There are makeup looks, and then there are makeup looks. I haven’t been wearing much of anything since the pandemic started, but the new year is giving me an excuse to get back in the game, even though it’s proving to be harder than expected. So I delved into my inspo folder and tapped five beauty enthusiasts to help inspire my 2021 beauty aesthetic. What’d we land on? Something glowy and fabulous because that’s the only kind of energy I’m looking for this year.
Keep scrolling to learn how to create five glowy makeup looks with products from Walmart that’ll carry you through the winter and beyond.
“A really great skincare routine reigns supreme for getting a true, believable glow, so I always combine a little bit of vitamin C serum with a light-weight, oil-free moisturizer before I start in with my foundation. This one from Derma E is dreamy, and has both vitamin C, which brightens skin, and hyaluronic acid, which is a magnet for moisture. It makes skin feel and appear more hydrated, plump, and healthy. Next, I’ve been loving Physicians Formula Organic Wear Foundation for a little bit of coverage. It has a lightweight, serum-like consistency and is surprisingly buildable, depending on how much coverage you want. I’m also obsessed with Black Opal’s Foundation Sticks. They’re SO good, and the coverage is so seamless and easy to blend. In fact, I’m so obsessed with the formula, I’ve started using a darker shade as a contour/bronzer situation. It looks so much more natural and radiant than a powder. “I’m pretty much over huge eye shadow palettes. I’ve been gravitating toward easy-to-use quads like this natural one from Antonym. I used the lightest matte shade all over my lid as a base, and then I worked the shimmering light pink and copper hues into my crease and outer corners. To finish, I swept a flat eyeliner brush through the matte-black shade for a flick of a cat eye. It’s not as pigmented as it would be if I wet the brush or used a liquid liner, but I prefer it for daytime. I love RMS Beauty’s Lip2Cheek creamy blush as a multitasking lip and cheek enhancer, and I definitely prefer it to powders when I want a lit-from-within glow. I just use my fingertips to dab and blend it onto the tops of my cheekbones. Last but not least, GLOSS! I never used to wear lip gloss, but it’s all I’ve been wanting to apply since quarantine started. Lipstick just feels like too much right now, so a sparkling, pigmented gloss is just the ticket for a minimalist look that still adds a little pop of shine and color.”
“Having glowy skin is easy when you have great makeup products! For my base, I used Physicians Formula Organic Wear Silk Foundation Elixir with jojoba oil. I love how lightweight, easy to blend, and smooth this foundation is. I really wanted my eyes to be soft, so I used the Lip Bar Fair-y Princess Eye Shadow Palette because it has such pretty neutral and shimmery shades. For rosy cheeks, I used Burt’s Bees Blush, because it really is the perfect shade to give a subtle flush. I wanted my lips to look glowy too, so I went with the Almay Oil-in-Stick Lipstick in Dulce de Leche. It’s light and creamy and keeps my lips moisturized, which is always a plus.”
“I live for approachable, minimal beauty looks, and it’s a bonus when the beauty essentials used for the look are from Black-owned beauty brands. As someone who defines her makeup routine as minimal (i.e., I wear a little highlighter, gloss, and some nail polish), I wanted to create a bronzed, top-to-bottom brown look that added a little sparkle to my day-to-day routine. I’ve always used and loved Black Opal’s Foundation Stick for contouring and its sunrise glow stick for highlighting my features. “I typically shy away from doing too much as far as eye shadow because maintaining my curly hair can be time-consuming, but being that Doux’s Mousse Def Texture Foam cut down my hair routine, I’ve found it easier to begin to explore doing a nude, smokey eye. I loved using Antonym’s Certified Natural Quattro Noisette eye shadow palette because the shades are perfect for almost any skin tone but there isn’t an overwhelming amount of colors for minimal makeup users. I just used the darkest hue and two others to create a bronzed eye look. And because it was so easy to create this look, I had extra time to paint on a few layers of Habit’s Nail Polish in Ingenue. The result was a reboot of my everyday beauty routine that left me glowing.”
“I started off this glowy look with a base that has tons of hydration. I used the Alaffia Coconut Face Cream to hydrate my skin before adding my PUR 4-in-1 Tinted Moisturizer on top, which has the prettiest, most natural-looking finish. But a liquid or cream blush is the key to glowing cheeks, and I mixed two to get some glow and sheen. I started out with NARS Liquid Blush in Luster then added a bit of the Peony Pink Julep Blush Stick to the apples of my cheeks for a pop. The result? A nice healthy flush. I also used the blush stick as my lip color to tie it in with my cheeks and give my lips a glow, which makes them look plumper. To warm up my eyes, I used the Luna Palette, which is full of great shades, and blended the Mamacita and Bebe shades into the crease then added Plata to the lid to add a pop of shimmer so that every time I blink the light catches it. I finished off my eyes with some faux lashes to give them a whispy soft look.”
“For this look, I wanted to focus on healthy-looking skin with bold lips and eyes. I love how buildable the L’Oréal Infallible Foundation is but keeps my skin looking (and feeling) like skin. I used the E.l.f. Camo Concealer under my eyes to help brighten things up. It’s comparable to some of my high-end faves for it’s creamy, buildable formula. It also comes in a nice shade range, which is always a plus. I felt like I needed a hint of color, so I applied some of the Cargo Blush in Bali to the apples of my cheeks, working my way up to add just the right amount of flush. I always set my face makeup, and this time I used the E.l.f. Setting Powder, which added a nice blurring effect. For the eyes, I really wanted to keep my shadow soft and focus on the liner. The Stila Eyeliner was one of the first I ever used. It’s really black and has a great tip, making application precise. The lips are the focus of this look, and this Lip Bar Matte Lipstick is amazing. It’s so comfortable for a matte formula and really lasts all day.”
