My Morning Skincare Routine Before Makeup

Oily makeup-lovers: this is for you!

Right now I’m in Italy, and surprisingly my skin is normal/dry, while back home in humid Georgia, it is combo/oily. When I wear makeup, my nose gets oily, which thankfully Estee Lauder Double Wear helps combat.

If you love makeup, and want to keep your skin hydrated, clear, and not oily: this is my morning skincare routine before my makeup application.

Cleanser This is really preference here, but in the morning, I like a gentle cleanser on my skin. At night is when I get down to the gritty with a more pore clearing cleanser. For morning, I like to use an oil cleanser, you heard me right: good oils can help control sebum (oil) produced by the skin. My favorite is Lancôme Energie de Vie Cleansing Oil - $42. It is exclusive at Sephora. This cleansing oil has Salicylic Acid which helps with breakouts, while the oil leaves a dew appearance on the skin without an oily residue. I have had this oil for over 8 months, the bottle lasts forever!

Toner

After a good night’s rest, your skin has worked hard turning over cells, but you just washed it so there shouldn’t be any dead cells left, right? Wrong. Toners helps extract built-up bacteria, makeup, and dead skin that your cleanser couldn’t catch. It also helps restore the natural pH balance in your skin after your cleansing routine. Toners also do different things depending on the ingredients. My skin is really sensitive in the morning, so I love the Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner. The Rose and Aloe Vera work to calm the skin’s redness, while the witch hazel combats bacteria and balances skin tone. To make it even better, it’s alcohol-free, natural, and like $10! I found it at my local Vitamin Shoppe. Just pour some on a cotton pad, and swipe your face!

Serum

I have tried many, many serums, but in the morning, I like to keep it simple: Vitamin C. You can use this in serum form before moisturizer, or get a Vitamin C powder and mix it with your moisturizer. Vitamin C matters, whether you tan or not, or don’t think you need sunscreen. Vitamin C helps fight UV damage from the sun, boosts collagen production, and is a natural antioxidant. I haven’t found my favorite Vitamin C serum or powder yet that I feel strong enough to recommend, so I will keep you updated.

Moisturizers

My 2 new favorite day moisturizers are from MAC.

The first is Moisture Infusion - $42. This is a serum-like moisturizer. It is extremely light-weight, but does a damn good job. If you are feeling especially dry in some areas, Moisture Infusion will help plump the skin out with water, and you can instantly see your skin become re-hydrated. Here is the big misconception: if you are oily, you don’t need to hydrate. This is blasphemy. If your skin cells are dehydrated, your skin will try to make up for the lack of water by creating more oil. The body is a smart machine, but what does that leave you with? Oily skin and being more prone to breakouts. Hydrate people, and drink lots of water.

Next up is what actually does the job without stressing you out: MAC Oil Control Lotion - $33. This bad baby hydrates while controlling oil and shine, contains necessary minerals and antioxidants for the skin, and helps control breakouts. All in one. That’s all I need to say, because literally it saved my life.

Oh, and don’t forget your face sunscreen!

Primer

The part that makes it or breaks it is primer. If you get a slippery, slimy primer: goodbye foundation, hello oil! I have gone through every primer you could possibly think of and nothing has made me as happy as MAC Skin Base Visage - $31. This primer helps calm redness, evens skin tone, boosts radiance, and smooths the skin for makeup application. No more smile lines in your foundation or oil peeking through the nose. The only weird thing I would say about this primer is once you put it on, it almost looks like little flecks of light on your skin – almost like glitter but NOT. It literally disappears once you put your makeup on, but yeah that is just a little thing, but I love the results!

Now everything works differently for different people. Try some of these things that stood out to you and I promise your skin will thank you! Like I tell everybody, you skin comes FIRST. You can’t have good makeup without good skin, and your skin stays with you for the rest of your life! The way you take care of your skin will show in time, invest in it now! Nothing is cheap if you want results.

I may look for some dupes to these items, but remember while looking for dupes watch out for mineral oil, bad alcohols, etc. Most of the time you get what you pay for, but I want you all to have fresh, glowing skin you’re proud of! Have a good day!

When I get back to the states, I will film a skin care routine as well!

#skincare #makeup #serum #moisturizer #MAC #Lancome #VitaminC #oilyskin