MY MAKEUP & BEAUTY SECRETS

I’ve been trying to write this post for a long time but for some I kept postponing it… My idea is to share with you my beauty ritual and makeup secrets from the moment I wake up in the morning till I go back to bed at night.

For a woman like me, who at some stage had skin problems (and I’m sure most of us, including men of course), it is very important to have a very strict cleaning ritual and use products that actually help us to keep those unwanted issues away. I would love to say that all I do to keep my skin healthy and looking pretty is drinking 8 glasses of water a day and sleeping 10 hours every night, but no, at least for me that’s not enough (and most of the time not even possible), especially when you have a busy life and cannot rest as much as you need to. I do drink a lot of water, but unfortunately I can only sleep more than 8 hours during weekends or holidays. So, how do I take care of my skin? Here’s the secret:

IN THE MORNING…

1. Every morning I wash my face with a neutral soap (nothing fancy, I get it at the dermatologist) and then apply Clinique’s Clarifying Lotion 2. Next is the most delicate part of our face, and I take care of it with All About Eyes Rich, it’s very creamy and you can feel how your skin gets moisture immediately. This next step I do it specially after summer, because with all the sun exposure the skin tends to stain, so I apply the Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector, you cannot imagine how it has improved my skin tone, 100% recommended! Finally the new Superdefense Daily Defense Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 20, which has been a great finding for me because it is not greasy or clog pores and has something very important for me, the SPF (never underestimate the power of sunblock on your skin). Now I’m ready for makeup.
2. As important as the skin care products, choosing the right makeup is critical for our skin health. There’re so many products out there and so much advertising, that you can easily fall for the wrong ones. I think I’ve tried every single makeup brand on the market and it was always so disappointing till I finally found the right one for me. I tested a product at the time, and as I was seeing the results I started incorporating new ones. It was not easy (and very frustrating I must say), but I finally have a set of products that I can wear with all confidence.
• Makeup Foundation: Oh My Dior! I’ve seen everything! Girls, please, the most important part of your makeup is the base, and it should be soft, non-greasy or lumpy and the closer to your skin tone as possible. I cannot imagine something worse than a white girl with a brown face because she’s trying to look beyond tanned with her makeup (or the opposite); I can’t even find the words to describe how bad it looks. In my case, to make sure I don’t look like a clown and to avoid all those inconvenient situations, I use Le Teint Touche Éclat from Yves Saint Laurent, it’s amazing how it perfectly adapts to your skin and look so natural, conceals imperfections and brings so much light to you face. Initially I was using a sponge to apply it, but then I discovered that is much better with the fingers and it also avoids unnecessary waste.
• Eye Shadow: I tend not to use eye shadow in the morning to try look as “natural” as possible, but from time to time I apply a little bit of light pink or pearl shadow to give some light to my eyes and the difference is quite noticeable. For this I don’t have a special brand preference, I like MAC, Chanel, KIKO, Bobbi Brown and many others.
• Powder: For a long time I used Elizabeth Arden, but since I was getting such amazing results with YSL, I decided to give it a try and went for the Poudre Compacte Radiance, and I cannot be more satisfied; it gives me that  luminous and natural finish that lasts all day.
• Eyebrows and Eye Lashes: As you might have noticed I have very big (ok, let’s say huge) eyes, and of course is the part of my face that I try to get most out of. Luckily I was blessed with very good eyebrows, so I only use a special makeup for eyebrows to fill the blanks and give a better definition to the natural shape; the one I have is from EBEL and has to be one of the best gifts I’ve ever got; it has to be like 7 or even more years old and it’s still like new (thank you Karla btw). Now the mascara… This has been a nightmare for me, but I finally found one that works perfectly for me, the brand is not very famous (LashGASM), but it gives a lot of volume to my lashes and leaves no lump.
• My Best Kept Secret: It was the first product I tried from YSL and the reason why I decided to try the rest of the products. I’m talking about the Touche Éclat. It’s like magic (no joke). This highlighter makes dark circles, fine lines and signs of fatigue virtually disappear. Another great thing about this product is that it isn’t only for the eyes, i.e. when I’m doing a night makeup I use it around my lips to create the illusion of having bigger lips. You can forget about everything I’ve been talking you about in this post, but this one is definitely worth trying.
• Blush: The final touch is in the cheeks and during the day we need to be very careful with this, so try going for a color that looks natural and sassy. I’m a very girly girl so I use MAC’s Cremeblend Blush in “Something Sweet” shade. I love how it makes me look like I’m slightly blushed and as it doesn’t have any shine is perfect for the day. Just a little amount in the cheeks (not the cheekbone) and I’m ready!
• Lips: This one is optional for me, sometimes with a lip balm is enough, but if I want to add some color I use Matte Please Me from MAC; it’s so sweet and pink, I love it!

AT NIGHT…

If you’re still awake, we can now go to my night ritual… It is very similar to the morning but we just need to add a couple of steps. The first thing is to remove the makeup (one product for the face, one product for the eyes). For eyes and lips I use Clinique’s Take The Day Off Makeup Remover and for the face the Take The Day Off Cleansing Milk. It is very important to use a soft makeup remover for the eyes to avoid redness and damaging the delicate skin in that zone and the subsequent wrinkles. Then I apply the clarifying lotion (unless the makeup was really heavy, in that case I wash my face as well) and finish with the same steps from the morning (Eyes and Face Moisturizers). Every other day I add a small step between cleaning and applying the clarifying lotion, that makes a huge difference; I scrub my face using what has been one of my best allies for years, St. Ives Apricot Scrub. It removes all the dead skin and unclog pores to avoid those hated pimples, plus it makes my skin so soft. AND THAT IS IT!

I know that it sounds like I spend half of my life in the bathroom between makeup and cleaning, but the truth is that once you get used to it, it becomes a really quick process, and even quicker if don’t need to apply makeup. Specially at night, for me is like a little moment to pamper myself and do nothing else but taking care of me, and I really enjoy it (unless I’m too tired, but I do it anyway).

Remember, the sooner you start, the better.

Love

Massiel