TRENDING: Cloud Skin Is the Goal This Winter Season

While bold, high impact makeup is still in, the more subdued “Cloud skin” matte yet softly luminous lit-from-within look is picking up steam in a big way this winter — and is super easy to achieve at home for Valentine’s Day dates, girls’ nights out, or even Zoom calls!

Mirabella's in-house make-up artist Sam Kyle offers advice on how to nail the “Cloud Skin” look with the brand's professional-grade, mineral-based products.

Kyle defines cloud skin as “the term used to describe a makeup technique that is rooted in light-touch, diffused, and soft-focus textures that give the skin a naturally filtered, almost airbrushed effect.”

“Originally coming to popularity in 2021 during the pandemic days of non-stop Zoom calls and virtual interactions where overly dewy or glassy skin would create a less-than-flattering on-camera effect, the cloud skin makeup technique creates dimensionality. Think of the classic, ethereal elegance of an 18th-century Rococo painting's hazy perfection, or if you're more literal, the sun beaming through a cloud-covered sky.”  

— Sam Kyle, Make-up Artist, Mirabella

Achieve the Look

Step 1: Moisturize + Boost Radiance 

“With so many top trending 2023 makeup looks featuring a heavy, highlighter-centric shimmery shine, it feels so refreshing to revisit a simplistic, chic, and understated makeup technique like Cloud Skin.”

Kyle notes that “This look is all about the natural glow rather than an ultra-glassy shine and involves a strategic mix of skincare and makeup products to achieve that 'lit-from-within' look.” 

“To get the cloud skin look, start with prepping the skin with an ultra-hydrating moisturizer, like Mirabella's 24/7 Intense Formula Day to Night Moisturizer.” Kyle loves this powerhouse collagen-rich day-to-night cream for its ability to make the skin feel tighter, strengthen the skin's natural moisture barrier, and eliminate signs of aging and dark spots, thanks to ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid, Reishi Mushroom, Tranexamic Acid, and Niacinamide.

“I like to blend a few glow drops into my moisturizer before applying to give skin a subtle boost of dewy radiance.” She loves the concentrated liquid shimmery Pink Glow Drops from Mirabella’s Illuminizing Makeup Set. “The coverage and finish feel lighter, more natural, and luminous with Glow Drops. Allow your skincare to sink in for a minute or so to give your skin a super smooth appearance before applying makeup.”

Step 2: Apply Foundation + Powder

“I like to opt for a CC cream, like Mirabella's Defense CC Creme to create a lightweight foundation coverage that not only protects your skin from sun-damage with a natural SPF 20, but also beautifies, balances, and brightens the skin in seconds.”  

Available in four shades, the Defense CC Creme uses Salicylic Acid to control oil and leave a diffused finish, while Bamboo and Lavender soothe; Avocado oil and Vitamin E moisturize; and Rosemary and Cabbage Rose extracts protect and prettify.

For more coverage, use Mirabella’s Invincible for All Full-Coverage Anti-Aging HD Foundation, available in 24 shades with ingredients like Matrixyl 3000 (to aid in collagen production) and Hyaluronic Acid and Glycerin to lock in moisture.

Pro tip: To nail this trend, when applying the foundation, start in the center of the face and blend out with a patting/pressing technique using a blender sponge or brush. Follow foundation application by working a pressed powder shade in your skin tone into the hollows of your cheeks, nose, chin, and around the top of your forehead with a blender sponge to start building dimension without the harshness of a true "contour.” 

Kyle recommends Mirabella’s Invincible For All Pure Press, a talc-free, triple-milled, mineral-based powder formulated with Hyaluronic Acid for buildable, matte coverage — available in 14 shades.

Step 3: Diffuse the Look with Translucent Powder

“Now, to create that true 18^th century painting blurred perfection, use a fluffy kabuki or powder brush to lightly dust a translucent setting powder, like Mirabella's Perfecting Powder over the nose, hairline, across the jawline, chin and center of the forehead.”  This translucent silica loose setting powder increases foundation wear while perfecting the appearance of the skin thanks to skin-loving ingredients like peptides, Vitamins A and E, and Glycerin.

Step 4: Finish the Look with Color

“A little blush & highlighter are needed to finalize this look.” “For a little color, opt for a cream blush that can be applied incredibly lightly and blended out to a nearly sheer finish.” Kyle uses the Spellbound or Opulent Pro Face Trios which deliver long-wearing, lightweight, and buildable pigment to achieve a flush of color. Vitamin E and hydrating ingredients prevent moisture loss and restore skin suppleness. 

“Finally, use a dewy highlighter, like the golden cream shade Luminary from Mirabella's sculpting palette Megastar Pro Face Trio, and apply to the tops of cheeks. Cloud skin activated.”

Mirabella is available on Amazon, JCPenney Beauty, and ShareASale/Skimlinks. Visit www.mirabellabeauty.com for more information.