Glass skin. Dolphin skin. Jello skin. Slugging. Glazed donut skin.
Y’all, I’m tired.
Every six months, TikTok tells me my face needs to look like a different dessert or marine animal, and I dutifully haul myself to Sephora, buy three new products, try it for a week, and go right back to my usual routine. It’s a cycle. I’m aware. I’m not proud.
But then the high rise skin trend showed up on my feed in early March 2026, and something about it just… clicked. Maybe it’s because it was coined by Daniel Martin — you know, Meghan Markle’s makeup artist, the man responsible for THAT wedding look — and not some random 19-year-old in a ring light. Or maybe it’s because for once, a skin trend actually makes practical sense.
Either way, I’ve been testing the high rise skin method for the past week, and my coworker Priya asked if I got a facial. I did not. I got a $12 toner from Target and learned how to hold a foundation brush differently.
So let me break this down — what the high rise skin trend 2026 is, how it’s different from every other “skin” trend you’ve heard of, and exactly how to get the look with products you might already own.
What Is the High Rise Skin Trend, Exactly?
Okay so here’s the deal. The term “high rise skin” comes from celebrity makeup artist Daniel Martin, and the metaphor is actually kind of brilliant.
High rise skin is the idea that your skincare routine is the foundation of a skyscraper — and your makeup is just the building on top. The “higher” and better your skin prep, the less makeup you need, and the better everything looks. It’s about smoothness, evenness, and dimension that comes from properly prepped skin, not from layers of product.
Think of it as a controlled glow. Not the wet, I-just-ran-a-5K shine of glass skin. Not the blinding highlight of dolphin skin. It’s a refined glow — the kind where people can’t tell if you’re wearing makeup or just have really, really good skin.
The Daniel Martin high rise skin philosophy boils down to this: invest your time in steps 1 through 3 (cleanse, tone, moisturize) and you can basically phone in step 4 (foundation). The skin does the work. The makeup just… enhances.
I’d been chasing glass skin for literal years, but it always looked… wet on me. Like I’d just applied a face mask and forgot to wipe it off. High rise skin finally felt like a look I could actually wear to brunch AND to work without my manager giving me side-eye.
And honestly? The timing makes sense. We’re in a moment where skin finish trends 2026 are all pointing the same direction — away from heavy coverage, toward skin that looks like skin. The “no-makeup makeup” concept isn’t new, but high rise skin gives us an actual framework for getting there.
High Rise Skin vs. Glass Skin vs. Dolphin Skin — What’s the Difference?
This is the part where people get confused, and I don’t blame them. There are approximately 47 “skin” trends floating around at any given time. Let me simplify.
| Trend | Finish | Key Technique | Vibe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glass Skin | Translucent, wet-look shine | Layered hydrating products | “I’m a dewy K-beauty goddess” |
| Dolphin Skin | Reflective, high-shine | Liquid highlighter everywhere | “I am literally a marine mammal” |
| Jello Skin | Bouncy, plump | Collagen + plumping serums | “Poke my cheek, I dare you” |
| High Rise Skin | Refined, controlled glow | Skin prep + minimal foundation | “I woke up like this (almost)” |
Here’s the real difference that matters: glass skin, dolphin skin, and jello skin are all about adding MORE stuff to your face to achieve a specific finish. High rise skin flips that. It’s about preparing your skin so well that you need LESS on top.
Glass skin wants you to look luminous. High rise skin wants you to look like you have good skin. Those are two different things, and once I realized that, everything changed for me.
Why High Rise Skin Is the Evolution of Glass Skin
Glass skin came out of K-beauty and absolutely dominated for years. I was DEEP in it — the seven-step routines, the essence layers, the sleeping masks. My boyfriend James still has PTSD from the number of bottles on my bathroom shelf during that era.
But glass skin was designed for Korean beauty standards and skin types. When Western beauty adopted it, something got lost in translation. On a lot of us — especially if you have oily or combo skin — glass skin just looked… greasy. Like, “are you okay? Do you need a blotting sheet?” greasy.
High rise skin takes the best part of the K-beauty philosophy (skincare FIRST, always) and adapts it for people who want to look polished, not shellacked. It’s the grown-up version. It’s glass skin with a job.
How to Get High Rise Skin: Step-by-Step Routine
Okay, this is what you actually came for. Let me walk you through the high rise skin routine step by step — including the mistakes I made the first time so you don’t have to.
The whole concept behind how to get high rise skin is this: spend 80% of your time on skin prep and 20% on actual makeup. Most of us do the exact opposite. I know because I used to spend approximately 4 seconds moisturizing and then 15 minutes blending foundation. Unhinged behavior, looking back.
Step 1 — Double Cleanse for a Clean Canvas
You can’t build a skyscraper on a messy lot. (See? The metaphor works.)
