Nailing The Cream-Based Makeup Trend Is This Easy
Jo is a former Adore Beauty staffer and qualified dermal therapist with over decade of experience in the beauty industry.
She co-hosted our award-winning podcast Beauty IQ Uncensored for 4 years, interviewing names like Caroline Hirons, Katie Jane Hughes and Chris Appleton to name a few.
Cream-based makeup delivers skin-like radiance, and starting with a cream highlighter makes it easy to get a natural, dewy finish. This BeautyIQ piece explains why Aussie makeup artists favour creams over powders, how to build coverage without going cakey and simple precision-powdering tips to control shine.
Top Insights From This Guide
- Begin with a cream highlighter, then add cream blush or bronzer as confidence grows.
- Warm creams between fingertips and melt into skin for an undetectable, dewy finish.
- Build coverage in light layers to stay natural and avoid cakey texture.
- Use precision powdering only on shiny zones to control shine without flattening glow.
Try a gradual swap rather than a full overhaul: master warming and blending one cream product first, then expand to cheeks and bronzer. Small, controlled powdering keeps the dewy effect while preventing excess shine, giving you a realistic, skin-like result.
We've come along way since 2014. A time when cakey, theatre-like makeup was everyone's jam, heavily stenciled eyebrows were a thing, and baking wasn't just a cooking term.
It's 2019, and we've well and truly moved into an era of makeup that actually looks like skin - in fact, the more natural-looking, the better. But that doesn't necessarily mean super minimal makeup, it just means the type of makeup has changed.
Why Have Creams Become So Popular?
I think it's our obsession with glowing, radiant-looking skin that has us all on the endless search for the perfect combination of products. And I think Aussie makeup artists are actually at the forefront of this trend - dewy base, undetectable (but definitely there) highlighter, blush that looks like you've just been for a light jog - it's all in the product.
Previously, we've all reached for powder blushes, bronzers and contour palettes, but if it's that seemingly unattainable glow you're after, you might want to experiment with a cream formula.
Unlike powders, cream formulas can be manipulated a little bit more, warmed up with your fingertips and melted in to the skin for a more natural-looking finish. I also find creams to be much more buildable without going over the top, as they're easily blended out.
And if you're concerned about looking shiny, don't worry, here's more information about "precision powdering" to help navigate that.
What Products Should I Start With?
You don't have to transition all at once, trying cream formulas can be a gradual process - I'd probably recommend starting off with a cream highlighter and building your cream obsession from there.
