My saved folder has slowly turned into a wall of shiny lids, pink-ish cheeks and skin that looks lit from inside. Apparently that has a name now: ethereal makeup. It sits somewhere between the clean girl look and a fairy costume, and the trick is that every step stays sheer.

I spent a few weekends playing with it before a friend's birthday dinner, and this is the order that worked for me, base to lips, with the products I kept going back to.

Skin first, and keep it thin

Model holding HEIMISH Artless Glow Tinted Sunscreen on a peach background — HEIMISH Artless Glow Tinted Sunscreen Shine Beige

Full matte foundation kills this look instantly. I tried. It looked like a nice face wearing the wrong outfit.

What worked was HEIMISH Artless Glow Tinted Sunscreen. It's SPF50+ PA+++ with a shine beige tint, and it's meant to double as moisturizer, tone-up cream and makeup base, so on lazy mornings it's my only base step. I pat it in instead of rubbing, then spot conceal where I actually need it. The finish is glowy without looking greasy, which is what you want here.

Where I put the light

Rom&nd See-Through Veillighter compact on a pink background — Rom&nd See-Through Veillighter

Ethereal skin isn't about a big stripe of highlighter. It's more like a veil. Rom&nd See-Through Veillighter is a very fine powder that goes on sheer and doesn't make my texture look worse, which most powder highlighters do on my cheeks.

I tap it with a fingertip on the top of the cheekbones, the bridge of my nose, the inner corners of my eyes and a tiny bit on the cupid's bow. If it still looks like nothing, I go in again. 01 Sunkissed Veil and 02 Moonkissed Veil are the two shades.

A quick word on contour (barely any)

The sculpted, snatched cheekbone is not invited. If you want a little shape, picture a line from the end of your brow to the corner of your lips and blend a shade just slightly deeper than your skin along the outer edge of the face, outside that line. Soft enough that nobody could point to where it starts. The middle of your face stays bright, and that's what makes it look airy.

Blush that's basically your own flush

3CE Blushlighter compacts on a pink background — 3CE Blushlighter

Keep blush close to your natural skin color and put it on the apples of the cheeks, then stop. I usually prefer creams for glow, but 3CE Blushlighter changed my mind. It's a freeze-dried liquid texture, so you get powder-soft color without the dry, dusty look, and it's blush and highlighter in one.

One light touch with a brush is plenty. Layering it up gets more shimmer, which is fun for evening but not what I want at my desk.

Pastel lids, nothing smoky

Clio Pro Eye Palette Air with props on a pink background — Clio Pro Eye Palette Air

Lavender, baby pink, champagne, soft peach. Sheer washes of these, no dark crease. Clio Pro Eye Palette Air has 12 shades in mattes, shimmers and glitters, and the powder is so fine it doesn't cake or sit in my lid lines by the afternoon.

07 Lavender Staff is the most ethereal one to me. 04 Pink Pairing if purple on the eyes scares you. I sweep a light matte all over, then pat a shimmer on the center of the lid. For liner I just use a brown pencil close to the lashes and follow the shape of my eye, no wing.

The sparkle (go easy)

milktouch Fairy Jewel Eye Glitter texture swirls — milktouch Fairy Jewel Eye Glitter

This is where the look stops being clean girl and starts being fairy. milktouch Fairy Jewel Eye Glitter is a water gel that holds big pearls and dries into a thin film, and the slim brush tip makes it easy to place.

I dot it on the center of the lid and a little under the eye. Stopping before it looks like glitter is the hard part. 05 Dreaming Shell Jewelry and 01 Aurora White Jewelry are the two I'd pick for this look, and it stayed put through a full day at a dusty art fair.

Lighter brows than you'd think

ETUDE Draw. Eyes Brow Cara tubes in a lifestyle shot — ETUDE Draw. Eyes Brow Cara

Dark, sharp brows fight with all that softness. Bleaching is the extreme version, and I'm not there. I just tint mine lighter with ETUDE Draw. Eyes Brow Cara, which has an ultra-slim brush that catches each hair without clumping. 04 Light Brown takes the edge off my dark brows, and it's smudge-proof, so it doesn't end up on my forehead.

Mascara, or not

ETUDE Curl Fix Mascara on a bright pink background — ETUDE Curl Fix Mascara

A lot of people skip mascara completely for this look, and it does look softer. My lashes are short and straight though, so without anything my eyes just vanish.

My compromise is one coat of ETUDE Curl Fix Mascara in 02 Brown. It's waterproof, holds the curl all day and feels weightless, and brown reads way gentler than black. If you like falsies, a couple of tiny clusters on the outer corners is about the limit.

Finish with gloss

3CE Shine Reflector lip gloss texture on a pink background — 3CE Shine Reflector

Lips stay low-key but shiny. A muted, your-lips-but-better color is enough. 3CE Shine Reflector gives that high-gloss, glassy shine from every angle, and the melting texture makes my lips look fuller. Heads up, the formula rises a tiny bit at a time and doesn't twist back down, so don't crank it up.

Lilac Glaze fits the pastel eyes, Softest is the safe one. A tap of the veillighter on the cupid's bow and you're done.

None of this has to be perfect. The more sheer and slightly undone it looks, the more ethereal it reads. If you want more glow options, our highlighter and shading collection is where I'd start.

MAKEUP

Ethereal Makeup, Step by Step: How I Do the Soft, Glowy Fairy Look

FAQ

What is ethereal makeup?

It's a soft, dreamy makeup look built on glowy skin, sheer pastel colors and a bit of delicate shimmer. Think of it as a sparklier version of the clean girl look, with no heavy contour, sharp liner or dramatic lashes.

How is ethereal makeup different from the clean girl look?

Both start with fresh, skin-like bases. Ethereal makeup adds more light: shimmer on the lids, glitter under the eyes, highlighter on the high points and a glossy lip.

Can I do ethereal makeup without mascara?

Yes, plenty of people skip it for this look. If your lashes disappear without it, a single coat of a brown curling mascara keeps things soft.

Which eyeshadow colors work best for an ethereal look?

Sheer lavender, baby pink, champagne and soft peach. Keep them as washes of color and add one shimmer or glitter on top instead of building a dark crease.

Written by Hyerin Park

Hyerin has always loved shopping—fashion, beauty, and pretty much anything worth adding to cart. Since starting Baerry, that habit has turned into testing dozens of new beauty products that land on the team’s desks in Seoul, plus plenty she buys herself. An ISTJ with a very high bar for what makes the cut, she treats her own face as the testing ground before recommending anything.