Each year the trend for beautifully dewy complexions gets a mini glow-up. In the past we’ve seen glazed-donut skin and glass skin, but 2024 is giving us pearl skin.
Already TikTok is all over it, and the hashtag #pearlskin has racked up more than 40 million views, with the beauty girls quick to experiment. For the uninitiated we’ve rounded up the best placement and products to know to tap into the look.
What is pearl skin?
As the name suggests, the trend takes its inspo from the delicate, luminous sheen of pearls, and it leans into a champagne-y/oyster color palette. Unlike glass skin, it looks less wet—instead it’s soft and silky, more ethereal and even more wearable.
“Glass skin is all about sheen and shine,” explains Melanie Baresse, global trainer at By Terry. “You could say it’s transparent. But pearl skin has a milkier, low-level iridescence to it. It’s also more strategic in its application, whereas glass skin tends to be all over.”
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Where to apply pearl skin?
In terms of placement, “the application is similar to highlighting but with some small tweaks,” says Baresse. “While you would traditionally place highlighter along the tops of your cheekbones, with pearl skin we see it blended onto the apple of the cheek and along the cheekbone, as well as onto the forehead. The pearl skin look is less shimmer and more strobelike iridescence.”
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How to wear pearl skin?
According to beauty influencer Zoe Kim Kenealy, the idea is to create the illusion of an “everyday, accidental glow.,” she said in a tutorial uploaded to her TikTok. “If someone were to snap a photo of you, you’d be like: Is she wearing makeup or did she just get so lucky?”
“It’s a very marinated makeup look, so, base-wise, your best bet is going to be like a CC cream. Foundation tends to look ‘new’ when you first put it on, whereas this looks kind of like you wore it all day,” Kenealy explains. She recommends a tiny bit of powder in the T-zone, while avoiding touching the glow on the sides—and reckons bronzer and blush contributes to “that natural, worn-in radiance that we’re going for. We’re not trying to look frosty or like an ice princess with this pearl.”