Beauty Detail
The Beauty Step Justine Skye Will Never Skip
The singer, actor, and model shares her skin and makeup essentials.
In Bustle’s Beauty Detail, we dive into the beauty bags of our favorite talents for intel on the rituals that keep them glowing and the MVPs (most valuable products) they can't live without. Here, Justine Skye tells Bustle about her favorite makeup look of all time, what she’s learned about sunscreen, and more.
Justine Skye only recently became diligent about using sunscreen year-round. “I’ve learned a lot more about how sunscreen protects your skin on a daily basis even if it’s not a sunny day outside because the rays come through the clouds,” the 26-year-old musician, actor, and model tells Bustle over Zoom.
Skye chalks up this nugget of derm-approved skin care wisdom to her new partnership with Melē, a year-old skin care brand targeted toward (and created by) people with melanin-rich skin. Founded by Esi Eggleston-Bracey and Sarah Irby, both leaders at Unilever who collaborated with a team of dermatologists, skin care experts, and consumers of color for the launch, the brand includes products like a lactic acid-rich tonic, a dark spot-correcting serum, and an SPF-infused moisturizer with niacinamide and vitamin E. The latter has quickly become a staple in Skye’s skin care routine due to its blending capabilities and lack of a white cast.
Speaking of her beauty routine, Skye emphasizes the importance of healthy skin as a base to everything else. “As someone who’s consistently in full makeup looks, it’s crucial that I maintain a consistent skin care regimen with products that help amplify natural beauty and keep my face glowing — with or without makeup.” To achieve consistently radiant skin (even while recording her third studio album, Space & Time, released this past June), the Brooklyn native says she abides by this trifecta each day: “I [first] wash my face, obviously. You’ve got to start there. Afterward, I use a tonic to make sure my skin is clean. Then, moisturizing my skin is the most fun part — I love watching it come back to life and get hydrated and start glowing.”
Things get a little less regimented when it comes to makeup, though she does have a handful of tried-and-true faves in her bag (no pun intended). The star has been known to rock everything from a fierce cat eye to sculptural, braided updos to colorful French tips, though she says her favorite look to date is the pastel lavender purple eyeshadow makeup artist Jamal Scott crafted for her “In My Bag” music video. “It was just flawless,” she muses. “I was obsessed with that.”
Skye might leave eye makeup looks to her glam team, but she’s picked up a few tricks from them along the way when it comes to her lips. “I can now do my own lip liner,” she says. “Lip liner is so important for me. Some people just like to throw on a lip color, but lip liner really accentuates the lip and gives it so much more character instead of just the color itself. When you learn how to line your lips perfectly, you start to fall in love with them even more.” MAC Lip Pencil in Chesnut, she adds, “is, like, the only lip liner I use.”
Below, the multihyphenate reveals more of the top skin care and makeup products she swears by, from a fragrant face mist that makes her feel like she’s “killing it” to a dark spot-correcting serum that helps with hyperpigmentation.
Her Go-To SPF
“I use this the most. It’s one of my favorite products in the world. It blends so well into my skin. It’s especially good for people who have a lot of melanin in their skin — it's so hard to find something transparent that doesn't leave a white cast.”
Her Fave Lip Product
“I know this says it’s a ‘sleeping mask,’ but I wear it throughout the whole entire day. It’s the best thing I’ve ever used on my lips.”
Her MVP Face Mist
“I need this. It’s so refreshing. I'm not even sure exactly what it does, but it wakes me up. I feel like I'm just killing it every time I spray it on my face.”
Her Dark Spot-Fading Serum
“This dark spot corrector helps with hyperpigmentation — it's really important. This and Melé’s Dew The Most Sheer Moisturizer SPF 30 really work hand-in-hand.”
Her Eyebrow Essential
“I need my eyebrow gel because my eyebrows have a mind of their own. There's nothing that annoys me more than when they're like out of place. Sometimes I even use hairspray [on them] when I go out.”
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