For her first makeup collection, Dariia Day has developed six cream formulas around coordinated color, silk-inspired biotechnology and a precise idea of fresh skin. My review of the palette I took to New York.
Image courtesy of Dariia Day.
Dariia Day found exactly my shade. I loved the pigments immediately, and the fact that the other colors had been chosen to go with it. I had followed her work as a makeup artist before we met. Here was a selection I could take away with me, in a compact I wanted to keep in my bag.
Day Skin Palette is her first makeup collection: concealer, bronzer, lip and cheek color, highlighter, balm and mattifying cream. She has developed them as six separate cream formulas, offered in six coordinated Harmonies. Light, Medium and Dark each come in Cool and Warm, carrying the choice of skin depth and undertone through the colored products.
The color combinations give each Harmony a character of its own. In Light Cool, a muted rose sits with a taupe-brown bronzer and a pale pink highlighter. Light Warm moves toward peach and coral, with a warmer brown and a peach-toned highlight. The concealer, bronzer, lip and cheek color, and highlighter all participate in the change.
Dariia began with a result she knew from her work: that rested, fresh look she calls bonne mine, with the skin’s own texture still visible. The selection follows from it. Coverage can stay local. Color brings warmth, and the highlighter and mattifying cream allow different finishes across the face. I read the palette as a collection developed around the complexion she wanted to see, with each formula contributing to that result.
Dark Warm Harmony. Image courtesy of Dariia Day.
Dariia spent twenty years developing that eye, including eleven in Pat McGrath’s main team during fashion weeks. Creating her own collection meant deciding how much of her technique could be carried by the products themselves. She wanted pigment that would work in small amounts, creams that could be blended and built, a refined glow and comfort throughout wear.
Every formula was developed from scratch with a Japanese laboratory, with manufacturing in France. The process took more than three years.
When she presented it to me, I could see why these products belonged in the same compact. The colors offered a way into her makeup, and the different formulas would let me vary the result. I wanted to support the launch because I loved that combination: an artist’s selection, with enough room to work differently from one day to the next.
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The 6 cream formulas in Day Skin Palette. Image courtesy of Dariia Day.
Small amounts, different finishes
Dariia’s idea of bonne mine begins with skin that remains visible. In our interview, she describes applying small amounts where they are needed, then using color and light to bring freshness. There is no foundation pan in Day Skin Palette. Concealer provides a way to work locally, alongside the products that add warmth, color and different finishes.
Her formulation brief follows that approach. She wanted enough pigmentation to make a difference with very little product, while retaining the ability to blend and build. For the bronzer and lip and cheek color, she sought an almost cream-to-powder feel, avoiding an overly greasy result. A small amount has to bring color, then leave enough flexibility to soften its edges or develop the intensity.
In the Light Cool demonstration, Silk concealer is placed at the inner corners and under the eyes, beside the nose and on the chin. Taupe bronzer is blended with a larger brush across the outer cheeks and around the forehead. Rosé goes onto the cheeks with a brush, then onto the lips with a fingertip. The six creams share a format, but the gesture changes according to the area.
Light Cool Harmony. Image courtesy of Dariia Day.
Cocoon, the mattifying cream, came from a particularly precise professional memory. Years earlier, Dariia had used a Madina Milano mattifying gel backstage with Pat McGrath. The effect stayed with her. For her own line, she wanted a silicone-free cream, (with very high natural origin ingredients 99.84%! ) easy to apply with a finger, that would soften shine and smooth the appearance of the skin while remaining comfortable. She identifies it as one of the biggest development challenges.
Its presence also changes how I read the highlighter beside it. Dariia is composing the light across the face. The cheekbone can catch it while the forehead or the area beside the nose is softened. Her luminous complexion has differences within it, and the palette gives those differences their own products.
The highlighter was developed for a refined glow without obvious glitter. Balm allows another adjustment. In the tutorial, it follows Rosé on the lips, adding gloss after the color has been placed. The cheeks and lips can share a shade while carrying different finishes.
Dariia developed Balm during pregnancy and breastfeeding, when her lips were often irritated. She wanted soothing, hydrating comfort, with the possibility of a light layer or a more generous application for gloss. Giving it a separate pan means the amount of shine can be chosen independently of the amount of pigment.
Dariia Day at work with the palette. Image courtesy of Dariia Day.
Silk-inspired biotechnology
Silk has been part of Dariia’s work since 2016, when she founded By Dariia Day with her parents. Their textile expertise helped shape a collection that began with silk pillowcases. Her makeup carries that interest into the laboratory through Vegan Silk Technology™, included in all six formulas.
Dariia describes the technology as biotechnology-derived polypeptides inspired by silk, without animal-derived silk. Softness, a lightweight feel and skin conditioning were part of her reasons for choosing it. The brand also identifies ease of blending, enhanced color payoff and skin barrier support among its intended contributions.
Skin preparation has always been central to Dariia’s work. Before makeup, she pays attention to how a face feels that day and prepares it accordingly. In her own collection, she wanted that concern for comfort to continue through wearing the color.
Medium Cool Harmony. Image courtesy of Dariia Day.
The shared technology had to sit within six different formulas. The bronzer’s almost cream-to powder brief, the highlighter’s glow and Cocoon’s mattifying purpose each required separate development. Dariia wanted every product to perform independently and to work with the rest of the palette. All six are fragrance-free and were developed with sensitive skin in mind.
The palette in my bag
The compact is a long, rounded rectangle, with a narrow gold-tone frame around the six pans and a mirror occupying almost the whole inner lid. I love the view of the colors together when it is opened. No bigger than my iPhone, it was easy to take with me throughout my New York week.
The gold-tone clasp of Day Skin Palette. Image courtesy of Dariia Day.
In New York, it came with me to my meetings. I did my makeup and touched it up on the plane, in taxis and even on the subway, using that generous mirror. The colors Dariia had found for me were there whenever I opened it.
With 23 individual refills across the collection, Day Skin Palette is designed to evolve with you. Beyond simply replenishing a favorite product, the refillable system offers the freedom to explore new shades, adapt to the seasons or create your own personal Harmony. A palette initially curated by Dariia can gradually become entirely your own.
Image courtesy of Dariia Day.
Day Skin gives a makeup artist’s point of view a place in someone else’s personal style. Dariia makes the first selection; the wearer decides how strongly to wear the colors, which finishes to combine and what to change over time. Her “More Harmony. Less Perfection.” philosophy leaves room for that evolution. That is the role I want expertise to play in beauty: helping us develop our own eye.
Available since November 3 at dariiaday.com and Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, Paris.
Follow @dariiaday_official on Instagram.
Read the interview here.
This editorial was created in partnership with Dariia Day. Each collaboration is carefully selected to meet Future of Skincare’s editorial standards and the expectations of its community.