Capture Golden Hour on Your Face With This Affordable Radiant Makeup Tutorial

Makeup has always had this remarkable ability to inspire, delight, and take our minds elsewhere.

Like other creative outlets–including writing to you, our dear Beauty IQ readers–it can offer space and sometimes even respite from the tumultuous happenings in the world, particularly right now.

And while it’s certainly a privilege to be able to hit the pause button, not everybody is afforded or is capable of this luxury, I find solace in the simple act of making myself up, and the mindfulness that goes into the whole process.

So that’s exactly what I’ve been doing these last few weeks: immersing myself in the world of beauty and trying my hand at various mood-boosting makeup looks.

It helps that we’ve had some seriously cool products drop recently.

We can't look past the good weather either.

It may have taken moving to Melbourne to realise how just affected I am by mother nature (cue my mum’s 'I told you so'), but the last few sun-drenched weeks have me *so* excited for summertime soirees.

With that, it’s time to introduce you to a new makeup look I’m calling ‘Golden Hour’.

The inspiration behind the beat? You guessed it, that magical period that’s photographed almost as much as I am.

Can you blame me? It’s part of my job, after all.

My hope is that you, too, can lose yourself in the artistry of this makeup look and, perhaps, allow it to bring a bit of sunshine into your life.

My Golden Hour Makeup Routine.

At the centre of this sun-kissed look is the Huda Beauty Nude Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette Medium 10g

Its stunning selection of rich, spicy and warm pink and brown hues in matte and shimmer, lend themselves to a host of day and night looks.

For this particular routine, I've honed in on four shades, blending them to form a sunset-inspired gradient across my lids.

Before diving into this gorgeous palette, I prepped my skin to perfection for a dewy, glass-like base.

My go-to hydrating essentials include:

• Sulwhasoo Essential Comfort Balancing Water Toner 150ML - nourishing gel-textured toner.

• Alpha-H Hyaluronic 8 Serum 25ml - gives me plumped-up, supple skin.

• Ole Henriksen Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturiser 50ml - my latest obsession and *the* best primer/moisturiser.

Skin prep aside, here’s all of the other makeup products I used:

• elf Cosmetics Halo Glow Liquid Filter in '1 Fair'

• M.A.C COSMETICS Studio Radiance Serum Powered Foundation in 'NW10'

• elf Cosmetics Putty Bronzer in 'Tan Lines'

• elf Cosmetics Putty Bronzer Brush

• elf Cosmetics Putty Blush in 'Tahiti'

• Huda Beauty GloWish Bright Light Sheer Concealerin '01 Fair'

• Benefit Hoola Lite Matte Bronzer

• MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Face Powder Blush in 'Hot Lava'

• Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Powder in 'Sugar Cookie'

• MAKE UP FOR EVER Mist & Fix 100ml Spray

• Lancôme Lash Idôle Mascara

• M.A.C Cosmetics Lip Pencil in 'Stripdown'

• DIOR Dior Addict Shine Lipstick in 'Diorelita’

Now, onwards to our step-by-step guide!

Don't worry, I've included a video tutorial below for our visual learners, too.

Step 1. Base.

To kick things off, I applied a mixture of the elf Cosmetics Halo Glow Liquid Filter and M.A.C COSMETICS Studio Radiance Serum Powered Foundation all over my face, using a kabuki brush to blend and gently press into my skin.

You don’t technically need to use both products, you could use either or depending on your preferred finish and coverage, but I love combining the glowiness of Halo Glow with the longevity of Studio Radiance.

It creates such a beautiful canvas to build upon.

Step 2. Sculpt.

To bring some structure and warmth back to my face, I used the elf Cosmetics Putty Bronzer and its matching brush to contour my cheekbones, hairline and nose.

I then followed with the elf Cosmetics Putty Blush (can you tell I’ve recently got my hands on a bunch of elf goodies? hehe) in shade ‘Tahiti’, using my blush brush to press it into my skin just above my contour.

Finally, I always add a little swash of blush to my lids and nose to tie the look together.

Step 3. Conceal.

This look is all about that lit-from-within glow, so I turned to my trusty Huda Beauty GloWish Bright Light Sheer Concealer to illuminate and gently conceal my under-eyes.

It has a relatively sheer coverage that’s ideal for dry skin and minimal makeup.

Those with particular eye concerns may prefer to use a fuller coverage concealer, such as the Clinique Even Better All-Over Concealer + Eraser.

I like to apply concealer to the inner part of my under-eye, gently extending it down the sides of the bridge of my nose, avoiding areas prone to creasing (because they can make your concealer crease too!).

I also dot some around the contour of my eye, below my cheekbones and along my T-Zone where I tend to get oily, using either my fingers or a precision concealer brush to blend it in.

Step 4. Blush & Bronze.

Now that our base is in place, it’s time to usher in the sunshine.

With the Benefit Hoola Lite Matte Bronzer, I warmed up my cheeks and the contours of my face where my elf Bronzer is.

Pro tip: layering powder products over cream not only sets them in place but preserves luminosity without veering into matte territory.

I then followed with the MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Face Powder Blush in the shade ‘Hot Lava’.

I am OBSESSED with this shade – it’s the most gorg burnt orange that has a subtle shimmer to it.

Applying this powder blush to my cheeks, nose and eyes tied the entire look together seamlessly.

Step 5. Eyes.

Finally, the part you’ve been waiting for: the ‘golden’ in Golden Hour.

Beginning with the top left brown shade in the Huda Beauty palette, I swept it onto the outer corners of my eyes, blending it into the crease for warmth.

Next, with the rosy shade underneath, I applied it to the centre of my lids and along the outer edges of my waterline using a precision brush.

A follow-up with a small fluffy brush allowed for a subtle diffusion of the under-eye shadow.

I then followed with the top right terracotta shade, applying it over the brown shade in the outer corners of my eyes to build dimension.

Now, it's time for the pièce de résistance – sparkle.

Using the top middle golden shimmer shade, I gently pressed the shadow into the centre of my lid.

Another hot tip: apply a small dot of concealer to the area on the lid you’re applying shimmer eyeshadows. This gives it some grit to stick to and ensures an even application.

Last but not least, I revisited the rich terracotta shade in my crease to amplify the sunset gradient to ensure it was giving Golden Hour.

Step 6. Final Touches.

To close out our look, I went in with a teeny bit more concealer to sharpen the edges of my eyeshadow, followed by a mini bake using the Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Powder.

I then spritz everything in place with the MAKE UP FOR EVER Mist & Fix 100ml Spray before finishing off with a swash of the Lancôme Lash Idôle Mascara and a nude lip combo.

For this look, I’ve paired the M.A.C Cosmetics Lip Pencil in shade ‘Stripdown’ with the DIOR Dior Addict Shine Lipstick in ‘Diorelita’.

And there you have it – Golden Hour makeup.

Now, to seek out a sunset worthy of a selfie.

P.S. More of a visual person? Watch how this look came together in the below video.

Want to explore some other makeup looks and products? Head here:

• The Two NYX Products You Need for Glowy Makeup That Lasts Longer

• My Verdict on Napoleon’s New Mascaras for Volume, Length and Curl

• I Can’t Get Enough of Strawberry Makeup. Here’s My Take on the Viral Makeup Trend