You want that red carpet, finished look, right? You appreciate how makeup enhances your natural beauty but what about preparing your skin before and after?

BEFORE MAKEUP

Makeup needs a clean face. Make sure you’ve got your routine down. It’s simple. Cleanse, tone, and very importantly, moisturize daily according to your skin type.

Treat your face to a hydrating masque once or twice weekly. Masques, especially with organic honey, smell yummy, make your skin soft and support your skin renewal process by forming stronger collagen. Stronger collagen means more elastic skin – in other words, younger-looking skin.

Exfoliate your face and neck every 3 weeks. The process of exfoliation reveals the new black skin that lays under the top, dead cells. A vitamin C and green clay masque treats your skin gently as you exfoliate and will remove dirt, blackheads and oils present.

Don’t forget your lips! Prepare your lips before color by exfoliating and moisturizing them first. Why? This will ensure your lipstick and/or gloss not only goes on smoothly and evenly, but will help it last longer. Exfoliate your lips using a clean, damp washcloth or a natural scrub of honey, coconut oil and sugar. Using small circular motions, gently massage your lips to remove any dead skin. This step can be taken at the cleansing stage or the night before. Now apply lip moisturizer or balm for soft lips.

Mist your face with rose water. Rose water has many wonderful uses for beauty: as a toner to balance the PH level of your skin and to present a natural glow after makeup is applied. When used as a mist after you moisturize and before makeup, the rose water hydrates skin, absorbs excess oil and helps the moisturizer penetrate the skin’s layers. Then a very light mist after you’re finished applying makeup can help set it.

Rose Water Recipe
Add 12 drops of essential rose oil to 1 cup of distilled water in a container. If you don’t have distilled water, boil filtered water and allow it to cool to room temperature. Make sure the container is capped tightly and shake. Pour what you need into your misting bottle.

Before Makeup: After moisturizing, spray the rose water mist liberally over your face and neck. Let your skin air dry for a few minutes before makeup.

To Set Makeup: Mist very sparingly after makeup is applied for a fresh look.

Primer allows makeup to go on more smoothly and last longer before makeup is applied. (Same principal for painting your house!) It fills in the pores, lines and wrinkles. You can make your own by combining a tablespoon of castor oil and 5 tablespoons of jojoba oil in an amber dropper bottle. Just use 5 drops and spread it evenly over your face.

Test this combination on a small area to make sure it’s not too thick for your skin type.  Apply it to moist skin and definitely use it in extremely small amounts.

Now it’s time for makeup!

AFTER MAKEUP

If there’s ONE tip you follow, make sure it’s this! After a whole day with makeup on, you MUST cleanse and unplug those pores before bed – even though you feel too dog-tired (or lazy).

Go to the kitchen for these recipes:

Cleanse with oil. Natural oils such as olive oil and coconut oil, allow cleansing of your skin without over-drying it. It’s also wonderful for the removal of all types of makeup, even those most resistant like a dark mascara or pigmented lip color.

Water and oil DO mix. Put a bit of liquid coconut oil with rose water to get rid of the day’s makeup. This combination is also ideal for the gentle skin around the eyes.

Got milk? If it was good enough for our empresses and queens past, it’s better for you! Add a tablespoon of almond oil and to a bowl of whole milk and rub it all over your face with a wash cloth.

Hi Honey. A paste of baking soda and organic honey offers both cleansing and gentle exfoliating power. A little honey on your wash cloth with a bit of baking soda on top will remove that makeup. Be gentle, don’t scrub. Now rinse.

Cool and fresh as a cucumber. Cucumbers’ anti-inflammatory properties help to soothe irritated skin. One cucumber can be blended into a paste to be utilized as a facial cleanser. To get at heavier makeup, add a little milk or olive oil.

While having that natural look is what we strive for on a daily basis, there are times when a little makeup makes you feel even prettier. Preparing your skin before and after is worth taking that extra time. Your makeup will last longer and look fresher.

As always …

Dedicated To Your Beauty

Juliette Samuel
Esthetician/Author/Publisher
Nyraju Skin Care