Double cleansing means an oil-based cleanser first to break down sunscreen, makeup, and all that sebum from the day — followed by a gentle water-based cleanser to actually clean your skin.
I know double cleansing sounds extra. I thought so too until I realized my skin prep for makeup was basically splashing water on my face and calling it done. No wonder my foundation looked patchy by noon.
The oil cleanse is the step that changed everything for me. It takes maybe 60 seconds and the difference in how smooth your skin feels after is wild.
Products I like for this step:
Step 2 — Exfoliate or Tone for Texture Refinement
This is the step most people skip, and it’s the step that makes or breaks high rise skin.
The whole point is skin texture refinement — you want a smooth, even surface so that when you apply foundation later, it just glides on. If you’ve got texture, dry patches, or clogged pores, no amount of expensive foundation is going to look “high rise.”
For serious texture refinement, the VT Reedle Shot uses micro-spicule technology to resurface skin — it’s the ultimate prep step for high rise skin.
You’ve got two paths here:
Chemical exfoliation (2-3 times per week): BHA if you’re oily or acne-prone, AHA if you’re dry or dull. Don’t do both at once unless you want your face to stage a revolt.
Hydrating toner (daily): If your skin is sensitive or you just exfoliated, a hydrating toner adds a layer of moisture and helps everything else absorb better.
Hot tip: PDRN skincare toner pads are having a HUGE moment right now — the ingredient comes from salmon DNA (I know, stay with me) and it’s all over K-beauty. I wrote a whole piece about PDRN skincare if you want the full story, but basically it helps with skin repair and that bouncy, healthy-looking texture that’s perfect for the high rise skin base.
Step 3 — Moisturize for the “Cushiony Velvet” Base
This step is where high rise skin really separates itself from other trends.
You’re not going for dewy. You’re not going for matte. You’re going for what Daniel Martin describes as a “cushiony” texture — your skin should feel plump and bouncy, with a velvet skin finish. Not shiny, not flat. Somewhere in between.
Look for moisturizers with peptides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide. These ingredients give you that cushiony skin texture without making you look like a glazed donut (love you, Hailey Bieber, but that trend was NOT for my oily T-zone).
The trick I learned: wait 60-90 seconds after moisturizing before you touch foundation. Let it actually absorb. I used to rush this and wonder why my makeup was sliding around by lunchtime.
Step 4 — Foundation Application: The “Less Is More” Technique
Here’s where most people mess up the high rise skin makeup look, and I say this as someone who messed it up spectacularly on day one.
Daniel Martin’s technique: put a small amount of foundation on the back of your hand first. Then take a dense brush, pick up product from your hand, and stipple it onto your skin. Stipple. Not sweep, not buff, not blend in circles like you’re waxing a car.
Stippling means pressing the brush straight down and lifting straight up. Over and over. It deposits tiny amounts of product that melt into your skin prep and look like… skin.
The first time I tried this, I loaded my brush like I was painting a fence. Way too much. It looked cakey and I almost gave up. The next day I used maybe a third of what I normally would, stippled it on, and literally gasped. My skin looked airbrushed but I could still see my freckles. My pores just… disappeared.
The goal: your foundation should be invisible. If someone can tell you’re wearing foundation, you used too much.
High Rise Skin for Every Skin Type
Here’s something nobody’s talking about: not everyone can do high rise skin the exact same way.
For the SPF step, the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen is ideal — the dewy finish gives exactly the luminous base that high rise skin needs, and it layers beautifully under minimal foundation.
The tutorials I’ve seen treat everyone’s skin like it’s the same. It’s not. I have combo skin that gets oily in my T-zone by 2 PM, so my approach to the refined glow makeup look is different from my friend Jess, who has dry patches that make foundation cling to her skin like static-charged laundry.
Oily Skin — How to Get High Rise Without the Slip
I feel you. I AM you (at least in the T-zone).
The key: swap your regular moisturizer for a gel-cream formula — something like the Versed Dew Point or Neutrogena Hydro Boost. You still need moisture (skipping moisturizer makes oily skin WORSE, not better — your skin produces more oil to compensate). But you need lightweight moisture.
Set your T-zone with a tiny bit of translucent powder ONLY where you get shiny. Don’t powder your whole face or you’ll lose the high rise skin dimension. Just the nose, forehead, maybe chin. That’s it.
Dry Skin — Building Dimension on Dehydrated Skin
Lucky you — the high rise skin look was basically designed for your face. The cushiony velvet base thing? You’re halfway there already.
Lean into richer moisturizers. The Drunk Elephant Protini or Summer Fridays Cushion Cream are perfect. Layer a hydrating serum underneath if you’re extra dry. And skip powder entirely — you don’t need it, and it’ll make dry patches scream.
