Demystifying Makeup Techniques - Dewy vs Matte vs Natural - Part 1
I’ve heard more than one women say, “Today it’s dewy, yesterday it was matte. I have no idea about makeup, that’s why I don’t wear it!” Today I wanted to take a little time and unpack the dewy vs. natural vs. matte situation.
What exactly does it mean?
Dewy, natural, and matte are ways to describe your makeup’s finished texture..
Dewy Skin Look
Dewy -Think a face that glistens but isn’t greasy. A healthy hint of hydration, but not enough to look sweaty. It’s the dewy look that had all of Instagram a’twitter (pun intended) because it pairs very well with the super highlighted cheekbone craze. Even without the Tin-man level highlighting, dewy makeup gives a nod to beautiful, young, skin in summer. In formal situations dewy skin can lend some drama.
Who Can Wear it?
A dewy finish is for everyone, however with darker skin tones it’s easy to cross the line between dewy and greasy-looking. To avoid over “dewing” it ( see what I did there) keep areas like the chin, nose, and forehead more of a natural finish than full on dewy.
Matte -Think a bit more refined. With this texture your color choices for your features is what would add drama, not the texture itself. This is a texture that is more pulled together, no glisten, no shimmer, no shine. The word, “velvety” is what comes to mind. When you look at a matte finish you see the total opposite of dewy. Extreme matte can appear and feel too dry; the perfect matte is visually soft.
This is as matte as I get!
Though this makeup leans toward bold, this base (foundation) texture is very natural.
Who Can Wear It?
A true matte finish is perfect for younger, oily skin. It can be tricky for more mature skin or skin with fine lines and wrinkles, as this finish could cause makeup to accentuate these areas.
Natural - A natural finish will look like your skin, only better. If the color is matched properly, a natural textured look will not look like you have makeup on. Think of your face bare. With bare skin does the light catch your face? It does, but does it do so in highly textured, stand out, way? No, it doesn’t. No Tin-man shiny metal, or glistening. No velvety finish. Just pure, regular skin texture. When done correctly a natural textured makeup application will look healthy and hydrated, with imperfections minimized.
Who Can Wear It?
Every one can wear a natural texture with no worries. It’s a great place to start with young women just getting into makeup as well as being ideal for mature skin. When in doubt always go natural.
So hopefully you understand the terminology better, but what about achieving the look? How many products do you need to create each texture? Can you achieve all the textures with one product? I’ll answers these questions in my next post, “Dewy vs Matte vs Natural - Achieving the Perfect Texture.”
Foundation only. On the left a dewy look. On the right, natural.