Latte makeup is sweeping the internet, thanks to Hailey Bieber, and I can't get enough of it. I've always loved rich chocolate brown tones in makeup, but I often struggled to find the ones that worked with my natural olive skin tone. If you're Black or Brown, I'm sure you can relate. Some brown tones don't pop on our skin—you have to find the right ones.
Latte makeup is exactly what it sounds like. It creates a soft, bronze, and brown sun-kissed look using rich and creamy shades. It's definitely a simple look, but it adds so much warmth to the skin, giving you a sunny glow year-round. Sure, it works great for late summer, but I'll also wear this look well into fall. For a few tips on how to create the look for Black and Brown skin tones, I tapped Renée Loiz, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Color May Vary. She shared a few tips and her favorite products for this below.
1. Reach for warm-toned shades.
Loiz recommends sticking to warmer shades for darker skin tones if you want to try latte makeup. "I like to reach for warmer-toned shades of brown as cooler tones tend to look a bit ashy on deeper skin," she says. "Warm tones like bronze, copper, dark gold, red-brown, and cinnamon—these shades compliment deeper skin tones."
Try:
This bronzer is a recommendation of Loiz's and one of my own favorites. I love that it's so blendable and melts nicely into the skin. It does over more of a subtle finish, but it's great for building that warm undertone for latte makeup. Using another of Bieber's makeup tricks, you can apply bronzer first before your foundation or skin tint here to blend it even more seamlessly.
Loiz loves this skin tint from Ami Colé for darker skin tones. It's super lightweight, buildable, and gives your skin a natural dewy glow. I wear the shade Medium 1 in this skin tint and can confirm it works beautifully for a brown-toned look. You may need to apply a more pigmented bronzer like the one below to mix with this tint if you want an extra rich latte look.
I was instantly amazed by how pigmented this Charlotte Tilbury bronzer was when I first tried it. It's the one I usually reach for when I have an event, but it works great for latte makeup since it shows up so well on darker skin tones.
2. Try a radiance-enhancer.
Another way to make your latte look pop is by using a radiance-enhancer. I know more of a glittery finish isn't everyone's vibe, so feel free to skip this step if you want, but it does add a little something extra to the skin that will make your brown shades stand out a bit more.
Try:
"I like to mix the Saie Glowy Super Gel and Chanel Bronzing Cream and sweep across the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, and across the forehead (these are all the high points of the face and where the sun naturally hits)." — Loiz
Kosas offers this skin-enhancer that instantly activates a lit-from-within glow. I do have to warn you, this one is really glowy, especially out in the sun, so you need a light touch with it. It's also versatile and can be mixed with foundation or as a targeted highlighter.
3. Add a flush of color.
Like Bieber did in her TikTok video, you can add a flush of color to the cheeks on top of your bronzer that pairs well with your other latte-esque shades. Like Loiz said above, those with darker skin tones might want to try a warmer peach blush shade or terracotta color.
Try:
"For a flush of color, add Pat Mcgrath's Colour Balm in Sunkissed Seduction to apples of cheeks and blend into bronzer and highlighter," Loiz says. "You want these three products to melt together for a perfectly bronzed latte look."
This cream blush from Refy is the perfect terracotta shade for darker skin tones. I love blending it with the Charlotte Tilbury bronzer because together they add the perfect amount of natural warmth to the skin.
4. Use a warm-toned or nude eye shadow palette.
There are so many different ways you can add depth to the eyes here. You could always add a bit of the luminizer you used earlier to keep the look cohesive, but you can also opt for rich coffee shades in an eye shadow palette or pick a few transition shades out of a neutral palette.
Try:
"The Juvia's Place Coffee Shop eyeshadow palette is a spin-off of their Chocolates palette and literally has all the best warm-toned nude and brown eyeshadows that look stunning on Brown-skinned girls. Line the eyes in the waterline with a black kohl pencil and add a couple coats of mascara to the top and bottom lashes." — Loiz
This is another great offering from Juvia's Place. I've loved it and used it since college. It's budget-friendly and contains the perfect nude and warm-toned hues for darker skin tones. Both the shimmer shades and matte shades would work beautifully for a latte look here.
5. Finish with a latte-inspired lip.
Bieber finished with a latte-toned lip as well, but it looked like she actually used bronzer on the lips with a liner and topped with a gloss. This would look great on any skin tone, but Loiz has a few favorite lip combos for a finished latte look.
Try:
"My favorite lip combos are Bobbi Brown's Crushed Lipsticks in Cocoa or Rich Cocoa topped with Bossy Beauty's lipgloss in the shade Outspoken (a warmed deep peach)." — Loiz
"Also, for a lighter latte lip, line [your lips] with MAC's Lip Liner in Cork, then fill in the lips with LYS Beuty's Matte Lipstick in Dreamer, and top with Fenty Beauty's Gloss Bomb in the shade Honey Waffles."
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