Meet ‘Spanx For The Skin’: The Make-Up Technique Everyone’s Using This Spring

We love the sculpting benefits of Spanx. They’re perfect for concealing all our lumps and bumps, evening out our silhouette and best of all nobody knows we’re wearing them.

But if what if you could have the same benefits for your face?

Enter Spanx for the skin. It’s a new make-up trend (also known as non-touring) that ditches heavy sculpting techniques like contouring and strobing and instead focuses on giving you that chiseled effect without all the effort.

“Instead of a heavy contoured look, non-touring is very soft,” celebrity makeup artist Renee Sanganoo explains to Marie Claire. “It’s about dewy and glowy skin—you don’t want the skin to look super matte or dry. It’s kind of like Spanx for the skin. You know you’re wearing it, but no one’s supposed to see it… It just looks more natural.”

Right then, so how do you do it? Well, you can ditch your contouring palette for a start and instead focus on using three products. You’ll need a primer, a BB cream and a highlighter.

1. To start, apply your primer with your fingertips or a foundation brush. Remember to keep it light; you only need a pea-sized amount of product. We love Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, €33, for a light-weight feel and a long-lasting finish.

2. Next up? Apply your BB cream with a brush to achieve a dewy finish. We’re big fans of Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream, €11.99.

3. And here’s the tricky part: using a sculpting or highlighting brush, apply a highlighter like Benefit Shy Beam, €27.50 down the bridge of the nose, along the top of the cheekbones, under your brow bone and on your cupid’s bow, remembering to use a light hand.

The look you’re going for? Think soft focus, instead of harsh lines.