Issa Rae’s Makeup Artist Uses This Oil Under Foundation for a Natural Glow

Issa Rae’s skin is too perfect not to talk about, and her makeup artist, Joanna Simkin, is providing all the details on how she creates her iconic lit-from-within glow.

While Rae’s skin always looks gorgeous, her recent Coveteur shoot has everyone talking. Prepping the skin is arguably the most important part of this look, so Simkin chooses wisely. To start, Simkin uses Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid ($100). “Once I start prepping the skin, I usually reach for Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream. I love it; I just feel like it basically tightens your face up.” Next is Noorface Skinglass Bronze ($38), which she uses to illuminate the skin under foundation. “It comes in several shades and it’s an oil with a gold shimmer infused in the formula,” Simkin tells Coveteur. “I literally dab it onto the places on the highpoints of her face.”

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For a base, she mixes Shiseido Synchro Skin Self-Refreshing Foundation SPF 30 ($47) in 530 Henna and Dior Forever Matte Foundation SPF 35 ($52). “And then I’ll go in under the eye with Beautyblender’s Bounce Concealer ($26). It has a great shade range and it’ll give you really great coverage.” To bronze and contour, she uses Prime Beauty Bronzeville ($21) and Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Setting Powder ($32). “This powder’s formula is so finely milled, it almost feels moist. So, I do what I call a ‘fake bake’ where I pack the powder onto a wet beauty blender, place it under the eyes, and then I immediately wipe it away. I just want it to absorb the extra reflection from the wet products we used earlier, but I don’t want it to sit there because then it starts to look flat and dry, and that’s when you start getting flashbacks.” For an extra layer of dimesnsion, Simkin finishes off the base with Danessa Myricks Beauty Dew Wet Hydrating and Highlighting Balm ($22).

Keeping it super simple with the eyes, Simkin adds Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Eyeshadow Stick ($30) to the lids and adds a coat of the Milk Makeup Kush High Volumizing Mascara ($25). For the pout, it’s Mac Lip Pencil ($19) in a mauve-toned nude, Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Cream Color Drip Lip Cream ($19) in Universal Rose Nude and a layer of Pat McGrath Labs Lust: Gloss ($28).

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