Creating the Perfect Canvas

I always believe properly moisturized and glowing skin is the first step to creating the perfect canvas for makeup.

I don’t mean that you must have tofu eggshell like skin texture, zero pores with no zits, but properly moisturized, hydrated healthy skin will definitely helps makeup to last longer and give a radiant glow to the total look.

When I first started off as a makeup student, I had really dry and sensitive skin. Even though to many my skin looks rather normal, I have difficulty putting on makeup due to sensitive skin and dryness. My makeup would look dull and uneven, it somehow look like mask than a makeup.  And removing makeup will be painful due to sensitive skin. This is when I realized the importance of skin care and the correct techniques used to beautiful healthy skin.

Step 1: Cleansing

Proper cleansing of face is the key to beautiful healthy skin. Why is cleaning so important?

Pollution and Dust

Pollution and dust collected on face throughout the days is bad for our skin. The collected pollution and dust is full of harmful bacteria that can easily cause breakouts and other skin problems. The condition is far worse for people with oily skin, therefore I always recommend my client to lightly powder their face if their planning to go out anywhere even though they do not want to have any makeup, this will minimize dust or any other small particles from sticking onto our face causing unwanted skin problems

Wearing Makeup

It is a must for makeup to be removed every day.  Makeup or any other form of skin care eg. Sun block can function as a protective layer to our skin during the days can also turn harmful if it’s not properly removed and cleanse. Like our bare skin surface, makeup collects dust and bacteria too, hence, if you do not remove it or properly remove it,   it will just be like wearing a mask full of dust and bacteria to bed every day. Also, some makeup such as foundation, primer or sun block may block our skin from breathing freely; hence, wearing it a long time is bad for skin and again causes breakouts and creating black/whiteheads.

I recommend using lotion or oil base makeup remover instead of makeup remover wipes. As both lotion and oil base remover creates less friction on the skin surface. Wipes should only be use in a less convenient situation when you do not have the facility to properly clean your face like on a plane or while travelling. Too much friction will cause thinning of skin resulting in sensitive skin.

Step 2: Toning

Most people skip this process as we do not understand what it does. It is necessary? Does it cleanse your face? But you used a cleanser.  I used to skip this step too as I too do not know why we need to tone.

Why do we need to tone?

Restoring skin natural pH balance is the first and most important job of toner. While water can have a pH balance as high as 9.5 depending on where you live and how hard the water is, our skin pH balance is at 5.5. After washing and cleansing, skin pH balance is completely distorted and our skin will take a half an hour to one to restore its pH. Using toner helps restoring pH instantly and prepares our skin for better absorption of moisturizer. It is like the primer for moisturizer.

Depending on skin, some toners clarify and exfoliate skin, it further cleanse the skin by removing oil and dead skin cells. If you have very oily skin, you may want to opt to try toner of such range, however, try to go for alcohol free toner as alcohol can cause over-drying and there is a possibility to cause more break-outs. Different skins react differently though, so it is important to stick with a regime for a couple of weeks before you can tell whether a particular product suits your skin or not. It is recommended to use facial cotton to apply exfoliating toner

If your skin is normal to dry, go for a toner that does not exfoliate but also hydrates and moisturize. For toner that does not exfoliate but moisturized, it is recommended to apply it without a cotton but spray or apply by hand and pat gently till the toner absord.

Step 3: Essence / Serum

After toner, you may opt to apply a light layer of essence or serum before moisturizer. Depending on individual, this step can be skipped.

Essentially, at its base, essence or serum are is a highly concentrated skin care product similar to a moisturizer; however they tend to have smaller compact particles and are lighter than traditional moisturizers. This allows them to get absorbed faster and more effectively into the skin. They also get absorbed deeper into the skin allowing more effective cell regeneration and reproduction. The most common ingredients in any serum brands are Retinol, Peptides, Collagen, Plant extracts, synthetic extracts, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Whitening compounds. It is normally designed to treat specific skin problems from oil control to skin whitening to hydration. 

Step 4: Moisturizer

After cleansing and toning, we must moisturize. This step should NOT be avoided, even if you have an oily skin type. It is very important to choose the right formula for your skin type.

 There are tons of moisturizer products to choose from, such as gels (best for oily/acne prone skin), creams (best for dry/sensitive skin) and serums (best for normal/oily skin). Some provide anti-blemish action, some are anti-wrinkle, some contain fake tan, and some simply moisturize.

After toner and serum has been fully absorbed, apply a small blob of moisturizer, gently massaging in a circular motion into your face and neck. It is important not to leave the neck area out as saggy skin and aging line are the first to appear around the neck area.

Eye cream

It is a good practice to use a separate eye-cream on the eye area as skin around the eyes is very delicate and normal moisturizer may not be suitable. Using the right eye cream you can prevent puffy eyes, dark eye circles as well as skin aging.

Lip

After moisturizing the eye and the face area, don’t forget to dab on a little lips moisturizer. This can help to minimize the lines on the lips area as well as keeping your lips moisturize and prevent it from chapping.

Step 5

Finish up the look with a face mist or spring water to lock in the moisturizer.

Wishing you a beautiful, happy skin!