How to achieve “effortless skin,” the “very understated” beauty trend of the fall

The radiant glow of healthy skin is the beauty scene’s most coveted look. There was a time when a perfect complexion was considered nothing more than a canvas for makeup artists, but minimalist beauty trends like the clean-girl aesthetic and no-makeup makeup have catapulted “effortless skin” to fall’s top beauty trend. Tapping into summer’s desire for low-maintenance luxury, the effortless skin aesthetic strives for an even tone, smooth texture, and dewy finish that appears natural. To accentuate this illusion, it’s often paired with a neutral color palette and an overall restraint that some would call demure (referring to TikTok’s satirical viral trend).

“Just because it’s a no-makeup look doesn’t mean it’s easier,” says celebrity makeup artist Allan Avendaño. “It’s a true art to create clean and beautiful, simple looks that enhance my clients’ features.” The L’Oréal Paris celebrity makeup artist, whose work is regularly seen on celebrities like Joey King, Ariana Greenblatt, Christina Ricci and Sandra Oh, is known for creating glowing skin and soft, seamless glamour—the epitome of effortless skin. But from coverage that never looks cakey to strategically accentuating his clients’ natural beauty, his technique is anything but effortless.

Below, celebrity makeup artist Allan Avendaño explains how to effortlessly achieve flawless skin, the top beauty trend of the fall.

Effortless skin: soft, uncomplicated make-up

As makeup artist Diane Caranica puts it, Avendaño’s glam “always looks like it belongs on the client’s face, no matter how much makeup is used.” His makeup makes clients camera-ready by highlighting a “refined version” of themselves. Although he still likes to wear dramatic smokey eyes on occasion, his main goal is “to make sure my clients look put-together and perfect from every angle without their makeup looking too dramatic.”

He takes into account his clients’ unique bone structure. Although it can be tempting to highlight them all using the usual techniques, he exercises restraint and chooses one facial feature to highlight. He then opts for a neutral color palette and harmonizes the overall look by matching the selected shades to the client’s skin tone. He often intentionally chooses tones that soften the look, such as brown mascara instead of black.

As an example, Avendaño explains that his favorite makeup for King accentuates her blue eyes while making her pouty lips — which could easily steal the show — look lush yet understated in tones that match her natural color. “Joey’s eyes are my favorite to do. When I created this eye, I complemented that baby blue with bronze and champagne tones and wanted to darken the outer corners to create a seductive eye shape,” he says. “Then I left everything else pretty neutral and dabbed on lips that matched her color.”

Effortless skin: work in layers

“I think glowing skin or a general glow is what people like to refer to as my signature style,” admits Avendaño of his beloved complexion work. In fact, King admits to suffering from dermatitis, but you would never knows it from her photos. Instead, her complexion always looks seamlessly blended, radiant and healthy, with no visible transitions between cosmetics.

Before applying makeup, Avendaño preps his client’s skin to ensure it is hydrated and primed for a smooth and long-lasting application of the cosmetics. “Sunscreen is a must for every day and some sunscreens even work great as a primer,” he points out, citing L’Oréal Bright Reveal Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Daily UV, $32.99, as his favorite. “It’s non-greasy, dries without a white film, and holds the makeup you put on top.”

Then he begins applying foundation, concealer, blush, etc., taking his time to blend everything and create the soft, filtered effect that looks naturally effortless. “I do everything in layers. If I have time, I apply thin layers – foundation, concealer, blush, foundation again,” he says of patiently achieving the desired coverage. “Sometimes I think my assistant thinks I’m crazy because I’m basically doing the same steps over and over, going over each section with the same product over and over. But it really looks so blended and never cakey.”

Effortless skin: soft color combinations

The subtle transitions of Avendaño’s makeup show his commitment to soft glamour, which is also evident in his preference for neutral colors. For example, Avendaño recently filmed a video about an adaptation of the latte makeup trend, Iced Latte Makeup, which opts for “softer, shimmery browns and champagne tones, as opposed to the deeper and more matte browns” used in fall and winter.

Even when he does add some drama to the eyes, such as with graphic eyeliner, he does so subtly. “I love using colored eyeliner to create subtle graphic eye looks and add a pop of color to an otherwise classic look,” he says, citing recent looks from King and actress Raegan Revord.

In another look for King, he used easily blendable cream eyeshadow sticks, L’Oréal Paris Le Shadow Sticks, $9.99, in complementary neutral shades “Twinkly Rose,” “Magnetic Bronze” and “Brown Bliss.” He even opted for brown mascara, L’Oréal Paris Lash Paradise Mascara, $9.97, in “Latte Brown,” to soften the effect, explaining, “It’s a lot less harsh than black mascara, so the look is a little less dramatic.”

As is often the case with no-makeup looks that are meant to be believable, he often uses lip and cheek shades that match his clients’ complexions. Occasionally, he even reaches for an untinted, shimmer-free cheek highlight product from Le Rouge Français. Other popular products for creating this dewy, shimmer-free highlight include Tower28 SuperDew Highlight Balm, $18, Danessa Myricks Beauty Dew Wet Hydrating and Highlighting Balm, $24, and Gucci Luminous Lip and Face Gloss, $37.

Effortless skin: ready for the season

One of the keys to this effortless skin look is his dewy, natural skin finish that locks in moisture on the skin and lips. This can be explained in many ways, from the products he uses to prep the skin to what he uses to set it. But he also likes cream textures like Le Rouge Français Lip and Cheek Tint, $34, which offers a “tinted, glossy finish that gives cheeks a dewy look.”

To maintain moisture on lips that are notoriously prone to drying out quickly, use Aquaphor Lip Repair ($6.79), a popular drugstore product. This is applied as the final step to the lip formula of your choice, one of his favorites being the sheer matte Violet Bisou Balm ($29).

One final takeaway from Avendaño’s steps to creating an effortless skin aesthetic is that practice makes perfect. He can personally attest to this, having never assisted a celebrity makeup artist earlier in his career (which is rare and impressive in itself).

“I wish I had helped someone. It would have been great to have been shown how to do it and learnt other techniques. But I wouldn’t trade my path because trial and error is what makes you a really solid artist,” he reflects. Instead, he took inspiration from artists like Pat McGrath, created a vision board and kept his goals in mind. “I always had a slogan in my head – work hard and be nice to everyone.”