We are delighted to have Brooke Nurthen contributing to What Meghan Wore. Brooke is an excellent writer and all-around fashion whiz, as well as half of the fab Cambridge Mums Instagram duo. We have been fortunate to have Brooke as a contributing writer on both What Kate Wore and What Kate’s Kids Wore, so we are *very* excited to have Brooke on the What Meghan Wore team! Following is her first piece for us.
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We’re back today in the leadup to the wedding with the first in a series of posts about Meghan’s beauty regime.
Meghan often wrote about beauty on The Tig, and in lots of pre-engagement interviews Meghan’s love for all things beauty, skincare and hair shone. With the wedding countdown well and truly on, we’re sure the Bride-to-Be is involved in planning every aspect of her beauty and hair look, and taking great care of her skin.
Split into three posts, we’re going to take a look at these areas and give you the low down on some of Meghan’s favorite products.
First up, beauty: all the tips, tricks and – our favorite part, product recommendations! – we’ve gathered from the bride herself.
When wearing foundation, Meghan has a few tips for letting skin shine, and loves to let her freckles show through her makeup (more on this in a minute). The first tip is using minimal foundation, applied with a sponge for a more sheer coverage.
Only apply foundation to the spots you need it and spread it with a beautyblender. I never want to cover my freckles, so we just do a ‘wash’ of foundation in certain sections instead of over the entire face.” — Meghan Markle, BirchBox, October 2014
In Meghan’s October 2016 Vanity Fair cover story she told the magazine she always noticed her freckles were retouched out of shoots.
I’ve always loved my freckles,” she says, so when she was photographed for VF, she says she was…thrilled to work with Peter [Lindbergh] because he rarely retouches and he believes in such little makeup. I gave him a big hug and said, ‘I am so excited to work with you because I know we will finally be able to see my freckles!”
We share exactly what products Meghan used for that Vanity Fair shoot towards the end of the post.
beautyblender® options:
The Original / Pure / Natural / Mini / Pro
TIP: To clean your beautyblender®, Susan Courter recommends using Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soup (a product Meghan has used and we will talk about in an upcoming post!). This item is available at most drugstores.
Another industry-favorite tip – mixing a drop of facial oil with your foundation for a sheer finish and some nourishment for your skin.
I do a five-minute face. I use Laura Mercier’s illuminating primer, it makes your skin look really radiant. I’ll put a drop of Chanel foundation – I always mix a drop of face oil in, so it still looks like skin.” — Meghan Markle, MatchesFashion, May 2015
For no-foundation days, Meghan employs a primer – usually a pre-foundation step – as a base. Primer worn alone is a great solution for a ‘no makeup’ look, and Meghan relies on Laura Mercier Radiance Primer.
this is what I put on everyday after moisturizer to give my skin a dewy glow. It’s not sparkly, it’s true to its name… “illuminating” — Meghan Markle, Beauty Banter
YSL’s Touche Eclat is the ultimate luxury beauty cult classic. This lightweight highlighting concealer gives strategic pops of light-reflecting brightness to the face. Meghan, of course, loves. She gave this pro tip to Birchbox.
To open up your eyes, apply a highlighter like Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Éclat in the inner corner—this trick is especially good when we are filming at 3 a.m. and I need to look bright eyed and bushy tailed.”
And raved about it again to BeautyBanter —
It blends, it’s compact, and if you’ve worked a 17-hour day and have nothing else on, you will still look relatively alive. Relatively.”
In the beauty world, the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler is widely regarded as the elite pick, and Meghan told BeautyBanter it’s one of her top 5 Must Haves. She said the little tool “makes you look instantly awake”. To finish the eyes, Meghan told Matches Fashion she attributes those amazing lashes to another cult classic from the French brand, Yves Saint Laurent’s Babydoll mascara.
For blush, Meghan’s a fan of Nars cult favorite shade, Orgasm. Speaking to Beauty Banter, Meghan described it as a “perfect rosy flush”. With flecks of gold shimmer, the peachy pink shade is perfect for warm-toned complexions. Meghan’s loved the blush for years, telling Allure in 2014, “I use it on and off camera because it gives you a nice glow from within.”
TIP: This shade is not only available in the original blush, but also Illuminator, a blush-bronzer duo, a liquid blush, and a lipstick!
But before lipstick, liner or gloss, perfectly nourished and soft lips are key. Meghan relies on the Fresh Sugar Advanced Lip Treatment with SPF15.
I have searched high and low and tried every kind of lip balm but this is the very best. Soft, kissable, buttery lips. I swear by it.” — Meghan Markle, BeautyBanter.com
The product is available in a huge variety of shades as well as an untinted version.
If you were a fan of Meghan’s Vanity Fair October 2017 Cover look, great news – we have the full list of products used for the look!
Joules Contraste Powder Blush – 280 Golden Sun / Sublimages Le Teint 22 Beige Rose / Les Beiges N60 Foundation / Le Rouge Crayon de Couleur n9 Beige Rose / Correcteur Perfection – 31 Beige Rose / La Palette Sourcils de Chanel in 50 Brun / Les Beiges Eyeshadow Palette / Le Volume de Chanel Mascara 10 Noir
Next in our series on Meghan’s beauty regimen: her approach to skincare.
A quick note: for up-to-date info on the wedding and other fun Meghan-related items, don’t forget to check The Latest Buzz here on the site!
Wow, thanks for such a great post about skincare and the products Meghan uses! When I was younger I really loaded up on the foundation but as I get older I find that taking care of my skin means that most days I can get away with wearing nothing but sunscreen.
Nars makes such excellent blushes, I love the Orgasm and Deep Throat, both give such a natural glow and subtle color.
I’ve read that Meghan uses an eyelash growth serum and I thought about using one as well but my eye area is so sensitive I decided against it. However, during my research into various eyelash serums I found that women were using castor oil on their eyelashes and brows. I’ve tried it and swear that I see a bit of difference in my eyelashes, they seem a bit thicker and longer, I’ve only been using it for about 3 weeks but I’m hoping that the eyelash growth will continue.