Lets talk skin prep ! Your skin is basically the canvas for your makeup. If your skin is not looking and feeling its best – its going to show under your makeup! No amount of the best foundation or concealer is going to hide a badly looked after skin.

How to prep your skin for great a looking makeup application :

1. Exfoliate your skin regularly — depending on your skin type 1-3 times a week. Exfoliating gets rid of the dead skin cells lying on the top of your epidermis. Makeup that gets caught in dead skin cells can look cake-y, rough and generally unflattering at any age. What you want is for your skin to look as smooth and fresh as possible! You can use either a chemical peel (such as a gluconolactone or glycolic acid peel) to exfoliate (these are less harsh on the skin that the traditional “scrubs”) or a gentle scrub. Regular exfoliation will help you avoid that dull looking skin and add radiance to your skin.
2. Moisturise your skin well with a product suited to your skin type. If you not sure what skin type you have , go to a good beauty therapist that specialises in skincare for some help. I can help you there as I also specialise in skincare in my salon! Ideally a moisturising product that contains Hylauronic Acid is ideal, as this feeds your skin with moisture – which is what you want to avoid those fine lines and helps give you that plump healthy skin! Hylauronic acid is found naturally in your skin but does decline as we age. Its main function is to retain water in your tissues. Basically Hylauronic Acid puts WATER back in your skin – not oil! So even a person with oily skin does well with adding Hylauronic Acid to their skin without causing breakouts. Ever seen a person with oily skin but yet it looks dry and flakey? — it needs moisture! I highly recommend a Hylauronic serum to use before your moisturiser – especially in the dry winter months. Just a single gram of Hylauronic Acid (HA) has the ability to hold up to six litres of water ! My favourite products are Filorga Hydra Hyal serum and Filorga HydraFiller moisturiser.
3. Use a good eye cream to hydrate the skin around your eyes to prevent eye makeup from settling into the tiny dry lines – especially under the eyes.
4. Lastly your lips! Lightly scrub your lips with your toothbrush to get rid of dry flakes and then apply a good lip balm. By the time you have done your makeup and ready to apply lipstick – the balm would have been absorbed.

Before a big event or important occasion, try using a face mask such as Filorga’s Time- Filler mask (great for easing fine lines and wrinkles before a big event) or Filorga Hydra-Filler Mask (a Hylauronic Acid mask) – these are sheet masks that you place over your face and leave on for 10 min — great results! I also recommend these for my brides the night before the big day or on the morning of their big day.

In my next post, I will cover the use of Primers and Foundations …… hope the info above has been helpful to you!