During my early teens in the 2000s, when I was first hearing Britney Spears’s risqué fourth album, I discovered that fruitful magic of makeup. After-school days in my sleepy suburban town were spent trekking to the drugstore in search of one thing and one thing only: Bronzer. Lots of it. My room, desk, and locker were filled with multitonal compacts in ruddy golds, tannish browns, and a shade of orange that could only be described as “rotting tangerine.” And I employed that burnished powder as a contouring stripe, dusted down my cheekbones to the corners of my mouth to emphasize a superficial concave sliver. You would think that this bronzer binge was a phase that I would one day leave behind in pursuit of higher forms of beauty. But that never happened—at least, not until a few days ago.

The decision to ditch the expired citrus hues struck me on one especially arctic winter day: I had slept through my alarm and rushed out of the house sans makeup, only to be hit by subzero temperatures. After suffering through a brutal walk in which the wind whipped my face for fifteen minutes, I finally caught a glimpse of myself when I reached the office. My cheeks were red, bright red, and I looked alive. That sickly resting face syndrome that has forever plagued me? Gone. In its place was a cheery, eternally youthful glow that I radiated until temperatures became more bearable.

Even if that pretty, natural blood-to-the-surface hue faded away, all was not lost, I realized. Makeup could just as easily replicate the flush. Just look to the Topshop Unique fall 2015 show where models strutted out with beautiful, rosy cheeks ablaze. Had they been frolicking in the snow like a Russian toddler before they took to the catwalk? Not quite. Rather, it was the handiwork of makeup artist Hannah Murray who was inspired by cherubic choir boys and Stella Tennant running around with Bruce Weber in Scotland. Here, see Murray’s five tips for creating a windswept flush to keep you looking healthy all season long.

1. When it comes to color, don’t worry about going too deep.
“[The blush] doesn’t need to be sickly sweet and doll-like. What we did was ruddier, heartier, and more weathered, which is obviously what happens to you when you’re in the cold.”

2. Lay off of the foundation and concealer.
“The key is not to use a thick layer of foundation. Cream blush doesn’t mix well with foundation—you want to put it on raw skin. Then, you can perfect the skin around it with a little foundation or concealer—and that obviously makes it less makeup-y as well.”

3. A dose of blush isn’t just for the apples of the cheeks.
“Apply your blush slightly below the apples of the cheeks. It is where you naturally get weathered when the cold hits your skin, and blush rushes to its surface—it’s a little lower than normal blush.”

4. If you contour with bronzer, use sparingly.
“If you get to contouring, apply the blush a little higher on the apple of the cheek so it moves into that contour, otherwise you are going to get [an obvious] stripe of [makeup]. I like to contour with a little highlighter on the cheek, because the light hits the highlight, naturally shading the face and making it look much fresher. The whole point of this look [at Topshop] was that it was raw, beautiful, and flawless with flushed skin, so contour suddenly gets quite makeup-y and you don’t get that freshness.”

5. A dab of lipstick does the trick.
“There is something about the texture about lipstick that works into the skin. It is so easy and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on this. You do the lips and then you put the excess [color from the lip] on the cheek with your fingers and it pairs very beautifully. It works well without it looking cosmetic.”

RMS lip2cheek in Beloved rmsbeauty.com

By Terry Baume de Rose Nutri-Coleur in Bloom Berry barneys.com

Topshop Cheek Jelly in Reign, $14; topshop.com

With whipping winds and plunging temperatures dominating much of the backstage chitchat at the New York shows, it’s no wonder the week’s beauty dialogue has been increasingly skin care–centric. “In the wintertime, you see [dryness] a lot,” makeup artist Tom Pecheux admitted yesterday morning at The Row, where he was massaging two drops of jojoba oil into Estée Lauder’s DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme before starting in on the show’s incredibly minimal makeup look. “Plus, to be honest,” Pecheux continued, “putting on and taking off makeup dries your skin. So the [moisturizing], and massaging process is very important.” At Victoria Beckham over the weekend, Pat McGrath echoed a similar sentiment, nurturing models’ parched complexions with SK-II Facial Treatment Masks while they got their hair done and before they received the makeup artist’s natural skin and smudgy, sexy lids.

Hydration treatments aside, microwater mists and moisturizers have been a key part of the finished look at more than a few shows—which may explain the supernaturally luminous complexions spotted on the runways, in spite of the record cold. To mimic the “nineties scrubbed raw skin” of a young Sofia Coppola at Opening Ceremony, the makeup artist Yadim dialed up a good helping of Dr.Jart+ Ceramidin Liquid and Ceramidin Cream to lock in moisture and reduce redness; Charlotte Tilbury tucked into MAC Studio Moisture Cream—and little else—at Donna Karan to get the “really luminous” finish she was after without using highlighter; and last night at Rag & Bone, Gucci Westman relied on Omorovicza Blue Diamond Concentrate and Super Cream to preserve the essence of the designers’ “cool, modern” woman with the skin to match.

Here are the five backstage go-to staples you’d do well to stock up on this week.

Dr.Jart+ Ceramidin Cream, $48; sephora.com

Omorovicza Blue Diamond Concentrate, $410; omorovicza.com

Estée Lauder DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme, $50; esteelauder.com

SK-II Facial Treatment Masks, $135 for ten; sephora.com

MAC Studio Moisture Cream, $33; nordstrom.com

To offset the side effects of late-night after-parties followed by all-too-early call times—tired eyes don’t exactly go with what we’re wearing—one Brooklyn juice company has come to our rescue just in time for the final stretch of New York Fashion Week. To start today off right, Williamsburg’s Grass Roots Juicery has served up a trio of simple, supercharged recipes designed to supplement sleepless nights, one too many glasses of champagne, and a caffeine-fueled cappuccino habit. From an Immune Champion blend for fighting the fashion flu to a Refueler Smoothie designed to provide a much-needed energy boost, here’s what we’ll be sipping on until Friday. Just chop, blend, and drink.

