I often have girls asking me what they can do in the lead up to me doing their makeup and how to best prepare their skin for their upcoming event. I’d love to say it was a quick 24-hour thing but you should always have your skin prepared as having great skin is a long-term commitment. It’s never too late to start and your skin will reap the benefits of these few but simple vital changes, that will have you on the way to clear, radiant skin in no time.
Any great makeup look starts with your skin condition and the steps you take every day to care for and nourish your skin. One step I cannot preach enough is, HYDRATION! If you were to ask any health expert they would recommend keeping yourself hydrated not just for your skin but for your overall health. You should be drinking at least 2L of water a day, if not more. It is such an easy task to do but we often forget to keep ourselves hydrated throughout the day, especially if you’re like me and always on the go! Set yourself little goals to keep your hydration up, for example, if you sit at a desk all day in an office, chances are you’re working an 8-hour workday right? Now look at a glass of water, doesn’t look like much, does it? Think you could drink one of those an hour? Now I don’t know about you but I’m not the greatest at math but haven’t you somewhere along the line heard ‘drink 8 glasses of water a day’, well guess what those 8 glasses actually make up 2 liters! Chances are as well the glass you’re thinking of is actually bigger than a standard cup and you’re drinking more than you think. Also, one thing to remember as well is if you exercise like me, you lose fluid through sweat and you need to be replacing it, so always remember to hydrate yourself a little extra to make up for all that sweat and tears from all that hard work.
For those of you that have followed me over the years, you’ll know that diet has made a huge difference to me and the quality of my skin. Take a step back and think about what your daily eating habits are. Do you consume a lot of dairies? Are you eating a lot of highly processed or sugary foods? Foods like these can a huge contributor to small breakouts and uneven skin. My everyday diet consists of a lot of high-fat foods, now a lot of you would be sitting there going hold up, did she just say high fat? When someone says fatty foods you think greasy foods like chips, chicken, and burgers, but there are two types of fats, good and bad. So often fats are associated with foods that won’t be doing you any favours, so the minute fat is mentioned you think ‘Oh that has to be bad for me right?’ Wrong. There are so many foods that are full of fat that are good for you that you’d never think twice about eating. That smashed avo you have at brunch with your girlfriends on a Sunday morning? That avocado is full of fats that your skin loves, plus if you get the option of multigrain bread it is full of grains and seeds that are full of all those good fats we are talking about. Anyone who knows me knows I love to snack! It is so easy to pick up foods that are convenient but not always the healthiest, this is where planning comes in handy. Got a day on the run and worried about when you’ll have time to eat? All you need is a small container and fill it with nuts. I personally enjoy almonds but there are so many options when it comes to nuts and they’re not only nutritious but full of those good fats we are wanting. When it comes to my meals I consume a lot of fish, especially salmon which is full of omega 3 which isn’t just great for your skin but also your brain health, your brain is made up of fatty tissue after all!
Now that we have what you are putting into your body sorted, let’s talk about how you treat your skin. So often I come across girls who are using products that are completely wrong for their skin or using cheap products that won’t be doing their skin any favours. One piece of advise I would give you girls is, invest in your skin! Spend that little extra on quality products and your skin will be thanking you when you are glowing. Find yourself a good skincare routine morning and night that works for you, no one person is the same and you know you best! Waking up in the morning wash your face, not only are you cleaning your face as a beginning step for your flawless makeup application, that splash of water is waking you up long before your morning caffeine hit! After a long day or night out make sure you are taking the time to wash your skin, as this is so important as you have a lot of built-up dirt and impurities that you need to wash away. Never sleep with makeup on if you can help it, we all have those nights where you are so tired you just want to crash on your bed. Take that extra five minutes to wipe it all away, even if it is just quickly using makeup wipes that take it off, your skin will feel so much better for it (I would still recommend still splashing your face with water or using a cleanser as there are a lot of chemicals on wipes that can cause breakouts).
The week leading up to your appointment is when you want to be sticking to all these tips to a tee. Drink as much fluids as possible, keep up your consumption of all those good fats and make sure you are taking good care of your skin morning and night. I would also recommend if possible to avoid wearing any makeup and if you do try to keep it light to give your skin a chance to breathe.
By following these simple tips you will find yourself glowing at your next event.
