The phrase ‘like butter’ is always a good thing. Steak cuts like butter? Brilliant. A voice like butter? Stunning. A face that looks like butter? Chic. We swear. And yes, we’re willing to justify why…

The 'Butter Skin' Trend

Allow us to explain the aesthetic of 'butter skin'. Think hazy, velvety base makeup that looks like it’s gone on like literal butter. There’s a synergy between the makeup and the skin – it’s not sitting atop the complexion, but melting right into it. There are no harsh blush circles or contour lines, everything is blended to perfection. Essentially, the whole face looks as smooth as a stick of butter.

It’s got a sheen to it (like the best blocks of butter tend to), but it’s not dripping with dew. It’s about bringing back velvety mattes that don’t look lifeless. There’s a buttery smoothness, but a buttery brightness, like you’ve perfected a face of makeup, then taken a stick of butter over the top to give it life. Sounds bizarre, looks beautiful.

If you ask us, celebrity makeup artist extraordinaire Nina Park has truly perfected the butter skin finish on stunning clients like Lily-Rose Depp, Laura Harrier and Daisy Edgar Jones. Take a look for yourself... 

How To Get 'Butter Skin'

Best Skin Care Products For 'Butter Skin'

When it comes to prepping your butter skin, the foundation you lay for your foundation is key, and so everything starts with skin care. You want your face to be smooth (yes, as smooth as butter), plus plump and hydrated. Ample moisture is essential, of course, but you'll want to first clear the complexion of anything getting in the way of that buttery look and feel.

Exfoliate effectively yet gently with a formula like the Dior Prestige Le Sucre de Gommage ($200 at Myer); it starts out as a scrub powered by sugar micro-crystals and transforms into a nourishing oil and wax-rich mask as you massage it in. Exfoliation and hydration is the combination you need to commit to if butter skin is the goal, so this product is a perfect starting point.

From there, treatment products should focus on reviving brightness. For example, the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Serum ($242 at Adore Beauty) is beloved by beauty editors for good reason. And that reason lies in the tone-evening, brightening benefits it offers. The more even the natural skin looks, the less base you will need, ensuring the finish of your foundation stays buttery and doesn't dare steer cakey.

With skin looking visibly more even, it's time to top up on hydration and softness with a buttery moisturising mask (applied as daily moisturiser; decadent, right?). The Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask ($40 at MECCA) teaches a masterclass in moisture-replenishing - you can feel all the nourishment as it sinks into your skin, and the silky-soft finish it leaves the face with is next to none.

Best Makeup Products For 'Butter Skin'

Once the skin has been properly prepped, it's time to apply your buttery base. When selecting your foundation, look for buzzwords like 'velvety' and 'airbrushed', ideally with luminising ingredients but a slightly soft-focus finish. You want the skin to look hazy but bright, so the balance between the two is the secret. The Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation ($120 at Myer) has been a mainstay in celebrity makeup artist kits for years, thanks to its luminous finish but hardworking coverage. Olivia Jade also just crowned it as her butter skin essential, so you know it's working a treat for the trend.

A dusting of a light powder (with an equally light hand) will help with the desired hazy effect - just make sure you opt for something finely-milled, pore-blurring and yet still hydrating. The Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder ($73 at Charlotte Tilbury), for example, features moisturising rose wax and almond oil, allowing it to enhance the look and longevity of your base without disrupting the velvety finish.

For the final step, sweep a moisturising highlighting balm not just over the high points of the face, but all over. Again, keep your application light (and your formula free of shimmer) to achieve the slightly glossy look sans sparkle. It's a sheen we're chasing, not a shimmer. The Chanel Baume Essentiel Multi-Use Glow Stick ($83 at David Jones) is what we'd recommend. It's transparent in colour, and has to be one of the few truly understated illuminators on the market.

That's your recipe for recreating the butter skin trend. And the results will be every bit as deliciously good as a swipe of the real thing, we assure you...

Main image credit: @ninapark

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