Best Natural Makeup for Dark Skin: Achieve a Flawless Finish

Denise Crew

Natural Know-How

Get even. If your skin is a deep color, you probably know you're at risk for hyperpigmentation — brown patches caused by excess melanin. Balance your complexion by matching your foundation to your lightest area, suggests Ashunta Sheriff, a celebrity makeup artist in New York City.

Prep your pout. Instead of tracing lips with a pencil that's in the same shade as your gloss, use a liner that's identical to your natural lip tone. "This trick will give your smile definition without looking artificial," explains celebrity makeup artist Joanna Schlip, in Los Angeles.

Play up eyes. Add a little more drama to your gaze by dusting a chocolate-toned shadow over lids. Then curl your lashes and lightly dot along your lash line with a brown felt-tip liner, which Schlip says offers the most precise application.

Peter Ardito

Natural Foundation for Dark Skin

Create a seamless canvas with Josie Maran Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30 in Desert ($38, sephora.com). It contains organic argan oil, which sinks into skin.

Peter Ardito

Natural Blush for Dark Skin

A swoosh of vitamin-laced Mary Kay Mineral Cheek Color in Bold Berry ($10, marykay.com) gives a pretty cranberry accent to your cheekbones.

Peter Ardito

Natural Eye Shadow for Dark Skin

Velvety jasmine, orchid, and geranium extracts help Aveda Petal Essence Single Eye Color in Briar ($12, aveda.com) glide across eyelids easily.

Peter Ardito

Natural Lip Gloss for Dark Skin

Deeper tones get a just-ate-berries effect from all-natural Burt's Bees Super Shiny Lip Gloss in Zesty Red ($6.99, burtsbees.com).

Originally published in FITNESS magazine, April 2010.