One hack: mix a drop of facial oil into your foundation before applying. It makes everything dewier and more skin-like. I do this in winter when even my combo skin gets dehydrated from Austin’s weird cold snaps.
Sensitive Skin — Gentle Route to High Rise Skin
Skip the chemical exfoliants and go with a hydrating toner instead. The Laneige Cream Skin is your best friend. And make sure your cleanser isn’t stripping — CeraVe Hydrating or Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser are safe bets.
For foundation, mineral-based or “clean” formulas tend to be less irritating. The ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint is formulated with sensitive skin in mind, and it’s got zinc oxide sunscreen instead of chemical UV filters.
The high rise skin trend is actually great news for sensitive-skin girlies because the whole philosophy is LESS product, not more. Fewer layers = fewer chances for your skin to freak out.
Why High Rise Skin Is More Than Just Another Trend
Okay, I’m going to get a little serious for a sec. Don’t worry, it won’t last.
The reason the high rise skin trend feels different from glass skin or dolphin skin or whatever’s next isn’t just because it came from a celebrity MUA. It’s because it reflects a real shift in how we think about beauty in 2026.
We’re moving away from coverage. Like, really moving away from it.
There’s a whole conversation happening around the Ozempic face skincare trend — where rapid weight loss changes facial structure and people are suddenly paying attention to skin TEXTURE in a way they never did before. Heavy foundation used to hide a lot. Now, with the beauty conversation shifting toward skin quality over skin coverage, the focus is on what your skin actually looks like underneath.
Skin longevity is the new anti-aging. Skin prep is the new contouring. And the high rise skin philosophy — where your skincare routine does 80% of the work — is the logical endpoint of that shift.
After years of full-coverage everything, I got to a point where my actual SKIN got better in the process. Not just my makeup look. My skin. The stuff underneath.
Last week James — who, bless his heart, couldn’t tell you the difference between a serum and a moisturizer if his life depended on it — looked at me while I was making coffee and said, “Your skin looks really good today.” Reader, I was not wearing a single drop of makeup.
High rise skin made me actually care about what was happening under the makeup. And once my skin improved from the better prep routine? I needed less makeup. Which made my skin better. Which made me need even less makeup.
It’s a positive cycle for once, instead of the usual “my foundation is causing breakouts which I’m covering with more foundation” doom loop.
Once your high rise skin prep is done, try the messy girl makeup trend on top — smudged liner and blurred lips look even better over perfectly prepped skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
High rise skin is a beauty trend coined by celebrity makeup artist Daniel Martin (Meghan Markle’s MUA) in March 2026. It’s the idea that thorough skin prep — cleansing, toning, and moisturizing — creates a “skyscraper foundation” so your actual makeup can be minimal and your skin looks naturally refined and glowing.
Four steps: (1) Double cleanse for a clean base. (2) Exfoliate or tone for smooth texture. (3) Moisturize for a cushiony velvet finish. (4) Apply sheer foundation with a stippling technique — press and lift, don’t spread. The 80/20 rule applies: 80% skincare, 20% makeup.
Glass skin aims for a translucent, wet-look, super-dewy finish — heavily influenced by K-beauty. High rise skin goes for a controlled, refined glow that comes from skin prep rather than product layering. High rise skin looks more natural and “is she wearing makeup or does she just have great skin?” while glass skin is unmistakably a ~look~.
Daniel Martin, a celebrity makeup artist best known as Meghan Markle’s wedding day MUA. He introduced the concept in March 2026, using the skyscraper metaphor — your skincare is the structural foundation, your makeup is the building on top.
Sheer, buildable formulas work best — skin tints, tinted serums, or light-coverage foundations. The ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint and L’Oréal True Match Nude Tinted Serum are both great options. The key is stippling technique: saturate your brush on the back of your hand first, then press onto skin in thin layers.
100% yes. High rise skin is about technique way more than price tags. CeraVe cleanser ($12), COSRX toner ($13), Neutrogena Hydro Boost ($17), and Maybelline Fit Me Dewy foundation ($8.50) will get you there for under $50. Your stippling brush matters more than your foundation’s price tag. Real talk.
The Bottom Line on High Rise Skin
Look, I’m not going to tell you that high rise skin will change your life. That’s dramatic, even for me.
But I will say this: I’ve tried basically every skin trend that’s come through my TikTok feed in the last four years, and this is the first one where my actual SKIN got better in the process. Not just my makeup look. My skin. The stuff underneath.
Last week James — who, bless his heart, couldn’t tell you the difference between a serum and a moisturizer if his life depended on it — looked at me while I was making coffee and said, “Your skin looks really good today.” Reader, I was not wearing a single drop of makeup.
That’s high rise skin. That’s the whole point.
Your skin’s been doing the heavy lifting all along. High rise skin just means you finally let it.
