Après-Ski Makeup Is the Rich-Girl Beauty Trend You Need to Try This Winter

Wouldn’t it be fun to be a socialite or celebrity, jetting off to the Swiss Alps every winter for a week of skiing or perhaps enjoying the snow and shopping among the glitterati in Aspen? For most of us, the best we can do is a trip to the nearest snowboarding hill, but that doesn’t mean we can’t channel the timeless après-ski makeup aesthetic. Think rosy, sunkissed cheeks and a suntan where your goggles would be, making you look breezy, youthful, and effortlessly glamorous.

Snow-bunny beauty is perfectly suited to the optimistic attitude that comes with the first few months of the year. Imagine a snow day where the world is covered in fluffy white and it sparkles so brightly underneath the crisp, cold sunshine that you need sunglasses. “People are more open to taking risks and being playful this year, and this is a great look to get you out of your comfort zone,” says celebrity makeup artist Carolina Gonzalez. Even if you’re not taking on the bunny hill or flying down a mountain in Gstaad, you’ll look like a total pro on the slopes. Promise.

The Trend

Though we can partially credit Kim Kardashian for bringing the après-ski aesthetic back into our collective consciousness with her much-lauded winter Skims shoot, the ski bunny look has been popular throughout the decades, most notably on men’s magazines of the ’60s and ’70s like Playboy and Oui. Kardashian and photographer Nadia Lee Cohen directly paid homage to those pinup mags with the aforementioned shoot, as you can see with the similar fonts, styling, and poses, not to mention the makeup.

Think of this “just got off the slopes” vibe as the more glamorous older sister of TikTok’s frosty “cold girl” aesthetic of winter 2023, where users piled on the blush to mimic how you look when you’ve been out frolicking in the snow on a winter’s day. “This makeup look is defined by several things: the bright under-eye, the blue eye shadow, and sunburnt cheeks,” says makeup artist Emily Gray. “I think this trend is enjoying a resurgence because we’ve been having a lot of makeup looks centered around locations and weather. It’s winter, and all the cool kids are off to ski.”

How to Get the Look

The après-ski look is all about that flushed skin and lightness around your eyes as though you’ve been on the slopes for hours. Gonzalez recommends creating a flawless base with foundation—her pick is Armani Beauty’s beloved Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Foundation ($69) for a skin-like finish. Then grab a concealer three to four shades lighter than your actual skin tone, depending on how dramatic you want the look to be. “Using a lighter shade will create that bright under-eye as if you just took off your ski goggles after a long day on the slopes,” Gonzalez explains. “For powder, go for something translucent and set the concealer.”

Gray recommends baking your concealer with a bright powder where the goggles would hit. “I love the classic Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder for Under Eyes ($33),” she says. “It makes the under-eyes bright and it’s very lightweight.”

For a sun-kissed (or is it snow-kissed?) look, Gonzalez recommends a glowy-finish bronzer versus a matte; she likes using Armani Beauty’s Luminous Silk Glow Setting Powder ($64) in place of actual bronzer because it blurs pores and adds a radiant shimmer. “Blend bronzer into the hairline and make sure you’re really making the forehead bronzed and glowy,” she says. 

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Then layer on some blush—and lots of it. Gonzalez recommends a dusty rose shade first, applying it where you typically place blush, and then adding a bright, nearly neon shade to the tops of the cheekbones and anywhere else the sun would hit the planes and contours of your face.

You can also layer different formulas. “For a sunburned-cheek look, I would first start with a cream blush,” advises Gray. “Place the cream blush across the cheeks and nose and blend.” To set, use a powder formula like Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Glow Blush ($38) in 61 Desire or 40 Mania. “Really build up the color,” says Gray.

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On the eyes, use a matte beige shadow over the lid and along the lash line, and then apply a pastel shade, preferably an ice-queen blue, from the inner corners to the middle of your lids. (Gonzalez recommends the powder blue shade in the Morphe Ready in 5 Eyeshadow Palette, $6, in Ocean Drive, and Gray likes Catrice Cosmetics Colour Blast Eyeshadow Palette, $9, in Blue Meets Lime.) Buff the blue shadow up to the brows, and then use a matte or white shimmer shadow at the innermost corner of your eyes. If you like, apply that same shade below the brows to highlight.

Keep your lips simple and neutral with a beige or light pink lipstick or even just a layer of tinted balm. Gonzalez’s pick is Armani Beauty’s Lip Power Longwear Satin Lipstick ($45) in shade 102 or 103, and Gray likes Victoria Beckham Beauty Lip Definer ($30) in No. 2 with Catrice’s Scandalous Matte Lipstick ($7) in 020 Nude Obsession.

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