3 Products Adwoa Aboah’s Makeup Artist Swears By For Her Fresh Skin Look

Model Adwoa Aboah's fresh complexion is often the envy of people everywhere but behind the scenes she often talks about her struggle with skin concerns, such as acne.

For high profile shoots (and the odd Instagram selfie) however, her friend and makeup artist Celia Burton is always on hand to ensure she feels comfortable in her skin, but her go-to makeup routine isn't as high maintenance as you might think. Here are the complexion products and clever tricks Celia swears by for achieving Adwoa's signature fresh skin look.

Adwoa is diligent about her skincare routine, prescribed by a facialist, according to Celia, and so always moisturises prior to sitting in the makeup chair. For that reason, Celia just goes straight for foundation, but there's a knack to application.

"Adwoa is really freckly, so a heavy foundation applied all over just looks weird on her," said Celia, who opts for an oil-free base, like Revlon's Colorstay Foundation, $16.97 CAD. "We use a 'dot to dot' method and cover up any redness only. If we're looking to hide just one red blemish, then I’ll use concealer, but if the skin is a little more hormonal and patchy, a foundation is best and it should always be slightly sheer."

For seamless blending, Celia prefers a Beautyblender, $26.00 CAD, over brushes or using her fingers. "Beautyblenders lighten the load of the foundation and give skin a realistic texture," she said. It also pays to apply foundation in natural light, "especially on darker skin," said Celia.

"I use something a little bit pink-toned under Adwoa's eyes and blur it out with the Beautyblender, but it's usually not a really heavy colour corrector," said Celia. "I like Becca's Backlight Targeted Colour Corrector, $39 CAD, and use this as an eye brightener. It’s my go-to. If you wanted to, you could simply use a pink highlighter under the eye, but make it a cream."

"To set whatever makeup I’ve put on the skin, I always use a little bit of translucent powder," said Celia. "Because Adwoa doesn’t wear that much makeup apart from a cream base, I have to set it. Otherwise, you could end up looking really shiny. It’s about taking away the areas you don’t want to reflect much light, such as the nose and forehead. I'd advise leaving the rest of your face totally free from powder because it’s so lovely to see that glow along the top of the cheekbones."

Depending on whether Adwoa wants a warmer look, Celia sometimes adds a veil of bronzer. "Unlike foundation, bronzer is the only thing I put all over her face," she told R29. "It just brightens her skin. I tend to focus more on the high points of the face," such as the cheekbones and around the forehead.

Another of Adwoa's favourite looks is a bold lip and a naked eye, but only occasionally, such as at red carpet events or launch parties. "The great thing about Adwoa is that she isn’t scared of colour at all and she always sends me references," said Celia. "We like a lot of red lipstick and use a cotton bud to blur the edges, otherwise it looks too grown-up. A beige-nude or a Lauryn Hill-inspired '90s brown shade is always a look on her, too. Revlon's Kiss Cloud Blotted Lip Colour in Chocolate Souffle, $13.99 CAD, would look great, as it's slightly powdery and soft. It's all about non-committal makeup that you can just sheer out and whack on."