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The Scandi Girl makeup look is hot on TikTok right now, teaching people how to create “natural” makeup looks akin to how we imagine Aphrodite. It’s giving us Stockholm Syndrome, but in an untested, sexy way. If you want to embrace this bronzed, Nordic look, we’re here to help.
What Is the Scandi Girl Look?
The Scandi Girl look is all about that natural beauty, even if it involves pounds of makeup. The aesthetic focuses on simplicity and minimalism, enhancing features for an effortlessly exquisite look.
That means no bold red lips or green eyeshadow. You won’t see blue eyelashes or purple lipstick. Instead, the aesthetic aims to make you look naturally flawless by hiding pores, evening skin tone, and defining features.
The Scandi Girl look emphasizes skin radiance, and we’ll help you achieve that goddess-like brilliance.
How to Get the Scandi Girl Look
Without further ado, here’s your new routine to look as fresh and angelic as all the Nordic ladies.
1. TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN
Sorry — we didn’t mean to yell. But healthy skin is essential to Nordic beauty, and I want all of you babes to have gorgeous, glowing faces. Hydration is crucial, both inside and out.
Use hydrating facial serums, creams like The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 and Tatcha’s The Dewy Skin Cream, and drink lots of water throughout the day. Staying well-hydrated keeps your skin healthy and can mitigate problems with acne or dry skin.
Avoid harsh products and be kind to your skin. We love to use lush and soft cleansers like the Farmacy Green Clean Gentle Creamy Cleanser or the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser.
Ensure you wear a reliable SPF if you’ll be in the sun, even if it’s a little cloudy. While there are certainly SPF slaves out there who say you should wear sunscreen during thunderstorms, when you’re indoors, and throughout the night, we’re not that intense. But if the sun is shining and the sunglasses are on, the SPF should be too. The LANEIGE Hydro UV Defense Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ is our go-to, but anything with SPF 30+ is acceptable.
2. Create a Flawless Base
If you tend to breeze past this part of your makeup routine, it’s time to change the fundamentals of how you do your makeup. Your primary focus should be creating that poreless foundation. The eyes, lips, and brows are secondary.
For your primer, we recommend the Sephora Collection Smooth + Blur Primer and the Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Face Primer. Actually, for the Scandi Girl look, all of Charlotte Tilbury’s face makeup works, so if you want to simplify this, get one of her face kits, like the Hollywood Flawless Complexion Duo!
Next, you need a foundation that truly works with your skin. Make sure the color and texture are spot-on. Finding the perfect foundation can be difficult, but it’s worth it. The FENTY BEAUTY Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Liquid Foundation is a sensational option. Apply your foundation liberally all over your face, getting under your chin and neck.
If you prefer, you can do concealer before foundation. We intertwine these steps, putting both on our faces and blending them at the same time. The Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer is a fabulous choice that offers all-day wear. The best spots for concealer depend on your skin. Focus on discolored areas, redness, blemishes, and dullness. But it’s okay to let natural elements shine, like freckles!
3. Get That Flirty Glow And Glimmer
Elevate the look with a blush, bronzer, and/or highlighter. You don’t need all three, but with a light touch, all three come together beautifully. Keep the blush only on the apples of your cheeks, meaning the roundest point on your cheekbone.
Choose a hue that matches your skin tone for a natural appearance. It should be the same color as your cheeks when you pinch them! Both the Charlotte Tilbury Lip and Cheek Glow and MILK MAKEUP Lip and Cheek Cream Blush Stick are wonderful and comfortable blushes with ample shades to choose from.
For the Scandi Girl look, bronzer is a must because it creates that warm, sunny look. You can have your blush and warmth all at once with the bareMinerals COMPLEXION RESCUE Liquid Blonzer. If you want a more traditional bronzer, try the toasty Kylie Cosmetics Pressed Bronzing Powder.
Scandinavian girls always have that dewy, hydrated look, which a highlighter can amplify. You’ll look like an angel on her way to heaven with the Glossier Haloscope Highlighter or the more affordable e.l.f. Halo Glow Highlight Beauty Wand.
To make your life easier, use the e.l.f. Cosmetics Monochromatic Multi-Stick to achieve that Nordic radiance, working as blush and highlighter.
4. Keep the Eyes Simple
If you love a flamboyant eye look, the Scandi Girl aesthetic might not be for you. In fact, the eyeshadow and liner are completely optional.
Your eyelashes should look long and fluttery, so pick a lengthening, clumpless mascara like the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara or Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara. Do layers, letting the mascara dry in between. Shimmy the brush as you apply it to smooth out any clumps.
For eyeshadow, we encourage you to use matte, warm neutrals. We don’t want any unnatural colors or excessive sparkle. The about-face Matte Fluid Eye Paint is perfect, but if you’re a glittery girl at heart, the Urban Decay Naked Reloaded Eyeshadow Palette has just enough shimmer to satisfy. Whatever you use, stick with no more than two colors and apply it lightly and localize to your top lid.
You don’t need eyeliner, but if that little black line is essential to you, keep it thin and short. And skip the bottom eyeliner. Please, if you want the Nordic vibe, no bottom eyeliner! A liquid eyeliner with a fine point, like the Revlon ColorStay™ Liquid Eyeliner, is ideal for creating a subtle accent.
Those brows need to be daring and defined. Don’t go too sharp with the shape, or you’ll look more Real Housewives than Scandi Girl, but a strong, dark brow is a must-have element for the look. The NYX Micro Brow Pencil is easy to use and has a buildable formula to help you find the right color.
5. Light on the Lips
Many Scandi Girl looks have natural-looking lips, but there is wiggle room to do something more dramatic. For something sweet and bright, all you need is a shiny gloss, like the Buxom Full-On™ Plumping Lip Polish Gloss, which will also make your lips look fuller!
If you want a darker lip, the M.A.C. MACXIMAL Silky Matte Lipstick in Velvet Teddy or the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk are stunning options. They’re both luxurious but not flashy, defining your mouth without ruining the organic look.
The jury is out on lip liner. We skip it, but it does work for some Scandi Girl looks. If you use it, be sure it matches the lipstick, and don’t go too far outside your natural lip line.
6. Lock it In
Smudged mascara is decidedly not part of the aesthetic, so use a firm setting spray or powder to lock in the look. The last thing you want is disheveled makeup that taints the easy-breezy Nordic vibe. We recommend the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray — another reason to get one of Tilbury’s face makeup kits.
