Steps to Prep Your Face for Makeup

Before you apply your makeup, it’s important to follow a few steps:

• Have a good skincare routine
• Shave your face
• Exfoliate
• Protect, moisturize, prime

Have a Good Skincare Routine

The most important thing you can do to prep your face for makeup is have a good skincare routine! Every woman wants that perfect glass skin, right?! When you commit to a good nightly skincare routine, your skin can renew itself while you sleep!

For your morning routine, keep it simple. Cleanse, tone, moisturize. See below for how to combine 3 in 1 on the last step. My very favorite skincare products are simple and all natural. The oil cleanser is gentle on your skin and the toner is soothing and healing (save 10% with this discount code: TDEJOELLEN). My favorite moisturizer is Elta MD or Dime Wonderscreen.

Shave Your Face

As your friend, I feel it’s my duty to let you know that you have a furry face. Yup. You do. But, I still love you! Everyone has some fuzz on their face, whether it’s fine, thick, light, or dark. It’s there. Throw out the notion that shaving your face is only for men. Because it’s not. Contrary to popular belief, shaving your face does not mean that your hair will grow back thicker and darker. That’s a myth. Now, I’m not telling you to go invest in a men’s electric razor or to buy some shaving cream and a good razor to shave your beard. I’m not. But I am suggesting that you make a small investment, and I mean small because they’re only a few dollars, in facial razors. These will change your life!

You simply take your facial razor at a 45 degree angle and shave off that peach fuzz. It’s so easy! So simple! And it gives your face a nice smooth surface. Who wants to look at their face and glance an eyeful of fuzz?? I sure don’t! I want to look feminine. And by simply razor-ing off your peach fuzz, you can!

Shaving your face will not only get rid of the appearance of fuzz but it will help your makeup apply and blend better and it will help your skincare absorb better into your skin. It’s a win win!

If you feel like the facial razor route is just too tedious because you have too much fur, then you can always wax. You can wax your face yourself if you’re brave and confident or you can pay someone to do it for you. You just want to focus your upper lip and jawline/cheek area.

Exfoliate

A crucial step to make your face nice and smooth is exfoliation! I can’t preach the power of exfoliation enough. It is oh so necessary for a smooth and texture free face. You can buy a great exfoliator or you can make a simple homemade recipe. The key is to make sure that you use an exfoliator that has fine granules so you don’t scratch your skin. Exfoliating should be helpful, not harmful. We want to slough off the dead skin cells, the product buildup, the dirt and grim. And a nice fine product will do just that. Simply apply the solution to your face and rub in nice circular motions to clean the area well. Only do this once to twice a week so you don’t overstimulate or hurt your sensitive skin. You will feel like a new woman!

There are a ton of exfoliators on the market. Some are great and some aren’t so great. Here are my top 4 tried and true exfoliators that I use and love:

• Daily Essential Co Exfoliant– This one is by far my very favorite!! It’s a plant based exfoliant. It has salicylic acid and jojoba oil beads that leave your skin so soft! It’s so gentle that it can be used daily. Since I’ve been using this in my skin care routine, my skin has never been so smooth and healthy! I also LOVE their oil cleanser, hyaluronic acid, and oil serum! (for 10% off, use this discount code at checkout: TDEJOELLEN)
• Salis Salt Scrub– I love that this is all natural. It contains Redmond Real salt, Redmond clay, essential oil, and jojoba oil. It’s very healing! My personal fave is the Sandalwood Salt Scrub.
• Rodan + Field Microdermabrasion Paste– This is a great face and body exfoliant. It leaves your skin feeling nice and smooth!
• Seint Masque– This is used as a masque to exfoliate your skin. It removes the dead surface cells of your skin by leaving it on for several minutes.  

Protect, Moisturize, Prime

Once you have cleansed your face and have made it nice and smooth, it’s important to protect it. You may have been told that you need to apply sunscreen, moisturizer, and primer every day. But applying that many products on your face before you apply your makeup will just add to the oils and cakey-ness of your face. My motto is less is more! I prefer to use one product that does all three things. My favorite sunscreen/moisturizer/primers are Elta MD or Dime Wonderscreen (save 20% with this Dime discount code: JOELLEN). They both work great!

