Digital skin how-to is the SS27 beauty search that sits beside—not inside—our already-published Glass Hair How-To. This piece is about base finish: pale, glassy, translucent skin that looks almost too perfect to be real, then interrupted with texture so it still photographs as human. Marie Claire UK’s Nessa Humayun spoke to MAC senior artist Carly Utting and other London session leads ahead of Fashion Week; their moodboard is the sourced spine of this digital skin how-to. Hair notes from Sam McKnight and Larry King appear only as contrast—movement versus pure glass—so you do not confuse scalp shine with cheek shine.

Utting tells Marie Claire she is “obsessed with anything that feels whimsical, romantic and slightly witchy,” circling pale glassy translucent skin with a dark accent somewhere (a blood-red Siouxsie lip or a Robert Smith–esque black eye in her reference bank). For SS27 translation she flags texture as huge: finishes that feel new—reflective, wet, glassy, or powdered. The key sentence for this digital skin how-to: she is “really interested in digital texture at the moment: the hyper-real, reflective finish you see in digital fantasy imagery, where skin and shine just look too perfect to be real,” and she wants to recreate that feeling physically on a face.

What digital skin is (and is not)

Digital skin is not a full-coverage matte mask. It is a translucent, light-catching base that reads like retouched fantasy rendered in cream and gel—then grounded with deliberate texture so it does not tip into plastic. Think hyper-real highlight planes on high points, sheer coverage in the centre of the face, and strategic set so the finish stays glassy rather than greasy. It is also not our Glass Hair tutorial: keep oils and flat irons on the hair brief; this digital skin how-to lives on primer, sheer base, reflective highlighter placement, and disciplined powder.

Fara Homidi, also on the Marie Claire moodboard, offers a useful eye-and-lip counterweight even when the base stays translucent: she cites soft-grey eyeshadow and rich mauve-brown lips after rewatching The Devil’s Advocate, plus memory colours from Afghan upbringing—kohl, weathered skin, richly stained lips. You can keep the digital skin base clean and still finish with Homidi’s soft-grey lid and mauve-brown mouth if you want pared-back makeup against ornate clothing, which she names as an SS27 mood.

Digital skin how-to: product-agnostic steps

Prep for translucency. Cleanse, then a lightweight hydrating layer. Digital skin fails on dehydrated patches—glass needs an even water table, not more foundation.

Primer that grips without frosting. Choose a thin gripping or illuminating primer. Avoid thick silicone cakes that photograph as separate plastic film.

Sheer base, centre-out. Dot a light-to-medium luminous foundation or skin tint only where needed; blend outward. Leave edges thinner than the T-zone so skin still shows.

Correct sparingly. Spot-conceal only. Heavy under-eye packing kills the glassy read and turns digital skin into stage makeup.

Reflective highlighter placement. Cream or liquid highlighter on the high planes that catch key light: tops of cheekbones, bridge of nose (tiny), cupid’s bow, inner corners. Blend until the highlight looks like wet skin, not a stripe.

Build the “digital” peak. One extra sheer reflective layer on the cheek’s brightest third only—this is Utting’s hyper-real moment. Stop before it balls or separates.

Set strategically, not globally. Press translucent powder only where you crease or shine out of control (sides of nose, chin if needed). Leave the highlight zones unset so they stay glassy.

Optional dark interrupt. If you want Utting’s witchy contrast: one saturated lip or a smudged dark eye—never both at maximum, or the base disappears.

Flash test. Phone torch from 45 degrees. You want continuous sheen sheets, not patchy oil islands. Blot islands; do not powder the entire face.

Midday reset. Blot, then re-tap a rice-grain of liquid highlight—do not re-foundation.

Texture is the other half of the brief

Sam McKnight tells Marie Claire the season will see more texture: still leaning into a luxe, healthy hair finish, but with more movement and a softer side. Larry King pushes irregular waves, lived-in texture, deliberately undone styling—cooler, looser, slightly unkempt, with statement cuts mattering as much as finish. Read those lines as permission to pair digital skin with imperfect hair. Pure glass face plus pure glass hair can look costume; glassy translucent base plus McKnight/King movement is how SS27 editors will actually shoot outside the tents.

Utting’s wider references—’70s Stevie Nicks, Galliano-era Dior romance, The Love Witch technicolor clash, ’60s sex-siren gloss, Madonna’s Erotica era—explain why digital skin how-to can feel fantastical without becoming cosplay. Escapism is the mood word she uses; the technique stays modern: hyper-real reflectivity built with real products on real texture.

Checklist (no hard sell)

Hydrating prep (essence, lotion, or light cream—your call).

Thin primer with grip or soft luminosity.

Sheer luminous base or skin tint.

Accurate concealer for spots only.

Cream/liquid highlighter for digital planes.

Translucent powder for strategic set only.

Optional: soft-grey shadow + mauve-brown lip (Homidi cue).

Avoid: full-face baking, matte primers everywhere, glitter chunks that read craft not digital.

Where this sits on Cover Issue’s beauty desk

Earlier this week we filed Lip Gloss Lids, Anti-Blush sculpt cheeks, Body Blush for décolletage, and Glass Hair for LFW liquid shine. Digital skin how-to completes the reflective story on the face itself. Link it mentally with Body Blush if you want continuous luminosity from cheek to shoulder—but keep formulas lighter on the face than on the body so pores still read. Pair with Mulberry at Three for a full Sunday beauty-and-bag scroll.

Digital skin how-to is light management plus restraint. Build translucency, place reflectivity where a camera expects fantasy, set only what must be set, and let hair keep the lived-in half of SS27. When Utting says skin and shine can look too perfect to be real, she is describing a destination—not a filter. Recreate it physically, then walk outside and let London humidity negotiate the rest.