Fresh Glowing Skin

I love having skin that looks and feels fresh & glowing and its something I take into account when buying skincare and makeup products. Over the years I have found a few products that help me achieve this look whilst being quick and easy to use.

Skincare

When it comes to my skincare routine I now cleanse morning and night, which I have found makes a real difference in how my skin feels and looks. I found with just cleansing in the morning my skin really lacked moisture, because it was only getting it in the morning. I will normally use an oil cleanser in the morning and then a foaming gel cleanser in the evening.

Every couple of days I love using the Dermalogie Daily Superfoliant to really help exfoliate my skin, without it being too harsh. I love that this products comes in a gritty powder form which then turns into a paste when you add water. I find the superfoliant really helps shed off all the dead skin cells and leave you skin looking brighter. If you are worried about your skin being damaged by air pollution then you need to give this products a go as it is packed full of amazing ingredients to help protect your skin from pollution damage.

 “Activated Binchotan Charcoal purifies the skin, helping to adsorb environmental toxins from deep within the pores, while Niacinamide, Red Algae and Tara Fruit Extract help guard against the damaging effects of pollution” 

After I have made sure my skin is propperly cleansed a detoxed then I religiously use The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5. This products is a life saver for anyone who suffers from dull or dry skin, as it helps draw in mositure leaving your skin feeling and looking hydrated. You will find a lot of products that claim to be hydrating will only hydrate your top levels of skin, which in turn actually makes your skin dryer. This Hyaluronic acid draws mositure down to the lower levels of your skin and allows it to hold up to 1,000 times it’s weight in water. This means your skin will be hydrated for a lot longer and you will be able to notice it after a few uses.

For me skincare is a huge step in keeping my skin looking fresh and glowy, with a good base makeup it will then sit and look so much better on the skin. If you want to know what my three top skincare brands are then here‘s a blog post I wrote recently that might interest you.

Makeup

With my skincare routine done I them move onto makeup, which I like to keep quite light and natural. The first product I always use if my Laura Mercier Hydrating Foundation Primer. This primer is great for anyone who suffers from dry skin or if you want your base to look hydrated. I like the texture of this product as it’s more of a very light cream, which doesn’t have that silicone feel and is transparent. I normally just apply this all over my skin and it really helps my makeup last all day and look great. If you do your skincare routine and then your makeup immediately afterwards then you may find you don’t need a hydrating primer, as you skin is already fully moisturised. I always do my skincare and then leave it for about an hour so I need this primer to add another touch of moisture and create a nice base for all my makeup to sit on.

Moving onto concealer and the Borjour Radiance Reveal  Concealer in 01 Ivory is the one I always go for. I love that everything about this product. For starters you have a little doffer which you apply the concealer with. I normally pop this concleaer on under my eyes and on my chin and then blend it in with a damp beauty blender. This concealer is slighting lighter than my foundation so it really helps to lighten up under my eyes and make me look more awake. I try and use as little concealer as possible, I find if you use too much then I look too heavily made up, which is not the look I am going for.

When it comes to blush I love using the Glossier Cloud Paint in Dusk, this product is great for when you want to add a really quick splash of colour to your cheeks. I love that you don’t need any tools to apply this, just your finger tips and a mirror. This products is really pigmented so you only need a very small amount dabbed onto your cheeks and patted in. For me Dusk is the perfect colour as it’s a mixture between a blush and bronzer, which I love and means you have two products in one. If I find I have applied a bit too much of this product then I will just go over it with my beauty blender, it just helps to blend in the excess product.

I really like cream and liquid products, when creating a fresh and glowing look, as they blend into the skin  flawlessly and you never have that powdery look. I try and not to use powders, I sometime use a powder eye shadow. When it comes to makeup tools I will always find a damp beauty blender to hand, I use it to blend in most of my liquid makeup, it really helps to press all the makeup into the skin and make it look so natural.

Would you say you favour more of a fresh glowey look, compared to a more sculpted look,? If so what are your favourite products to help you create that look?

Steph x

* Quote from: http://www.dermalogica.co.uk/daily-superfoliant/229,en_GB,pd.html