Cream Makeup

If you’ve been looking for a makeup that makes your skin feel & look smooth, then Seint makeup is for you, girl! Cream foundation is meant to make your face look smooth and flawless. The cream makeup clings to your beautiful face and looks like a second skin, not a mask. But it won’t work well with a textured, rough, and fuzzy face. Your makeup will go on so much nicer when you have a good foundation to apply it on. So let’s get you looking pretty and smooth so you can use those products with confidence! Read these Seint makeup reviews to see what other women think!

With these simple steps, you are bound to have a fuzz-free and smooth face for your makeup in no time! Embrace your femininity. Strap on some confidence. And look and feel your best!

Here are other blog posts you might enjoy:

Contour Tips and Tricks

Unleash Your Creativity with a Custom Eyeshadow Palette

How to Hide Jowls with Makeup

Eyeshadow Tips for Hooded Eyes

Winter Essentials to Stay Warm and Stylish

Elevate Your Look with Silver Flats

About the Author

JoEllen is a licensed aesthetician, certified makeup artist, and certified John Maxwell coach, speaker, and trainer. She has been working with women for 18 years helping them look and feel confident. She loves teaching women simple beauty techniques so they can feel empowered to try it at home. She believes that when you look and feel good, you do good!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase an item featured in this post, I get a small portion from the sale. Thank you! It does not affect you at all.

The post How to Prep Your Face for a Great Makeup Application appeared first on Illuminate Beauty.

Milk Masque: The Secret to Beautiful Skin

A daily skin care routine is crucial to healthy skin. But if you want really glowing skin, then you must incorporate exfoliating into your weekly routine. And the Maskcara Milk Masque is the secret to beautiful skin. We’ll tell you all about it!

Why Exfoliate

You must cleanse, tone, and moisturize daily. But that process alone won’t truly clean your skin. Exfoliating will help slough off dead skin cells, remove product buildup, increases your blood flow, smooths your skin, and can prevent wrinkles. It will help your skin glow!

How to Exfoliate

Now that you know how important exfoliating is, how should you exfoliate? Not just any exfoliator will do. One that is too coarse will scratch your skin and cause bacteria to enter the small lesions. And that won’t do! So, you must find an exfoliator that is gentle enough to do its work without hurting your delicate skin. Enter Maskcara Milk Masque!

To exfoliate properly, wash your face with Milk Cleanser and dry your face. Then simply take the Milk Masque in your fingers and rub it on your face in circular motions. This will gently scrub off that buildup. You can leave the masque on for a few minutes or you can wash it off after you gently scrub. Use the Maskcara microfiber cloths to completely remove the masque.

Follow Up

After you’ve cleansed and exfoliated, follow the steps up with toning with Milk Toner. This will help refresh your face and restore your skin’s natural pH levels. Then, finish your skin care routine off by moisturizing with Milk Moisturizer. This will hydrate your skin properly so your skin can rejuvenate itself while you sleep!

Don’t just have healthy skin be your goal. Have beautiful, glowing, and smooth skin be your goal. And you can get it by exfoliating a few times a week with Milk Masque.

Learn more about the daily skin care routine HERE.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase a product featured in this post, I receive a small portion from the sale. Thank you! It does not affect you at all. 

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3 Tips to Keep Your Skin Fresh in Winter

Winter time can be tough on skin. With the cold weather, dry climate, and harsh weather, it can confuse your skin and mess up your pretty face! It’s important to take extra care during the winter months to baby your skin so it remains at its best. Here are 3 tips to keep you skin fresh in winter!

Moisturize

Winter can be very drying on your skin so make sure to moisturize! A great option for your beautiful face is the Maskcara Milk Moisturizer. Oh my goodness. Never have I met a better concoction for my face! It soothes, heals, and moisturizes like no other! Another great option for your face or your entire body is simple coconut oil! Coconut oil makes such a great natural, cheap, and easy moisturizer. Trust me…your skin will thank me.

