How To Copy Rihanna’s Nude Beauty Look — Straight From The Source

As a rule, we pay attention to the things happening on Rihanna's face. It's just where magic comes from, okay? Even the super-'90s, nude-everything makeup she wore to the MTV Movie Awards a few weeks ago was elevated in a way that we're dying to copy. So, we tracked down Mylah Morales, the talent behind Rihanna's makeup, to find out exactly how she did it.

"I was going for a sun-kissed, 'just got out of bed looking like this' pure-beauty look," Morales says. "I usually go off of her wardrobe, so the inspiration for this was the sexy, white outfit and that hair. I wanted to create a fresh face, with beautiful eyes and a nude lip."

To achieve that goal, Morales used products in the tan, bronze, and taupe family. "I wet MAC's tan pigment and applied it to her eyelid. Then, in her crease I used Sable, a bronze-brown shadow, to shade and define her eye, topped with black eyeliner and a full strip of lashes to give her the right amount of red-carpet glam."

For the '90s-lip situation, Morales used a taupe lip liner followed by MAC lipstick in Honey Love, a frosty nude, "to create a bit of definition."

Finally, for that overall radiance, Morales applied a bronzer on her cheeks and a peachy, shimmery blush just on the apples. She used MAC's blush in Melba, but we also like Tarte's Airblush Maracuja Blush in Shimmering Peach. Still a little skittish about tackling a faux glow? Check out our list of the best new bronzers to find one that will work for you.

If you're hoping to recreate this look, Morales suggests just trying to enhance your own natural beauty. "Get a great foundation to even out your skin tone, and set it with powder and bronzer. Then, just use a neutral, bronze-y eye palette and do a nude lip." It's a great way to embrace the no-makeup makeup trend without actually going bare-faced — and this summer, that's going to be one of our primary beauty goals.