8 Great Skin Habits

Out of the scores of beauty tricks and tips, the best starting point for flawless makeup application is beautiful skin.  Incorporating a few simple steps into your skin care routine will make a huge difference. Don’t look at it as a chore.  It’s your skin.  It’s your face.  The feature everyone sees.

Cotton Candy beauty contributor Claudia Mejerle  gives us eight great habits to care for your skin, especially if you’re a makeup lover.

Clean your makeup brushes.
Through normal use, your makeup brushes pick up bacteria, dust and of course, makeup.  Every week you should give your brushes a bath with a mild cleanser like baby shampoo or antibacterial hand soap and cool water. With clean brushes, you’ll have better makeup application and less of a chance of irritating your skin or eyes.

Exfoliate.
In order for moisturizer to absorb thoroughly and for your makeup to go on smoothly, you must exfoliate your skin at least a couple times a week.  A gentle scrub is ideal so that you don’t over stimulate the skin, and cause irritation or breakouts. Apply moisturizer immediately after exfoliating to restore moisture that may have been stripped through the process.

Hydrate.
Regardless of your skin type, moisturizing your face and neck both day and night is essential for glowing, smooth skin.   At night after washing your face and removing all makeup, apply moisturizer.  Try a thick moisturizer or facial oil for nighttime.  In the morning, rather than using a strong cleanser, just rinse your face with cold water to avoid removing the moisture that you put back into your skin the night before.

Wear sunscreen every day.
You probably don’t think you’re in the sun every day, but believe it or not, damaging UV rays sneak up on you while you’re in the car, when you’re running errands, during your morning walk, etc.  Sunny or not, don’t skimp on sunscreen, particularly on your face, neck, décolleté and hands.  Make sure to protect yourself with moisturizer or foundation containing at least SPF 20.

(Click the photos below.)

Smooth lips.
Don’t abandon your lips.  They deserve the same attention the rest of your face receives.  Exfoliate your lips when they are feeling a bit dry with a damp washcloth and either a lip scrub or just some sugar.  Afterwards, apply a rich lip balm.  If you’re spending time outside in the sun, don’t forget a formula containing SPF.

Maintain the brows.
Neat, clean brows give the face an overall polished look.  Check out the brows every couple of days in a magnified mirror to make sure there aren’t any strays.  Regular brow maintenance prevents them from getting out of control and out of shape.

Hide a blemish.
If you have a blemish or a full blown breakout, no need to cake on the makeup – just focus on the blemishes.  Using a fine, pointed, synthetic makeup brush, apply concealer on the blemish and blend outward.  Once the blemish is undetectable, dust a matte powder over your skin to set the concealer.  Avoid using shimmery creams and powders on blemishes because it draws more attention to the imperfect area.

Don’t overdo the makeup.
Heavy makeup draws attention to fine lines and wrinkles and ages you, so keep it sheer.  Use soft colors on your eyes lips and cheeks for a youthful, fresh and effortless look.  Swipe on a couple coats of mascara and you’re good to go.

Written by: Claudia Mejerle
Mejerle is an Atlanta-based makeup artist with experience ranging from weddings to commercials, headshots, film, editorials and video shoots.

Photo Credit: Chelsea Patricia