Backstage at Oscar de la Renta’s pre-spring 2025 show this morning, makeup artist Hung Vanngo prepped model Candice Swanepoel for the runway. Her skin was radiant, ethereal, gleaming… all the adjectives you’d associate with the most shimmery serum or creamy highlighter. So when I asked Vanngo to share his product secrets, I was surprised when he pulled out a pressed matte powder.
If you follow Vanngo—and a few million people do—you know that he has been doing Selena Gomez’s makeup for many years. And that means he’s also been putting her Rare Beauty formulas to the test for many years. The latest one, which Allure was the first to see in action today, is the True To Myself Tinted Pressed Finishing Powder, coming on July 18. When I got my exclusive sneak peek backstage at the Oscar de la Renta show (Rare Beauty was a sponsor), Vanngo explained how a matte formula can deliver such a luminous finish. “People were scared of powders in the past because the particles used to be so thick,” he says, but that’s clearly not the case anymore. As he delicately dusted a veil over the models’ T-zones—the forehead, nose, and down to the chin—I saw firsthand that the result was less shine, just as much glow. “I love glowy, healthy skin,” says Vanngo. “But certain areas need to be controlled.”
Filippo Fortis