I’ll often see an editorial shoot with makeup I love — like this polka-dotted eye-shadow design on Into the Gloss, or this neon makeup look on Paloma Elsesser for Alison Lou’s new Lucite earring line, or Jorja Smith’s soft, glossy glow for the cover of Jalouse — and will wonder who created it. Often, Shayna Goldberg is the artist behind the glam. When it comes to beauty forecasting, she’s incomparable: She called the electric-eyeliner trend a full year before Dior’s On Stage Liner became a staple in my makeup bag.
So, naturally, after puzzling for a month over how to achieve a flattering but easy autumnal makeup look, I decided to ask Shayna. I texted her and asked if she’d chat about products and tips and tricks for putting together a soft, seasonally appropriate glam. Which is how she ended up at my house on a recent afternoon, with a truly enormous bag of makeup.
You create the most beautiful, natural, bright, flawless skin. And it doesn’t just photograph well — I’ve seen it in person, and you always bring out a just-left-the-spa radiance in your clients. Let’s talk about what products you use to prep skin for makeup when you’re on set.
I really love this brightening serum from Clé de Peau. I use a cotton pad to apply it all over the face, then let it sink in. I know a lot of people use Bioderma or a toner to prep, but I’d rather start the process by pumping something hydrating into the skin.
So your skin is perfect. What’s your No. 1 Holy Grail product?
One product I use practically every day on myself and others is the Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum. It’s an oil meant to brighten, hydrate, and soothe skin. It just sinks right into the skin instead of sitting atop it, which can make any makeup that’s put on afterward look really greasy. I also feel like most skin types and tones respond pretty well to it. Plus, it smells amazing. Are you a fan of face oils?
I love marula oil from Drunk Elephant, but the Ordinary had an amazing dupe.
I need to try that. On the subject of Holy Grail products, I’m really obsessed with the Eye Contour Balm from Clé de Peau. It makes your under eyes look super radiant and velvety. I’ve also mixed it in with concealers to give it more of a balmy, spreadable texture.
I really like under-eye balms, but find that many of them make my under-eye concealer pill, even if they’re marketed as being good for makeup prep.
What’s nice about the Clé de Peau is that the skin actually absorbs it, so it doesn’t create that kind of filmy feeling that you get after using most gel- or water-based eye creams.
What are your go-to under-eye concealers?
I love NARS’s radiant, creamy concealer. And the Charlotte Tilbury retoucher. It gives you good coverage, but it’s still breathable and looks like real skin, which is totally my jam.
What about bronzers?
I use Cinema Secrets foundation palettes as a cream bronzer. I just pick a shade darker than the person’s actual skin tone. They’re super oily and photograph like skin. The only problem with them is that, while they do photograph beautifully, they don’t stay put for the whole day. So I wouldn’t use them, for instance, on someone’s wedding day. But they’re perfect for on set.
What are your other hero products for when you’re on set?
I really love the Multisticks from Bite, which I use constantly on set and off. The shade Mochi looks super bright red, but blended out it’s actually very blue and berry, so it harmonizes perfectly with cooler skin tones. I use them mostly on the cheek, but occasionally on the lip as well. They’re just the best for achieving that beachy, sun-kissed, ’90s glam. I start at the apples of the cheeks, and then move it over the cheekbones, and it creates an extremely natural-looking flush.
Okay, so you promised me an easy fall makeup look. What’s the plan for that?
A bronze smoky eye, natural, sun-kissed skin, and a ’90s lip. To start, I’m going to use the Bite Beauty Multistick that I mentioned earlier on your cheeks, then make your cheekbones pop with M.A.C’s Cream Color Base in the shade Hush — it’s a really nice, natural highlight that’s not too shimmery, which you now know I hate.
A common beauty trick for eyes is to throw some bronzer into the crease of your eyelids to make you look more awake. I want to do a more enhanced, but still super-easy version of that: layering different browns and taupes and neutral shades to make a beautiful, sheer, soft brown smokey eye. I’ll use the Bite Beauty Multistick right under the bone above your eyeball. Then I’m going to apply Surratt Lid Lacquer, which is a pigmented eye gloss, in the shade Kogecha, in the center of your eyelid with my fingertip. After that, I’ll use that same finger to blend the Kogecha up toward your eyebrow (stopping where your eyeball ends), and then out to where your brow bone starts.
Okay, so now we’re done with the lid, right?
Yup. Now, I’m going to line your lower lash line with a charcoal eye shadow with an angle brush. Then I’m going to use a small blending brush to apply a lighter brown right underneath the charcoal shade, in order to create depth. For that, I’m going to actually use the Tom Ford Setting Powder in the shade Sahara Dusk.
I’ve never thought to use setting powders as eye makeup.
This shade specifically creates a really soft, natural look.
So I’d guess next comes the mascara?
Yes. Since we’re not doing a liner — I wanted to keep things simple and easy — the mascara is what’s going to make your eyes really pop out. What mascara do you usually use?
For every day, I use Lash Slick, but I also really love Eyeko Waterproof Mascara for nighttime glam. It makes my lashes super dramatic, and it really does not budge. But it’s kind of scary to take off.
You should try Tom Ford’s mascara in Raven. It’s a warmer black. It’s so great for nights out.
What about for lips?
Charlotte Tilbury’s Birkin Brown with Bite’s Agave Lip Mask on top of that. It’s like a Cindy Crawford throwback lip. This brown ’90s lip has been a trend for a minute, and I really don’t see it going anywhere. It’s just so flattering on everyone.
I love this whole makeup look so much. It would pair perfectly with a rust-colored turtleneck.
You said autumnal!
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