“I need buttery skin!!!” is a message I received from our senior beauty editor, Lindsay, about two weeks ago. Before I could ask her WTF that meant, she sent me a photo of a model with some of the smoothest, glowiest skin I’ve ever seen. It was a shot from a makeup artist’s Instagram (pictured above) and there in the caption lied the secret: #butteryskin. Suddenly, neither of us could focus on anything else, we were stuck in a rabbit hole trying to figure out how exactly to get this glistening, radiant look. I went straight to the source, makeup artist Isabelle De Vries, to fill me in.

First thing’s first, what even is buttery skin? It’s similar to the glass skin craze that’s taken over the internet in that it mirrors a radiant, almost reflective complexion. “This look is all about beautiful, healthy glowing skin,” De Vries tells me. The major difference lies in the fact that glass skin is more focused on a skin care routine, while buttery skin is a specific makeup technique. Glass skin is more of a plump, bouncy look (since it primarily centers around hydration), and I find that buttery skin is a little softer and easier to get since you’re masking your skin, not transforming it. And yes, the name does reference a literal stick of butter. “I came up with the term buttery skin, because it gives off the same silky smooth texture and natural sheen that butter has.”

They key to buttery skin, it turns out, is lots and lots of layering. After chatting with De Vries and spending hours scrolling through her Instagram, I was ready to test the look out on myself. Read on for the breakdown.

Skin Prep
“This look is best suited to normal/combination skin but can still be achieved on drier skin types with the right skin prep,” says De Vries. She starts by using a Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Pad to exfoliate away dry patches and boost glow. She then likes to use the Garnier Moisture Bomb Sheet Mask to hydrate and plump skin, but notes that any mask with hyaluronic acid will do.

I used a peel pad and then went in with the Laniege Water Sleeping Mask, since I didn’t have the Garnier on hand. I wanted my dry skin to look really dewy, so I also brought out the big guns and used some Creme de La Mer as a base, and I think it paid off. If you want a less expensive alternative, Weleda Skin Food is a great dupe.

Primer
This is where the layering comes into play. De Vries starts the dewy process with an illuminating primer. Her favorites include MAC Strobe Cream, Danessa Myricks Prism Fx Hydrating Lotion, and Temptu Brilliant Glow Illuminating Primer. I went with the MAC strobe cream, which has a pretty opalescent sheen, and applied it beginning with the high points of my face, and then onto the rest of my skin.

Foundation
“A dewy foundation is a must,” says De Vries. She recommends MAC Face and Body or Temptu S/B Foundation, and likes to use her fingers to apply (it helps warm up the formula so it goes on more natural-looking). “I love mixing a pearlescent liquid highlighter through my foundations like Temptu or Danessa Myricks Illuminating Veil,” she says.

I mixed Glossier Play’s Niteshine highlighter in with my current favorite foundation, L’Oréal Infallible Fresh Wear, and pressed it in using my fingers like De Vries suggested. It’s more messy but it works.

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