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One of the most constant parts of her look is her natural makeup, which carries her through countless royal engagements while inspiring beauty lovers worldwide—and if it’s good enough for the royals, it’s good enough for us. If you’ve ever wondered how to recreate her understated yet elevated look for yourself, you’ve come to the right place: Ahead, we asked celebrity MUA Sarah Egan for all her top tips to achieving Kate Middleton’s makeup.
About Kate Middleton’s Makeup Look
No matter what outfit she’s wearing or event she’s attending, Middleton’s makeup is consistently stunning and serves to accentuate her features. “Kate is known for her natural makeup look that showcases beautiful, glowy skin with a darker eye and a natural pink lip,” Egan tells us.
When it comes to Middleton’s complexion makeup, you can typically see the natural texture of her skin through her foundation. She typically has a light contour around the whole face and rosy cheeks, giving her a naturally flushed glow. As for her eye makeup, “she uses a mix of neutral eyeshadows, paired with eyeliner and mascara,” Egan shares. Sometimes, she’ll even add a pop of color in her waterline or eyeshadow—always keeping the look sophisticated and understated. Her lipsticks are typically pink or nude tones with a slight glossy finish.
Key Products for Kate Middleton’s Makeup Look
Base
A good skin tint will reduce redness and offers “a buildable, lightweight formula that improves skin’s tone and texture,” Egan tells us. She recommends the Hi Beautiful You Be You Skin Perfecting Tint ($48) to achieve Middleton’s natural look. Another option to consider would be the Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Skin Tint ($46), which is already a go-to brand for the Princess of Wales.
Concealer
Since Kate Middleton’s makeup look works best with a lightweight skin tint instead of a thick foundation, you’ll want a good concealer—we’ve rounded up a few of the best—to cover any blemishes or dark spots for a smooth, even complexion. Egan recommends the Hi Beautiful You Be You Skin Perfecting Conceal ($29), explaining that “It has an exclusive color-matching technology that matches to the pH of the skin to instantly match all skin tones.” Middleton also reportedly uses YSL’s Touche Éclat All-Over Brightening Pen ($40) as a brightening concealer to achieve a luminous finish.
Bronzer and Highlighter
When it comes to bronzer, Egan recommends the Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Effortless Bronzer Stick ($26) as a contour stick for a buildable look that’s easy to blend into the skin. For highlighter, one of Middleton’s favorites is the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighter ($55) in Bronze, which she uses to boost her natural glow.
Eyeshadow and Eyeliner
Middleton’s everyday makeup typically includes a neutral eyeshadow look with a bolder eyeliner—a few of our favorites are here—to accentuate her brown eyes. On occasion, she’ll add a pop of color to match her outfit. Egan recommends the Makeup by Mario Ethereal Eyes Eyeshadow Palette ($68), which offers a variety of neutral matte and shimmery tones. To achieve her signature eyeliner look we recommend Middleton’s favorite—the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Smudge-Proof Gel Eyeliner ($36).
Mascara
Middleton has reportedly used Lancôme’s Hypnôse Mascara ($33) as her staple mascara for many years. This buildable, volume-boosting mascara is a great choice for anyone looking to accentuate their natural eyelashes. Egan also recommends the Hi Beautiful You Be You Mascara and Lash Extension Treatment ($29) as an alternative. This mascara “has a buildable formula that dries quickly and doesn’t flake or smudge—it beautifully primes, darkens, lengthens, and even strengthens lashes with a gorgeous glossy black velvet finish,” Egan explains.
Lips
Per British Vogue, Middleton has used the Clarins Lip Perfector ($30) to achieve her signature pink lip. This product is available in a variety of rosy shades that will complement any skin tone and leave your lips feeling plump and moisturized from its nourishing formula of Vitamin F and shea butter.
How to Get the Look
Now that you know what products to use, it’s time to nail down the technique. Egan broke down this step-by-step guide on how to achieve Middleton’s natural makeup look.
- Start with a skin tint to even out your skin tone—this will leave your skin feeling light and not cake-y. Pro tip: “Apply your skin tint with your hands to warm up the product and help it sink into your skin,” Egan says.
- Apply concealer over any blemishes or dark circles, then blend out so your concealer and skin tint look seamless and natural.
- Using a bronzer stick, lightly contour just under your cheekbones leading up to your ears and at the top of the forehead, then blend with a brush.
- Apply a pea-sized amount of cream or liquid blush to your cheekbones and blend up toward the ear, leaving a bit on the apples of your cheeks.
- Lightly brush some highlighter along the tops of your cheekbones, leading towards your ears.
- Apply eyeshadow primer—we share the best to try here—to your lids.
- Apply a neutral eyeshadow shade that matches your skin tone (or is one shade lighter) underneath the brow and in the inner corner of each eye. Be sure to pick a matte shade for this step—nothing with shimmer.
- Apply a light pink to the eyelid and a light mauve or purple just into the crease—these should also be matte shades.
- Apply black liquid liner along your lash line on your upper lashes, from the inner corner to the outer corner. An additional option is to use a brightly colored eyeshadow as eyeliner along your lower lash line or a colored eyeliner in your waterline.
- Finish with two to three coats of mascara.
The Final Takeaway
Kate Middleton’s signature natural makeup look is iconic for a reason, and she has her process nailed down to a T—but it’s fairly simple to recreate with the above key products and techniques. Less is more here, as it’s all about accentuating your best features for a radiant yet understated finish that works for everyday occasions and formal events alike. Just adapt the above steps to fit your skin tone and outfit, and you’re sure to have an effortless-looking glow that will have people asking how you achieved it.