Hello gorgeous, glow
ing skin.

As a makeup artist, I love when the seasons change. It makes playing with exciting new colors and products even more fun. As we leave the cold winter months behind, in favor of March and April, this is the perfect time to transition your makeup and embrace your inner golden goddess. Regardless of where you fall in the color spectrum, you can still perk up your complexion and encourage a lit-from-within glow. The foundation to beautiful skin is well cared for skin. For the best results, remember to cleanse and moisturize your skin twice per day. The following tips and products are some of my favorites to use on myself and clients for beautiful, vibrant spring looks.

Sunless tanner has come a long way since the early days of streaky elbows, splotchy faces, and orange-stained palms. In my years as a licensed cosmetologist and beauty expert, I’ve experimented with tons of products including sprays, lotions, mousses, towels, and creams. While all types offer different pros and cons, one of my current go-to products is the Phenomenal 2-3 Week Tan by Vita Liberata. Buffed into the skin with a tanning mitt, this foamy, mostly odorless, formula sinks in, dries quickly, and offers a convenient clean application. For optimal results, remember to exfoliate the skin a day before. Also, just because your skin looks sun-kissed doesn’t mean it’s safe from sun damage, so remember to continue wearing sun protection. To increase the life of your faux tan, avoid scrubs and harsh soaps, and moisturize daily.

Once your skin is properly prepped and you’ve applied your choice of foundation, the cheeks are the perfect area to add a wash of color. (Whether you wear tinted moisturizer, BB cream, cream, liquid, or powder foundation, be sure to find a color that truly matches your skin. Going too dark will create an unrealistic look that will neither enhance your appearance nor look realistic.) Because they sit at a higher plane on the face, your cheeks are normally one of the first areas to react to the sun by tanning or burning. Since we all know the effects sun damage has on the skin, it’s best to mimic a natural flush of color with bronzer, blush, and highlighter—my three staples for an effortless glow.

I always startwith bronzer, which can be applied under the cheekbones, on the temples, along the jawline, and across the top of the forehead near the hairline to contour the face. To create a more natural tan, I use a bronzer with a matte finish. For a more festive look, there are bronzers with shimmer. Some of my favorites are Hoola by Benefit, Laguna from NARS, Faux Tan by Bare Escentuals and Milk Chocolate from Too Faced. When applying powdered bronzer, you can use an angled cheek contouring brush for more precision. Remember to blend the darker color softly for a flawless finish.

Once you’ve warmed up and defined the face with bronzer, it’s time to soften the cheeks with blush. Depending on your skin tone, coral, apricot, pink, and peach shades can be applied with a blush brush above the bronzer. Some of my favorite colors come from Nars and Milani, which are affordable whether you’re a drugstore beauty shopper or a regular at the cosmetics counter. For the most natural application, apply blush closest to the hairline first and slowly work your way closer into the face. Avoid going too close to the sides of the nose and the mouth.  A light wash of color is all you need to wake up your skin. To even out the rest of the face, you can lightly apply some blush to the forehead, nose, and chin.

To finish off your gorgeous glow add a touch of highlighter right above the blush. When I work with a cream solid like RMS Beauty or a liquid like Revlon Photoready Skinlights, which are both absolutely beautiful, I take a small amount and gently buff it into the skin with my fingers or a small stipling brush building intensity gradually. Powder highlighters like Candelight from Too Faced can be applied with a soft angled brush on the same area. This final step will help you achieve a visually plumped up cheek area, which is the final touch to a gorgeous, glowing complexion.