Building Flawless Skin from the Ground Up

Building Flawless Skin from the Ground Up
By. Natalie Minh



Flawless, pearlescent skin. The kind that you see in high street designer ads, with the ingénue model’s face zeroed in for the close-up and the viewer can see every pore. The reality is that flawless skin does not come without effort and must start from the basics of proper nutrition and skincare. Models also benefit from the professional hand of a skilled makeup artist (MUA), which we’ll shed a some light on their best kept secrets so that you too can enjoy the look of beautiful glowing skin.

Nutrition.
Drinking an adequate amount of water on a daily basis is essential for the body to flush out toxins via the kidneys, carry nutrients into the cells, blood circulation, and curb appetite. The body is 90% water… do not deprive yourself of the most important nutrient of life! It is recommended that you drink minimum of 4 liters of water a day to enjoy the positive benefits.

Consume natural, non-processed foods whenever possible. The human body was designed to extract nutrients from foods growing in Mother Nature, not the grocery store point of sale area selling gooey candy bars. Many of us unknowingly experience slight allergies to various preservatives and other added chemicals found in processed foods, which as a result affect our skin. The healthiest way to avoid this is to stick to foods free of these ingredients. The other added benefit is that unprocessed foods are typically less calorie dense and therefore help maintain a trim physique.

Skin Care
Clean skin with a tight pored, acne-free, even complexion is our goal. So with that, our first focus is the cleanser. Dermatologists’ favorite tip when it comes to aggravated skin is to stick to products made specifically for sensitive skin. The perennial OTC favorite such as Cetaphil have been prescribed to acne suffering teenagers and adults alike.

On a regular basis, a facial steam will help open up your pores to enable you to clean out the debris without using excessive pressure. Steaming should always be done to a clean face. If you choose to attack a pimple or clogged pore, invest in a comedone extractor, which can be found in most beauty supply stores. The steaming will open the pore and soften the area, while the extractor will precisely remove the debris without the trauma caused by fingernails.

Proper moisturizer with sunscreen is essential to protecting the skin from long term sun damage, hyper pigmentation, and maintaining overall youthfulness of the skin. Natural sunlight contains ultraviolet (UV) photons which, when strike the skin, generate free radicals which damage skin DNA. Over time, this causes sunburn, premature aging of the skin, and is the leading cause of skin cancer each year.

Apricot or fruit acid scrubs are a great way to remove dry layers of the epidermis. In order to obtain the youthful dewy glow of fresh skin, you need to uncover it via a regular regimen of scrubs, which also in turn set the canvas for smooth makeup application.

Makeup
MUAs have developed key techniques over time to balance out the skin tone, bring the focus to the eyes and mouth, shade and highlight bone structure in order to hide the flaws and accentuate the strong points. With a few tricks of the trade, the flawless look is very achievable.

Starting with some concealer which is one shade lighter than your skin, dab under and around the eyes, over blemishes, and around the corners of the nose and mouth. These are typically the areas of the face that photograph darker than the rest of the face.

Next, lightly apply a rose hued blush on the apples of the cheeks and thoroughly blend along the cheekbones. Use a high quality eyelash curler such as Shu Uemura or Shiseido and apply two coats of black mascara on the upper and lower lashes to open up and draw emphasis to the eyes. Applying a sheer or tinted lipgloss livens the face without appearing heavy or overdone. Sweeping a matching face powder over the entire face further evens out skin tone without the heavy appearance of a liquid foundation. Finally, using a shading powder 2 shades darker than your skin tone, accentuate the line below the cheekbone and blend under the chin, along the sides of the nose and hairline. MUAs also apply a highlighting powder to the bridge of the nose (which gives it a more aquiline appearance), middle of the forehead, the area between the cheekbones and undereyes, and lightly brushed on the chin. After this is well blended with a fluffy brush, the flawless look is yours.