Drink Lots of Water

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I’m actually really bad at this so this is a great reminder for me to drink up! Drinking lots of water can help your skin feel great and look great!

Exfoliate

Our skin collects product buildup and dead skin cells so it’s crucial that we slough off all that grim and exfoliate often! Make sure to choose an option that isn’t too rough on your skin. You want it to gently exfoliate, not scratch and damage your face.  This is a great option that your skin will love! Or, you can make a simple recipe with ingredients from your kitchen. I love simplicity, so this is my fave!

With these simple steps, you can keep your skin fresh in winter!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item featured in this post, then we get a small portion from the sale. Thank you! It does not affect you at all.Â

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5 Essential Skin Care Steps

We all want beautiful skin. Some of us have acne prone skin, some have dry, oily, or textured. No matter what type of skin you were blessed with, we all need to take good care of it! I’m a licensed aesthetician so skin care is really important to me. When I follow these 5 essential skin care steps, I feel more beautiful and my skin glows.

Step 1- Cleanse

It is so important to cleanse your skin daily! It’s ideal to cleanse morning & night, but it is essential to cleanse your skin at night. Ever since I went to skin care school, a night has not gone by that I haven’t cleansed my face….for real!! Think about how much dirt, grim, dust, sweat, and makeup that has accumulated on your skin throughout the day. You do not want to go to bed with that gunk settling in even more! Wash your face so you can have a nice clean face and your skin can renew itself while you sleep. Maskcara’s Milk Cleanser is top notch and oh so good for your skin!

Step 2- Exfoliate

Exfoliating your skin helps slough off the dead skin cells, remove product buildup, increases your blood circulation, and leaves your skin feeling nice and smooth. It is not necessary to exfoliate your face everyday day, in fact it can irritate it if you do. But simply exfoliate once to a few times a week to ensure that your skin is nice and smooth and healthy. 

I personally like to use a simple homemade recipe of coconut oil & baking soda. It makes a great exfoliant that everyone already has in their cupboard.

Step 3- Tone

Say what?! What is the purpose of toner? This is a very underrated step in the skin care process and one that needs to make its way into your life! Toning can act as a second cleaning process. By taking a cotton pad and your toner, you wipe your face to get the excess dirt & makeup off. It also helps minimize your pore size and balances your skin’s natural pH level. 

Maskcara’s Milk Toner is amazing! Or I like to use good ol’ apple cider vinegar (with the mother). Some toners have alcohol in them and this can be really drying for your skin. Whether you use a homemade recipe, something from your cupboard, or a toner from the drugstore make sure to tone your face once a day (I do it at night).

Step 4- Moisturize

Just like your body needs water to drink, your skin needs moisturizer to stay hydrated. Your skin is thirsty and needs to have that extra moisture to thrive. Make sure to moisturize your face in your daily routine, whether once or twice a day. A common misconception is that women who have oily skin don’t need to moisturize…wrong! Oily skin is still thirsty. You just may need to moisturize once a day instead of twice.

Maskcara Milk is an excellent moisturizer! I especially love it under my eyes. I also love to use pure coconut oil. I lather it on my face at night and let my skin hydrate while I’m sleeping. Either options are great!

Step 5- Spot Treatment

All of us are cursed with pesky pimples at some time in our life. The important thing is learning how to treat them. Sometimes it’s best to leave them alone, but if you must squeeze them, then make sure to gently use your two pointer fingers wrapped in tissue to avoid getting oil, dirt, or bacteria into the exposed area. Once you’re done, use a benzoyl peroxide ointment or some other acne treatment cream to spot treat the area.

I like to use an essential oil blend for those blemishes.

Those are my 5 essential skin care steps that I use and think you should too! Nobody’s skin is perfectly flawless, but if you take good care of your skin then it will glow!

Click here to see some of my favorite beauty products. 

You’ve seen how I take care of my skin, wanna see how I put on a quick face? Click here!

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