TikTok’s “Cloud Skin” Trend Is Reviving This Love-It-or-Hate-It Foundation

Allow me to take you back in time. The year is 2016. You were just introduced to The Crown after binge-watching the first season of Stranger Things. You’re listening to Beyonce’s latest album Lemonade as you do your makeup. You reach for your favorite matte, full-coverage foundation and apply it with abandon. 

Fast forward to 2020, and that old matte, full-coverage foundation is out. Dewy, light-reflecting foundations are in. Your goal is to have glowing skin—no matter if you call it glass, jello, dolphin, or glazed donut skin (or something else entirely…let’s be honest, there were too many monikers going around). 

Okay, let’s take it back to the present. It’s 2023, and a new trend is going viral on TikTok (it has 43 million views and counting). It’s called “cloud skin,” and it’s a combination of the 2016 and 2020 trends. In other words, it’s not about a fully matte finish (at least not the same matte finish from back in the day), and it’s not about a fully radiant finish. It’s somewhere in between—a velvety, natural-looking complexion with a soft-focus, lit-from-within look. Still, it’s bringing matte foundations back into the spotlight, as people use them to achieve a velvety, cloud-like complexion. Ahead, learn how to achieve “cloud skin” with the right product recommendations and the right advice from professional makeup artists. 

If the thought of reviving your long-abandoned matte foundations fills you with fear, know that this take on matte skin is different; it’s modernised. According to Kristen Fortier, Makeup Artist & Product Innovation Lead for Crunchi Cosmetics, “The goal is a ‘no filter’ needed look.” It’s not about heavy, cakey-looking coverage. It’s about something in between true matte and radiant. (Call it a conscious response to the super dewy trend of recent years…it just goes to show how cyclical beauty trends really are). 

Celebrity Makeup Artist Emily Gray agrees. “‘Cloud skin’ is a trend that is basically a new way of describing a soft, matte complexion. Cloud skin is still a lighter foundation routine (as opposed to a full coverage matte foundation), however, it is like the matte version of the popular dewy skin finish. This is a popular trend right now because it still goes along the lines of minimal makeup, but it is better for people with oily skin and it is better for film and flash photography. The cloud skin effect gives your skin almost a filter quality.”