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By Sophie Joaman • July 20, 2024 • 7 mins read
Prepping your skin for makeup properly before applying your makeup is essential for achieving flawless and long-lasting results.
The process of cleansing, moisturizing, and priming the skin not only ensures that your makeup look appears smoother but also helps to keep it healthy. Using a good cleanser removes impurities and dead skin cells, creating the perfect base for makeup application.
Whether you have oily skin, dry skin, or combination skin type, following a good, structured skincare routine can make all the difference. Hydration is key—using a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid or a lightweight balm can help keep your skin plump and ready for foundation. Don’t forget SPF to protect your skin from sun damage!
The best part is, you really don’t have to be a pro at makeup or skincare to do it, but with a few expert tips, you can learn to prep your skin for makeup just like the pros do. Keep your lips soft and smooth by applying a nourishing lip balm as part of your routine.
Our step-by-step guide is the one you need in your life and will help you cultivate new habits in your daily routine.
The very first step in any pre-makeup skincare routine is to thoroughly cleanse and exfoliate your skin for makeup. Cleansing removes dirt and impurities, leaving you with a clean canvas for your makeup application.
Exfoliating helps slough off dead skin cells and unclog pores, making your skin look and feel healthier.
Without proper cleansing, impurities can remain sitting underneath your makeup look, causing potential skincare issues further down the road. Your skin type needs to breathe, and cleansing is essential for allowing it to do so.
For this step, use a gentle cleanser on a cotton pad or clean hands and apply it all over your face, then rinse off with warm water. Next, use an exfoliating scrub specifically formulated for the face, gently rubbing it across your skin.
Finally, rinse your face thoroughly to ensure all product residue is removed, and pat your skin dry.
After cleansing and exfoliating, it’s important to moisturize your skin. Moisturizing keeps your skin hydrated, ensuring your makeup look appears flawless and lasts throughout the day.
Apply a small amount of moisturizer to your skin and massage it in well, allowing it to fully absorb before moving on to the next step. This helps maximize the benefits of your skincare routine and gives your skin for makeup the best chance of holding your makeup application in place.
Next, it’s time to apply your primer. Primers create a silky base for your makeup look, helping it glide on easily and stay put. They also work to blur imperfections and control oil, depending on your skin type and concerns. If you have oily skin, opt for a mattifying primer, while those with dry skin may benefit from a hydrating formula
Take a small amount of primer and apply it evenly over your face. Allow the primer to fully absorb into the skin, giving it the best chance to work its magic.
It’s worth noting at this point that you should also apply SPF to your skin. This is essential to help you avoid damage from UV rays. For extra hydration, consider using a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid. Don’t forget a nourishing lip balm to keep your lips soft and ready for any look!
Some people prefer to put SPF on before primer and some after, but either way, the main thing to remember is to use it every day, even on those cloudy days!
Lip care often gets overlooked, but prepping your skin for makeup should always include your lips as part of your wider skincare routine.
To prep your skin for makeup, start by gently exfoliating dead skin cells from your lips with a scrub and then hydrate with a nourishing lip balm.
This will remove flaky skin, ensuring that your lipstick or gloss goes on smoothly and stays looking fresh and hydrated for longer, complementing your overall makeup look.
Proper lip care also prevents your lipstick from drying out and giving your lips a chapped appearance. Applying a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid can help keep your lips soft and supple.
Beyond aesthetics, chapped lips can be painful, so giving your lips extra care will make you feel more comfortable in your makeup application while enhancing your flawless finish.
For those with oily skin, it’s essential to use products that help control oil production and shine. Choose oil-free and non-comedogenic skincare products that won’t add more oil or block your pores.
This is particularly crucial if you find that your makeup application slips, melts, or transfers.
To prep your skin the right way, start with an oil-free cleanser that balances the natural oils on your skin type and exfoliate regularly to remove any excess oil build-up.
Use a lightweight, oil-free moisturizer and a mattifying primer as well to help keep the shine at bay and lock your makeup application in place for a flawless, gorgeous look all day.
With dry skin, hydration is key. Opt for hydrating, moisture-rich skincare products to combat dry, flaky, or dehydrated areas and keep your skin looking and feeling luscious.
ou want to replenish moisture in the skin, not remove it, so avoid products that strip moisture. Instead, choose cleansers, moisturizers, and primers with glycerin and/or hyaluronic acid.
These ingredients create a smoother base for your makeup application to glide over and work from under your makeup throughout the day to keep the skin from drying out and makeup from becoming dull.
Combination skin type can be trickier, as you will likely find that you are prone to both oily and dry skin areas. Nevertheless, the solution is simple.
Opt for skincare products that help to balance and even out your skin tone. For example, use a gentle cleanser and exfoliator to help even out the skin tone, then apply a lightweight moisturizer that won’t add too much extra oil to the skin but will keep it looking hydrated and luminous.
With a primer, it may be worth considering the type you need the most. If you have an equal split of oily and dry skin areas, then a mattifying primer might be better applied to areas such as the T-zone, while a moisturizing one will target those dry parts.
However, if you prefer to use just one product, a lightweight, long-wear primer can work incredibly well to give you that balance for a smoother makeup application.
Prepping your skin with all of the above advice is pointless if you’re using unclean brushes and tools. By doing this, you are transferring bacteria and dirt from your brushes to your clean skin, undoing all the effort you have just made to prep your skin for makeup.
Regularly cleaning all of your tools is one of the most important things you can do to prevent infections and other skincare issues.
While it can seem like a hassle, trust us when we say it’s so worth it to keep your skin healthy. So give your brushes a thorough and deep clean in warm, soapy water. Future you will thank you!
With these simple steps, you are on your way to happier, healthier skin, no matter your skin type.
By cleansing with a gentle cleanser, moisturizing with a hydrating moisturizer, and priming, you lay the groundwork for a smooth makeup application. This not only ensures a beautiful, long-lasting makeup look but also helps you feel good and prevents potential skin issues.
