From make-up must-haves to finishing touches, become a pro at the clean girl look
Their make-up is subtle but super flattering, with radiant just-woke-up-like-this skin. Their hair is slicked back into a pony or bun. Overall, they look put-together seemingly without trying. Meet: the clean girl.
If you’ve been anywhere near social media the past couple of years, you’ve probably heard of the clean girl aesthetic. Think a beauty routine that focuses on self-care, with light make-up that enhances your features. It’s taken social media by storm, and other clean girl-esque trends like no make-up make-up and glass skin have skyrocketed in popularity too. Plus, it’s loved by your fave celebrities and influencers alike, thanks to its nonchalant model-off-duty vibe.
Scroll on to discover our top tips and picks on how to achieve this look.
Our step-by-step guide to mastering the clean girl make-up look
Simple skincare
Achieving the clean girl’s glowy skin, and making it last all day, starts with the base – AKA, your skincare.
You don’t have to have an extensive skincare routine. In fact, sometimes this can make your skincare and make-up ‘pill’ (this is when your products start to come off your face in small granule-like clusters).
Instead, focus on a simple routine. Look for a hydrating moisturiser or serum to help your skin look radiant all day, an SPF to protect your face from the sun’s harmful rays and keep your make-up locked in place with your favourite primer.
Best for: A gorgeous glow
Try: LANEIGE Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream Moisturiser
• Size: 50ml
A Korean skincare staple, LANEIGE has been creating innovative skincare since the 90s, with a philosophy of making skincare easy. Their Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream Moisturiser can help create a gorgeous radiant-looking glow, the perfect base for your clean girl look.
Natural coverage
A big part of clean girl make-up is a natural-looking coverage. But how can you cover up blemishes and dark circles, without accidentally applying too much?
The trick is to apply your foundation or concealer in thin layers, and only apply it where you need coverage. Clean girl make-up is all about accentuating your features, so letting your natural skin shine through where you can is key.
You can also skip the base and head straight to concealer. Since clean girl make-up is natural-looking, focusing on only concealing blemishes can help accentuate your natural skin, while letting it breathe.
Best for: Colour correcting skin tones
Try: IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream
• SPF 50+
• 32ml
IT Cosmetics’ Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream leaves a full coverage yet natural finish while colour correcting redness and dark circles. Basically – it’s a make-up icon for a reason. Apply to the parts of your face that need extra coverage, or spot-conceal blemishes.
Best for: Coverage & radiance in one
Try: Estée Lauder Futurist Soft Touch Brightening Skincealer
• 6ml
The days of dark under-eyes are over. Estée Lauder’s Skincealer makes skin appear more hydrated, brighter and radiant, perfect for covering up any blemishes, redness or dark spots with a natural-looking finish. Plus, the formula contains skincare superstars vitamin C and hyaluronic acid.
Enhancing natural features
The biggest part of clean girl make-up is embracing and enhancing your natural features. We’re talking about defined brows plus subtle contour and highlight to accentuate your natural features.
Our picks?
Best for: Effortlessly defined brows
Try: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze Gel
• Size: 7ml
You’d be amazed by the power of combing your brows – it helps to frame the rest of your face, plus, it looks like you made that extra bit of effort, which clean girls love. Use a brow gel like Anastasia Beverly Hills’ iconic Brow Freeze Gel to brush your brow hairs in place, and try to angle the hairs slightly diagonally, so they’re leaning towards your temples. If you need to fill in any sparse spots, try a fine-lined pencil like the brand’s Brow Wiz.
Best for: Enhancing your bone structure
Try: NARS Laguna Ultimate Face Palette
• 7 shades
With shades perfect for eyeshadow, bronzing and highlighting, achieve a gorgeous sun-kissed sculpt with NARS’ Laguna Ultimate Face Palette. Try using the bronzer shades as eyeshadow to create a natural-looking contour that’ll compliment the rest of your face make-up, and the highlighter shade for a radiant glow across the high points of your face.
Give your lips & cheeks love
Blush and lips are like the icing on the cake when it comes to make-up. And, for clean girl make-up, keeping these lightweight and natural-looking is key.
Look for cheek and lip stains, which you can blend into the skin or lips by dabbing with your fingertips. If you’re not sure how much to use, use less than necessary and build up. Reach for a lip balm with a tint, so they can moisturise your lips while adding a cute pop of colour – skincare and make-up in one is a clean girl’s dream!
Best for: A gorgeous rosy glow
Try: Benefit Benetint Rose-Tinted Lip and Cheek Stain
• Size: 6ml
A make-up icon, Benefit’s Benetint can be used on the cheeks and lips for a gorgeous rosy glow that’ll flatter your skin tone. The precise applicator is fab for adding to both the lips and cheeks, making your routine simple with stunning results.
Best for: Enhancing your lips
Try: Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey
• Also available in a soft pink (Pink Honey)
Clinique’s Black Honey is a cult classic for a reason. In between a lipstick and lip balm, Black Honey changes its shade slightly to suit your natural lip colour. It gorgeously enhances your natural lips while leaving a subtle gloss – your lips look like your own, but better. Why not double up and apply a clear lip oil on top, for a gorgeous gloss that your lips will love?
Adding the final flourish
The clean girl aesthetic is all about adding those subtle final touches to bring your entire look together. It’s about those little details that people might not notice – but they’ll think you look effortlessly put-together.
Best for: Locking in your make-up
Try: The Beauty Crop Oui Cherie Dual-Phase Setting Mist
• Size: 100ml
Keep your make-up in place all day while leaving a dewy glow with The Beauty Crop’s Setting Mist. With a lightweight formula, this spray is perfect to spritz over your face just after applying your make-up, to set it in place – or, for refreshing your look throughout the day. Plus, this pairs perfectly with The Beauty Crop’s viral Oui Cherie Hydrating Gripping Primer.
Best for: The clean girl up-do
Try: Briogeo S&T Sleek Stick
• Size: 15g
Clean girls love their slick-back styles, and Briogeo’s Sleek Stick is perfect for keeping your hair slicked back into place. Apply the Sleek Stick to the top half of your head, and use a comb or styling brush to brush out any knots or bumps, before securing into a tight ponytail with a hair bobble. For a bun, twist the ponytail and wrap it around the base, tying another bobble over the bun to keep in place.
Best for: A clean girl scent
Try: LOVENOTES by Ariana Grande in Vanilla Suede
• Size: 125ml
Ari’s done it again – and this time, she’s created the perfect clean girl scent. Exclusive to the UK, LOVENOTES in Vanilla Suede is sweet yet sensual, with notes of Italian bergamot, creamy sandalwood and vanilla. After all, fragrance is the final finishing touch to any look, and someone as effortlessly put-together as the clean girl would never go without.
Now that you’ve discovered our clean girl essentials, why not get an exclusive sneak peek at our latest beauty launches? Or, get the low-down on the latest beauty trends and tips.
