The Best Hack for Dewy Foundation, Per Models and Editors

While I’m not easily influenced by BeautyTok (very few viral products genuinely impress me), I do often refer to the app for quick, easy-to-follow tutorials. Read: how to use a high-frequency wand, secure a French comb, apply eyeliner, and so on. I’m a visual learner, so even though I speak to derms, hairstylists, and makeup artists daily, it helps to see those beauty tips in action.

So there I was completing my daily scroll, when I came across a makeup video from model Aisha Potter. (If you’re into dewy looks, trust me, she’s worth a follow. She has some of the glowiest skin I’ve ever seen!) After underpainting with bronzer, she created her own foundation-highlighter concoction on the back of her hand before applying it to her skin (“The most airbrushed base,” she wrote in the caption), and I was immediately floored by how perfect it looked. I know this phrase gets overused a ton, but there’s no other way to describe it: Potter looked legitimately lit from within. Naturally, I had to try this trick for myself, and I can confirm that it’s the best dewy makeup combo to ever exist. I now refuse to do my makeup in any other way. Ahead, discover the exact products Potter and I use, plus other tried and tested ways to replicate the ethereal beat.

You only need two base products here: a foundation stick and liquid highlighter. For the former, Potter uses the Dior Forever Skin Perfect Multi-Use Foundation Stick, which, for the record, is already a viral hit in its own right. In fact, seven Who What Wear editors (including yours truly) gave it 10s across the board, praising its buttery glide and natural, blurring finish. That said, the soft-matte formula becomes even more sheer and flexible with the addition of liquid highlighter—namely, Rhode’s Highlighting Milk. After swiping the foundation stick on the back of her hand, Potter shakes a few drops of shade 2 (a pearly champagne) right on top, then blends the two together using the rounded side of Rhode’s Pocket Brush. She applies the concoction to her skin using light, circular motions, and the product diffuses effortlessly and evenly. And there you have it: a lightweight, airbrushed-looking base.

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You can use any liquid highlighter you please, but the milky base of Bieber’s formula is what I suspect makes the foundation look perfect. Shade 2 is currently sold out, but you could replicate the results with any of the other three luminizers, or simply use a milky toner you already own with a drop or two of liquid highlighter. I’d wager Laneige’s Cream Skin Milky Toner and Westman Atelier’s Liquid Super Loaded All-Over Highlighter in the shade Peau de Pêche would lend a similar champagne glow.

If you don’t have the Dior foundation stick on hand, I’ve also tried the same trick using Merit’s The Minimalist stick and find that it works just as well. For those who don’t love stick formats, you could also totally use a lightweight cream or liquid formula, such as Chanel’s Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint. The main trick is applying it to the back of your hand, which warms up the formula and results in a softer, streak-free finish. Then when you add in the highlighting milk (or milky toner, whatever you’ve got!), that finish becomes even creamier. Give it a go, and I promise you won’t ever look back.