge, forehead and cupid’s bow). Stipple the edges with your foundation brush to blur out any harsh lines.

Use: Fenty Beauty Liquid Killawatt Fluid Freestyle Highlighter, $40. Available in five shades, the liquid highlighter is made with superfine shimmer particles that can be built from a sheer veil of colour to blinding highlight. The lightweight formula sets quickly and is transfer-resistant.

Dust setting powder only on areas that get oily to retain the juicy glow you’ve created.

Use: Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder, $76. The finely-milled powder contains light-reflecting particles to blur imperfections and extend the wear of makeup without causing any flashback.

Instead of using eyeshadow, add warmth to your eyelids by tapping on some cream blush. Then, create a tiny, cat-eye flick with black or brown eyeliner.

Use: deJavu Lasting Fine Brush Liquid Eyeliner Black Brown, $19. This eyeliner pen has a 0.1mm fine brush tip that dispenses an ink that is sweat-, tears- and rub-resistant. Bonus: It can be removed easily with warm water.

Always curl your lashes first before mascara to add length and volume.

Use: Browit Professional Duo Mascara Sexy Black, $15.90. It’s dual-ended with one wand for the top lashes and a smaller wand for the bottom lashes. It is also sweat- and waterproof.

The clean makeup trend calls for full, fluffy brows that don’t look too made up. Use a brow pencil to fill in any gaps. Go over your arches with a tinted brow gel to add volume and hold.

Use: Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow+ Brow-Volumizing Gel, $44. The brow gel  fills in brows with microfibres while keeping them in place.

No makeup look is complete without lipstick. Pick a shade that is close to and accentuates your natural lip colour. Or if you want to follow Irene’s lead, pick a pinkish coral lippy.

Use: Peripera Ink Velvet #5 Coralfical, $15.90. This long-wearing lip tint has a whipped cream texture that smooths out lip wrinkles and fine lines. It can be worn alone (in the centre of your lips) for a gradient lip effect or layered for a pigment punch.

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