By Nita J., Virginia, Makeup Artist

Nita J is a strong advocate that true beauty lives in each and every individual. To her, makeup just enhances beauty and should never be used to mask the beauty that a person was born with. With her knowledge of makeup, cosmetic brands, marketing and the beauty industry, Nita J hopes to contribute as much as she can and instill in the minds of others that confidence and true beauty is soul-deep. You can check out her portfolio and her blog!

Transform Your Glow by Mixing Illuminators with Foundation

No matter what time of year it is, I find that most clients always want to accomplish a natural “glow” with their look. I personally have always liked a nice healthy, glowing complexion when doing my makeup on a daily basis, so I love trying out new products that would be me achieve this. An awesome tip that I tried once, fell in love with and kept it within my normal routine, is mixing a good illuminating product with foundation.

When you think of “glow,” most would reach into their beauty bag for a bronzer, which is perfectly fine. I tend to use an illuminating lotion rather than a bronzer because, for one, it blends into your foundation for a more seamless glow, and two, it looks more natural and tends to look a little more radiant.
When choosing and illuminating products, it’s best to use something that is sheerer (so that it doesn’t alter the color of your foundation), light, and doesn’t have a ton of shimmer, to give a more natural effect.

Think about it; when you “glow” naturally, your skin doesn’t produce large particles of glitter, right? Something with just a hint of shimmer will do the trick. There are many products out there that would help with this trick, but after trying numerous products, there are two in particular that I just love and can’t get enough of:

Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion ($26.00) comes in three shades: Diffuse, which gives off a nice pearly effect, Flash, which has a hint of soft pink, and Glow, which is a soft, golden bronze. These are all great shades because of the lightweight feel and consistency of the lotion.  They also do not change the color of your foundation. I have found that “Flash” works on many of my clients, no matter their skin tone, and I reach for it all the time. All you need is just one to two pumps of the product and you get an awesome glow. I like to mix the lotion with foundation before applying to the face. This is definitely something that I keep in my personal kit as well as my professional kit.

This is another great product that will beautifully transform your foundation and give you a subtle glow, but make a great statement. This NARS Illuminator ($29.00) comes in four shades; a soft pearl shade called Copacabana, Laguna, which is a soft brown with golden shimmer, the best-seller, Orgasm, which is a peachy-pink lotion with a little shimmer, and Super Orgasm, also peachy-pink but with more of a golden, shimmery finish. All of these are great, but I have discovered that Copacabana and Orgasm looks amazing on just about anyone I apply it to. Just a very small amount of this product is needed to achieve a beautiful glow. Again, mix with foundation before applying to the face for maximum results!

With all of the illuminating products out there, what are some that you have tried and fell in love with? I’d love to know!