Preparing Your Skin for Makeup

Preparing your skin for makeup can be the difference between patchy run away makeup and having natural looking makeup. Before applying makeup you should always, always prepare and cleanse your skin. It’s not as easy as applying makeup straight onto your face in the morning; all you are doing in this scenario is putting makeup onto dirty, oily, bacteria filled skin or dry, flaky skin.

Exfoliate

Exfoliating your skin is the best way to remove dead and flaky patches. Important to note: exfoliating is not only for dry skin, exfoliating is also essential for oily skin to remove oil build up and bacteria build up. Find an exfoliator that suits your skin type: dry, oily, combination. Wet your face and gently rub your exfoliator around your forehead, chin, cheeks and nose, being extra careful not to get any in your eyes. Removing these nasty impurities is going to help our skin feel and look smoother for makeup application.

Now that you’ve removed the thickest build of impurities on your skin you can move on to step 2.

Toner

Toning your skin is important after exfoliation; because you’ve removed dead skin and worked into your pores while exfoliating, you now need a toner to ensure that any lasting impurities are removed and that you are tightening your pores. Important to note: your pores can’t be closed as they are essential for your skin to breath, they can however be tightened. Open pores are a common problem and complaint when applying foundation and a good toner can sometimes help to reduce the appearance.

Again, make sure that you are using toners suitable for your skin type and there are a huge variety of toners available. Never be afraid to approach a sales assistant, it’s their duty to advise you. After toning, you’re ready to move on to step 3.

Moisturising

Moisturising your face is so, so important. Your skin is a huge organ that is living, breathing, creating and dying and you must, must look after it. The purpose of a moisturiser is to hydrate your skin and keep it looking lively. Like a plant, without water, your skin will begin to look dull, patchy and will sometimes flake. There are more than enough moisturisers to choose from with so many properties such Aloe Vera extract, tea tree oil etc. Moisturising your face before makeup will help to plump your skin and keep it hydrated while your makeup settles.

The final step is debatable and suited only to certain people, but is definitely worth it if it works for you.

Primer

Primer or makeup base is a product of much heated debate – does it or doesn’t it work? The answer is sometimes. Primer works best on certain people and not everyone can see a difference in their skin and makeup when applying primer. The idea behind a primer is to smoothen and resurface your skin so that makeup looks even, flawless and stays on for longer. Primers are sometimes used in place of moisturiser, which can be fine depending on the hydrating properties of your primer – be sure to check! Makeup can be applied just as beautifully without a primer so don’t be pressured into buying one!

Always remember that when applying makeup, you know what works best for your skin.

Happy makeup artistry!