THE SKIN DEFENDER:

Complexion-calming cucumber and free radical–fighting beets restore balance to the skin when your concealer isn’t enough.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cucumbers
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 cup beets (with skin!)
1/2 handful parsley

THE IMMUNE CHAMPION:

A base of alkalizing carrots and lemons round out this vitamin C and echinacea–packed juice—so you can make it through to Marc Jacobs on Thursday night (and beyond) feeling blissfully sniffle-free.
Ingredients:
3 carrots
1 pear
1/2 lemon
1 1/2 oranges
1 ml echinacea tincture

THE REFUELER SMOOTHIE:

When eating three balanced meals is a challenge, a shot of B12 mixed with vitamin K–heavy kale and antioxidant-packed goji berries will provide a clarifying energy boost.
Ingredients:
6 oz. coconut milk
2 1/2 handfuls of spinach
1 small handful of kale
1 cup of frozen pineapples
Dash of cinnamon
B12 drops (optional)
Gogi berries, for topping​

Of all the It ingredients we’ve reported on over the years, none has seemed so curiously pedestrian as this: Water. Yet, despite its lack of flash, good old-fashioned H20 is as essential for great skin as it is for life on Earth. Without enough of it, “skin not only looks dry and haggard, it can’t adequately perform everyday functions, like exfoliation, making collagen, and self-repair,” explains New York City dermatologist Amy Wechsler. But while water has excellent moisturizing properties when applied topically in cream or serum, says the cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson, its effects are usually fleeting—it hydrates cells on the surface, then quickly evaporates.

Now, the top beauty companies are racing to find new ways to make it perform more effectively—launching a new wave of innovative face serums, elixirs, and masks that’s taking its hydrating potential to the next level. Some are encapsulating water inside tiny spheres that can slip through the skin’s tough keratin-rich barrier, or infusing it with smart nutrients and minerals; others are devising ways to capture water with supercharged humectants that deliver intense, all-day moisture yet feel lightweight and fresh to the touch.
Here, eight supercharged formulas guaranteed to make a splash in your arsenal this season.

1 / 8

Perricone MD Blue Plasma Cleansing Treatment

The oil-grabbing surfactants in this no-rinse facial cleansing water clear out pores without overstripping—while simultaneously delivering clarity-boosting minerals under the skin.

2 / 8

Chanel Hydra Beauty Micro Sérum

The French beauty house’s breakthrough fluid suspends hydrating camellia oil within water droplets, keeping it pure and potent until the moment it hits the skin. Antioxidant blue ginger protects the moisture barrier.

3 / 8

Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Water Sure Gel

This cool gel drenches skin upon contact; a trio of proven moisture magnets—hyaluronic acid, trehalose, and fructan—seals it in for hours.

4 / 8

Teoxane RHA Serum

The patented ingredient of hyaluronic acid in this serum is released slowly throughout the day—meaning it constantly replenishes skin’s water supply while driving in key ingredients, like N-acetyl glucosamine, an antioxidant shown to stimulate the body’s own production of hyaluronic acid.

5 / 8

Givenchy Hydrasparkling High Moisturizing Luminescence Sap Serum

A fine-tuned combination of sugars and amino acids joins forces with an ancient Indian tree resin to smooth, strengthen, and recharge cells for a soft and glow-y effect.

Givenchy Hydrasparkling High Moisturizing Luminescence Sap Serum

6 / 8

Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel

With a cult-y vibe and Korean roots, this depuffing gel not only soothes tired eyes, it bolsters the skin barrier with hydrating botanicals and regulates its moisture balance.

7 / 8

StriVectin Anti-Wrinkle Hydra Gel Treatment

Plump fine lines (anywhere on the face) in fifteen minutes and two steps: The slippery patches—gelled water laced with hyaluronic acid—push fluids into the skin; the smoothing balm acts as a sealant, prolonging the effects and fighting more pronounced wrinkles with a powerful niacin derivative.

8 / 8

Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Hydrating Primer

This water-based gel primer goes way beyond basic blurring. It floods the complexion with humectants and strengthens with a vitamin D-like compound, shoring up the skin’s natural water reserves. Rounding out the perfect package: It never pills, and helps makeup wear like iron.

 

 Gigi Hadid, Eva Herzigova, Hilary Rhoda, Anja Rubik. By now it’s a well-known fact that Peter Dundas’s model fan club—from the well-established to the newly minted—turns out in droves for his seasonal collections. But even amidst such good company, the Brazilian bombshell Izabel Goulart stood out from the pack backstage tonight. “I’m a big fan [of Pucci] and I love everything about Peter [Dundas]—as a designer, as a human being, the way he makes women look feminine, strong, and casual at the same time,” she said. “I just flew in from Brazil. It was a last-minute thing. I came straight here [from the airport] to share a special memory with him.” Not that we were really listening—because Goulart’s skin was emitting the kind of supernatural glow that makes it hard to concentrate. For counteracting dry cabin air and post-flight jet lag throughout the twelve-hour flight, she says, she relies on one simple strategy. “Face oil—any brand. I just go for one that’s more heavy than what I usually use, and I really put a lot on.” Other than walking in Dundas’s show and staying well-moisturized, is there anything else she plans on doing in Milan tonight before hopping on a plane back home later this week? “Eating!” she says, breaking into a laugh. “I love to eat in this city!”

Rodin Luxury Face Oil