Maybe it’s pure coincidence, maybe it’s subconscious makeup muscle memory, but there’s something rather familiar about Sarah Ferguson’s latest beauty look. The glossy lip, the glowy skin, the diffused smokey eye, the half-up, half down hair… it’s certainly ringing a few bells with us. And they’re of the wedding variety.
The Duchess of York put in a very glamorous appearance in Cannes last night (17 July), a date that she’ll definitely have ringed in the royal diary. It was exactly five years yesterday since her eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, tied the knot with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, wearing a very similar style of glowy makeup.
Perhaps Fergie had been flipping through her daughter’s wedding album before choosing her glam?
The Duchess with her glowy, ageless look
Being held in the first few months of the pandemic, Princess Beatrice’s July 2020 wedding was a low-key, private affair, with only a handful of official photos. However, the ones we do have show the newlywed princess with a radiant glow matched closely by her mother’s look last night.
Sarah’s gorgeous makeup was the work of Jess Doyle, assistant to royal MUA favourite Hannah Martin
That’s hardly surprising, since the House of York is known to love the same signature beauty look, even sharing the same makeup artist on occasion. Princess Beatrice’s bridal makeup was the work of celebrity MUA Hannah Martin, who also did her sister Eugenie’s nuptial glow and worked with all three royals together for the King’s Coronation.
While Hannah wasn’t personally on duty with the Duchess last night, her aesthetic influence was unmistakable in Sarah’s radiant appearance. The gorgeous look was created by MUA Jess Doyle, who just happens to be Hannah’s assistant and so knows all her signature tricks.
Radiant skin, glowy cheeks and a soft smokey eye for Sarah
It’s a makeup style that works beautifully across all generations, because it’s one built upon the principle of what Hannah calls ‘light layers’.
Hannah’s style of glow starts with nourishing skincare (Weleda Skin Food is a Hannah favourite, especially for drier skin), followed by a sheer, glow-boosting foundation, with only as much coverage as each person needs. ‘Shiseido Revitalessence Glow Foundation is my favourite for this, and Barry M Fresh Face Foundation is a really good, affordable option,’ she says.
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Start featherlight, blending the smallest possible amount into the skin, then only adding a little extra if needed. Less is definitely more. If skin doesn’t need much coverage, Hannah is a fan of L’Oreal Paradise Lumi Glotion to cheat a photo filter effect on bare skin. Then just add small and strategic dabs of concealer as necessary.
Blusher is another key product in Hannah’s arsenal. ‘Nothing brings skin to life like cream blusher,’ she says, namechecking Doll Beauty Pretty Fly Cream Melt is a recent find.
The photos of Sarah and Beatrice taken exactly five years apart also show the evergreen beauty of a super-soft, diffused eye pencil. A rich chocolate brown keeps the look ageless, and it’s a look that’s made equally budge-proof and bodge-proof with Hannah’s favourite product.
‘I’m obsessed with kajal pencils,’ says Hannah, who recently launched her own limited edition Spiced Pecan shade with Hildun, a product she says is ‘just as good’ as the famous Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner Eyeliner, and half the price at £16.
‘Kajals are so soft that they’re effortless to apply and there’s no dragging of the skin,’ she says. Not only do they glide on, ‘they then dry and really set in place. While the formula is fresh on, I like to use a small smudging brush to blend, which creates a much more diffused and subtle finish.’
No wonder the royals are such fans of ‘the queen of the smokey eye’.
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