2013 had us embracing our under-eye bags and even our uneven skin tone. And then the hilarious Harry Brant opened our eyes to “diet foundation'...

Covering Up

Oh Land: “I love my freckles, so I don’t ever want to cover them up. I’ve stopped using powder completely. I even like seeing different tones in the skin—I think it’s charming to have an imperfect canvas. I'll cover up redness around my nose and on my chin occasionally with MAC Mineralize Concealer, but wearing powder makes me feel a little like a doll.” [The Top Shelf: Oh Land]

Anna Schiffel: “I prefer to use tinted moisturizer— Clinique City Block Sheer—to even out my skin tone. I don’t like foundation, because it doesn’t look or feel good; foundation doesn’t look real. It’s not an advantage. You don’t see much makeup on French women, and I like that approach to beauty.” [The Top Shelf: Anna Schiffel, Stylist]

Victoire de Castellane: “I just put on some powder—during the day. Never foundation. Never. I don’t like it because it doesn’t feel fresh; it’s heavy on my skin. Also, I hate the idea of transforming myself with some product and suddenly, the day after, people don’t recognize you. [Laughs] I think that it’s also a way to keep your spirit young—not to cover things. I love compact powder. I buy mine at Monoprix [the grocery store]: Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Peach Glow.” [The Top Shelf: Victoire de Castellane, Jewelry Designer]

Molly Young: “Most foundations sit on top of the skin a minute or two before soaking in. This is at the root of my theory about why so many women are averse to foundation. It looks weird at first—you have to give it a minute! If you do not want to give it a minute, however, Koh Gen Do Moisture Foundation solves your problem. It takes beautifully to skin; your face will drink it up. This one is superior in many other ways, too: plentiful coverage with a dewy finish and very little scent. Plus, it comes in a little red tube, like oil paint. Fun.” [Foundation Week, Day 2: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly]

Harry Brant: “I just use Amore Pacific Tinted Moisturizer—oh my god, it’s amazing. The key is you have to apply it with one of these Beauty Blender sponges. I never would have used one in a million years—I thought it would completely defeat the purpose of using your hands to heat the product up—but now I bring one in my backpack. [Laughs] I have a North Face. It’s very Connecticut. All I do is wet the sponge slightly and add some of the tinted moisturizer, and dab it on. It covers up anything you want. It won’t do the same thing as concealer would, but it just makes you more...even-toned and luminous, I think. I love luminous. But that’s only for school when I’m not putting on makeup; otherwise, I would never go out in just that. But wait, is tinted moisturizer ‘makeup’? I actually don’t even know; I’m starting to realize that it’s just diet foundation.” [The Top Shelf: Harry Brant]

Laura Mercier: “I think what we could take as an overall message and the feeling of Laura Mercier is you can play, and play with bright colors, smoky eye, anything you want—but the skin must always remain authentic, somehow. Whether you put concealer, camouflage, powder, foundation, tinted moisturizer, whatever you want—all of it at the same time—it has to be done in a way that we can’t see it. If it’s done right, the right color, well-applied, there’s a sense of freshness, a sense of well-done, polished, beautiful. Not caked-on. And if we can see the pores and the skin, itself, even better. It’s about going in where you need to and getting to work on the face to enhance the face.” [The Professional: Laura Mercier]

Application

Andrea Mary Marshall: “I have a little trick that the facialist Ling Chan taught me for applying makeup versus applying moisturizer: if you think of the pores of your face like they’re shingles on a roof, when you’re applying moisturizer, you should move upward, to get the moisture up into the pores, but if you’re applying makeup, you should apply it with downward movements, so you don’t clog your pores. When I do get blemishes, aloe vera plants have been a lifesaver for me. I just cut a piece open and stick it on the blemish.” [The Top Shelf: Andrea Mary Marshall, Artist]

Wayne Goss: “Don’t move your face when you’re putting on makeup. For example, when you are applying blush, don’t smile, because once you stop, the apples of your cheeks will lower, and suddenly your blush will be hovering right over your mouth, instead of on the tops of your cheeks. That’s actually a theater makeup trick for giving a sagging-face effect. [Laughs]” [How To Wear Lower Eye Makeup]

On Glowing

Victoire de Castellane: “I like something that’s matte, always. I don’t feel good when my skin is shiny. When your skin is shiny, the lines in your face seem harsher. And with matte, you can be more bold with color. I think that matte is something very elegant.” [The Top Shelf: Victoire de Castellane, Jewelry Designer]

Azza Yousif: “I always use MAC Strobe Cream, which is a pearly cream you put on and it brings out the highlights and attracts light; it’s incredible. You put little drops wherever you want to highlight—and if you’re not wearing eyeshadow, you could put a little bit in the middle of your lid and then let it sink in and it just gives a tiny bit of shine. It makes you glow. If I’m going out and my shirt is open, I even put it on my collarbone.” [The Top Shelf: Azza Yousif, Fashion Editor, Vogue Hommes International]

Francelle Daly: “We did a new take on the summer glow called a ‘monochromatic techno glow,’ which translates into illuminated skin with holographic textures. We mixed Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer with the Illuminator in Copacobana to add a nice little glow. Then, we put The Multiple in Luxor on the high planes of the face—the nose, bow of the mouth, chin, and as a base on the eyelids from corner to corner, lash line to brow—to give an opalescent shimmer. Luxor works on every skin tone from very dark to very pale. I set the face for the runway with the Duo Eyeshadow in Iceland, to catch the light in a cool, cyber way.” [3.1 Phillip Lim Spring 2014]

Under Eyes

Azza Yousif: “I don’t wear foundation or concealer—I feel like that opens up a whole new window. I’d rather live with these bags than hide them. And I know that even if I did wear concealer, you can still see them, so I just don’t care about it.” [The Top Shelf: Azza Yousif, Fashion Editor, Vogue Hommes International]

Samira Nasr: “I never cover up my under-eyes. I was born with shadows under my eyes—you can even see them in my baby photos—and people are always telling me my mascara is running, but I’m just like, ‘No, those are just my under eyes.’ [Laughs] I really don’t care about them, and I think makeup there just looks like you have cake on your face.” [The Top Shelf: Samira Nasr]