How to Glaze Yourself From Head to Toe

Like so many trends, it was sparked by a supermodel—miss Hailey Bieber to be precise. The glazed donut craze started when she declared 2022 the year of "glazed skin," but hit a fever pitch with her viral glazed donut nails: Perfect elongated ovals coated in a subtle shimmery neutral. Glazed donuts had never looked so delicious.

“The glazed doughnut look not only reminds us of a favorite comfort food/treat, but when we transfer that from head to toe it conveys a look of fresh, healthy, glowing and youthful beauty,” says Shelley Gregory, Kérastase Global Pro Club Color Expert. “It’s giving an all-around wellness look.” 

So, what exactly defines the look? “Glazed donut makeup is all about a super glowy and dewy finish,” says Naseeha Khan, certified professional makeup artist and CTZN Cosmetics co-founder. “It's an over-the-top hydrated look that can look borderline greasy and helps to emphasize that inner glow everyone has. Dewy skin is brightening, healthy and youthful, so it looks great on everyone. This can be a huge plus if you already have naturally oily skin—no need for blotting papers to complete this trendy look.” 

Self-care has helped spark plenty of beauty trends, glazed donut included. After all, glowing skin equals healthy skin. “We are naturally attracted to reflections of health and wellness,” says Sir John, Global Celebrity Makeup Artist and Chief Creative Officer of CTZN Cosmetics. “It represents vitality, youthfulness and balance. The glazed donut look isn’t so much a trend as it is a mirror to your internal state of being. It makes us curious: What is that person eating? What is their mental state? What type of supplements are they taking?” 

Read on to learn how to get the glazed donut look from head to toe. 

How to Get Glazed Donut Nails

The glazed donut craze really started with nails—specifically with Zola Ganzorigt, celebrity nail artist and the originator of the trend. She has a hunch why the look is still going strong: “It’s really minimalist and chic,” she says. “Also, it’s so easy to recreate. The pearlescent chrome effects make any color shinier and eye catching.”

To nab the look, Ganzorigt recommends priming nails with the OPI Infinite Shine Primer ($26). Follow with one coat of OPI infinite shine in Espresso your inner Self mixed with a clear top coat to make it slightly sheer. Then mix OPI Infinite Shine in “Kyoto Pearl” ($14) with OPI Infinite Shine ProStay Gloss ($13) to create a sheer pearly shade and apply one coat. Lastly, finish the look with OPI Infinite Shine ProStay Gloss ($13).

“OPI Infinite Shine in ‘Kyoto Pearl’ is the perfect shade to achieve glazed donut nails,” Ganzorigt says. “When mixed with clear it creates the chrome effect and can be used over any color.”

How to Get Glazed Donut Makeup

Sir John likens glazed donut makeup to another beauty trend that’s become a mainstay: the no makeup makeup look. “It’s a timeless approach that illuminates the person's natural features, starting with the skin,” he says. “It’s radiant, dewy and dialed down compared to the more dramatic looks that we see on the red carpet or stage.” 

Gorgeous skin comes from the inside, so Sir John recommends assessing your diet. “Try to eat foods that are great for your gut health, including berries and a great combo of supplements,” he says. “And stay hydrated.” 

As for glazed donut makeup, Khan suggests starting with a super hydrating base. “Hyaluronic acid serum, moisturizer and a dewy facial essence can help to get a clean and moisturized face,” she says. “I love Orpheus Skin’s Bio-Luminous Dewy Essence ($65) to help freshen up the face. Next, focus on dewy (not matte) products that have a sheer to medium coverage. If you use something too full coverage, it’s easy for the look to become cakey and it can draw attention to dry patches more easily. I like using Tarte’s BB Tinted Moisturizer ($36) because it looks so natural on the skin while still providing coverage for any imperfections.” 

To complete the look, don’t go in with a heavy hand on the powders because they will mattify. “Cream products are your go-to here!” Khan says. “Finally, top off with a good highlighter to give that beautiful shine. I love our GLOBALM ($21) product because it's truly a no-rules multi-purpose dewy balm that creates a lasting, soft, and luminous finish—and can quite literally be used head to toe.”

How to Get Glazed Donut Hair

“The fastest way to achieve glazed doughnut hair is in the salon,” Gregory says. “I always use the Kérastase in-salon Fusio Dose treatments when my clients come in for color to seal all that fresh color in and add even more shine after I gloss them. My favorite to get all that glazed shine is the Concentré Chroma Absolu with the Booster Brilliance. This combined treatment uses amino acids and lactic acid that seals in color, smooths out frizz and recovers the hair fiber.” Even better, this treatment only takes three to five minutes, so it’s easy to add on to a haircut or blowout and delivers nearly instant results. “Because of the highly concentrated ingredients, it will give a boost of shine without any chemicals needed,” Gregory adds. 

