I Can’t Give You the Best Makeup, Only You Can Do That

Don’t get me wrong, I can put some makeup on your face and make it look great but if you don’t take care of yourself and your skin, the makeup I put on you will not live up to its full potential. I tell every single one of my clients that their makeup is only as good as the skin underneath of it.

With that being said, it doesn’t mean when someone applies makeup on you that it’s going to look horrendous (I guess that depends on the artist?), but I cannot stress enough the importance of simply washing your face and moisturizing it. I know, skincare routines can be overwhelming and intimidating. Walking into stores like Sephora or Ulta can be like walking into a jam-packed antique store and your eyes don’t really know where to look first.

“What products are good for me?”

“Well, what does this one do specifically?”

“What does exfoliate even mean?”

“WHAT TYPE OF SKIN DO I EVEN HAVE?”

The questions tend to be endless, somewhat like the number of products you have to choose from. I promise you, it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Typically, when something makes us feel overwhelmed we tend to stay away from it. When it comes to self-care, however, it really shouldn’t be avoided. Not only is a good skincare routine going to be important for makeup purposes, it’s going to help soften the look of fine lines and wrinkles, minimize pores, and help balance pH levels in your skin, which ultimately determines the level of oil that is produced. Not to mention how amazing it makes you feel!

First step in a good skincare routine: WASH YA DANG FACE. Sleeping in your makeup? Well, I hope you like aging ten times faster than the average person because that’s exactly what will happen. Makeup is okay to wear for the day but if you’re sleeping in it, it’s horrendous for you. Typically, just washing it with cleanser isn’t going to cut it. Removing your makeup first, or double cleansing will get the job done. I personally love using the Chella Beauty Hydrating Lush Balm Cleanser to remove my face makeup. This cleanser it made of 80% Organic Olive Oil and breaks down makeup like no other; it’s vegan, cruelty free, and gluten free. It’s beyond gentle on the skin and is great for all skin types. It can be found here.

Keeping all the cleansers in my shower is extremely helpful. I’m a night shower kinda gal and having products easily accessible to me is convenient and holds me accountable for my self-care.

After that initial cleanse and removing makeup, the Jen Damminger Beauty Nourishing Gentle Cleanser is my go-to cleanser for all things “clean skin”. Now, is this a plug for my own product? Yup, but it’s because I believe in it wholeheartedly. The Nourishing Gentle Cleanser is made without sulfate, which is an ingredient a lot of companies sneak into cleansers. Ultimately, sulfate can irritate skin, especially around the mucus membranes, like eyes and mouth. If you have a more sensitive skin type, it can even clog pores and cause breakouts.

In addition to being sulfate free, the Nourishing Gentle Cleanser is infused with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and antioxidants like vitamin C. It’s like washing your face with a mix of moisturizers.

Eye creams, serums, moisturizers - these are all fantastic products to have (and I’ve listed some of my favorite down below) but I want to talk about the importance of cleansing (which we just did) and exfoliating. First, what is exfoliating? Exfoliating skin is the act of using a certain scrub/tool/product to loosen dead skin cells and remove them from the skin. Why would one do this? Because as we go about our day, especially when we sleep at night, our skin is regenerating new skin cells and replacing the old with the new. The dead skin cells can live on our skin causing it to become texturized. When makeup is applied, the makeup typically should be adhering to pores, but if we don’t do our job in removing dead skin cells and exposing the rejuvenated, fresh skin cells underneath, makeup applied to the skin won’t look as smooth and may not last as long because its inability to actually adhere to pores.

Once we’ve removed these dead skin cells, and new cells are exposed, new cells will appear more vibrant/brighter, smoother, and skin tone will appear more even. Bonus tip: keeping this skin extra moisturized with serums and moisturizers is key. It’s only going to make your skin feel smoother and suppler.

My favorite exfoliator can be found here.

Just to reiterate, I can give you great makeup but not the kind of makeup fresh, clean, taken-care-of skin can give you. Besides, if we all took care of our skin the way we should, some of us may not even need to wear makeup! There’s nothing more beautiful than a human living in the best version of themselves.

Favorite eye cream can be found here.

Favorite serums, here and here.

Go-to moisturizer is here.