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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{JoEllen}

Maskcara Makeover Before and After

We absolutely love a good before and after! We especially love a good Maskcara makeover before and after! Our first before & after up on the blog is yours truly, JoEllen.

Color Choice

I’ve been wearing Maskcara products for a few years. I love how easy they are to blend & contour your face to look like a million bucks. I’ve used a few different cheek colors & tried a couple of different highlight colors over the years. But, it wasn’t until I got my artist kit that I was really able to experiment with colors & different looks. There are better color choices for certain types of looks. Want a natural, every day look? Yup…Maskcara has the perfect color for you! Want a more glam look to show off those gorgeous features? Yup…Maskcara has your colors! I stepped out of my normal makeup routine for this makeover & I love the results!

What I’m Wearing

I found my perfect highlight color with Amber. Years ago, I first ordered Sunlit, but it was way too yellow for me & I could see the cracks, creases, and texture on my face really well…in a bad way. When this happens, that means you must choose a shade darker. Amber was the winner!

I usually wear Dahlia on my cheeks, but I chose Pink Grapefruit this time around…wowza! I think I found my new fav! But instead of applying my blush with the Bronzer & Blush Brush, I found better success with applying with the round end of the 30 Second HAC Brush. It helped distribute the cheek color without overpowering my small apples.

Next I chose to contour with more than one color with a mix of Stone & Ash along my cheekbones, forehead, and jawline & Shadow along my nose. I think my new favorite tip with applying contour color is to use the Detail HAC Brush. I have a thin face so this brush helps me get more defined & delicate lines drawn on my face. This brush is also so great for applying highlight in small areas & helping place precise color on your face…it’s my new fav brush!

For my eyes, I just used the Deep Crease technique by using the I Shadow Everything Brush with Stardust, Basic, and Bright Eyes. I lined my eyes with black eyeliner & applied some mascara. Make sure you don’t forget your brows! I defined those bad boys with a brown eyeshadow by using the Hotline Brush. We’ll have a brow tutorial coming soon!

Then I topped the look off with some Pink Grapefruit on my lips and voila!

Details

Highlight: Amber

Contour: Stone, Ash, Shadow

Cheek: Pink Grapefruit

Lips: Pink Grapefruit

Eyes: Sabrina, Basic, Bright Eyes

Go Practice

I love how you can easily get different looks by just using a few different colors or applying your makeup heavier or lighter. This makeup is so versatile & fun to work with! What are you waiting for?! Go get your makeup & practice! Get out there, gorgeous!

Check out some other amazing makeovers here!

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