To keep that high gloss glazed donut shine at home—while boosting brightness and hair color—Gregory recommends a glossing treatment. Her go-to is the Kérastase Chroma Absolu Soin Acide Chroma Gloss ($53). “For the first time, my clients can get a service that is usually reserved for in-salon only, right at home,” she says. “This glossing treatment transforms and seals the surface of the hair for reduced porosity and bright shine, leaving the hair 94% smoother, 96% stronger and 70% shinier. I love using it in place of my hair mask and it goes on in liquid form but turns into a rich cream that instantly softens the hair when you massage and comb through in your shower.” 

Smooth, silky strands are key to those sleek glazed donut strands, so Gregory suggests an anti-frizz product, especially for “extra frizzy girls who live in more humid areas. I like to spray the Kérastase Discipline Anti Frizz Smoothing Spray ($42) after towel drying the hair right before we style,” she says. “It’s super moisturizing, has heat protection up to 450 degrees, has 72 hours of frizz control and is a great shine amplifier, so you can keep that glazed donut look going for days!”

How to Get Glazed Donut Skin

“One of the biggest reasons this look is trending is that Hailey Bieber has been promoting it as her go-to skincare routine for glowing, healthy and hydrated skin,” says Dr. Jaimie DeRosa, Double Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon and Founder and Lead Facial Plastic Surgeon of DeRosa Center Plastic Surgery & Med Spa in Boston and Palm Beach. “Another reason it’s such a hot skincare trend is that it falls in line with people who are looking for healthy, glowing skin without a ton of makeup. I really love this trend, as it promotes healthy, hydrated and moisturized skin, emphasizing a natural glow to the skin instead of relying on makeup.” 

Another thing to love about glazed donut skin is it’s easy to incorporate into your skincare routine, since it doesn’t require a ton of products to get that glazed donut glow. “Once your skin has a glazed donut appearance, you can certainly then enhance the look with makeup too,” Dr. DeRosa adds. 

Start by thinking about the type of products you’re using. Dr. DeRosa recommends opting for gentle, non-drying ones so that your skin can soak up the good ingredients and not fight the effects of irritating products. “If you tend to have more oily skin, you may want to avoid heavier topicals and instead use lighter-weight gel-based products,” she suggests. “Apply the products in order from lightest to heaviest, as you want to be sure that the thinner products soak into the skin before adding something that sits more superficially on the skin.” 

The first step of getting glazed donut skin is using a gentle cleanser that helps balance your skin’s pH level. “At night, if you have oily skin or need to remove makeup, you may want to start first with an oil-based cleansing cream that can help to remove excess oils and makeup, followed by a gentle cleanser,” Dr. DeRosa says. Next, exfoliate. “If your cleanser doesn’t have exfoliating properties, exfoliate your skin to help remove dead skin cells that can block the next ingredients from penetrating the skin and working properly. Typically, you only need to exfoliate once or twice a week; if you do it too often, you may strip the skin of its necessary oils and actually make your skin drier—and definitely not like a glazed donut.” 

Hydration is key to getting the look. Apply a hydrating serum on damp skin right after cleansing. “My favorites contain hyaluronic acid, which is found naturally in one’s skin, or a peptide serum that stimulates one’s own collagen formation,” Dr. DeRosa says. “Alphascience HA Booster Serum ($100) is fantastic.”

Then, moisturize with a healing and repairing cream for your face and another one for the eye area. Get the moist out of your moisturizers by trapping hydration in the skin, akin to slugging. “Once you have the hydrating and moisturizing products in place, you want to make sure they stay there and maximize their effectiveness,” Dr. DeRosa says. “So, in this step, apply an occlusive that can lock in the moisturizing and hydrating products that have been applied already. For those with dry skin, a heavier occlusive such as petrolatum ointment is great. For normal to oily skin, a skin oil can be used instead of a heavier ointment. This is also a great option in your morning skincare routine when you may not want such a thick occlusive on your skin.”

Finally, don’t forget your lips. Be sure first to exfoliate them if they’re dry or flaking and then to always use a hydrating occlusive balm, such as Aquaphor. During the daytime, use a lip balm with SPF to protect that sensitive skin from harmful rays.

How to Get a Glazed Body

“In order to get that glazed glow, your skin can’t be dry, ashy or dull,” Dr. DeRosa says. “So, getting your skin looking like a glazed donut requires cleansing, exfoliation, hydration, moisturizing and slugging to lock in and enhance the glow. This is a great option for any skin type, but if you have oily, acne-prone skin, you may not need to follow these steps as frequently as someone whose skin tends to be dry. The steps for getting a glazed donut skin on your body are essentially the same as for the face with a few changes.”

To get the glazed donut look on your body, once again it starts with the right cleanser. Look for a gentle formula that helps balance your skin’s pH level. Next, exfoliate to remove dead skin cells that can block the next ingredients from penetrating the skin and working properly. Hydrate your body from head to toe. “An alternative option for the body is to use a hydrating body oil, which will soak into freshly cleansed and exfoliated skin,” Dr. DeRosa says. “Follow it with moisturizer. Use a healing and repairing cream for your body that is rich in ceramides. Lock in that moisture with an occlusive such as petrolatum, like Vaseline.”