My Secrets to Glowing Skin
One of the positives of my modelling career has been the knowledge I’ve gained about makeup and most particularly glowing skin.
I have always loved makeup, and spent a lot of my free time experimenting with it, but spending hours in a makeup chair allows you to gain the sort of insight that even hours of self experimentation can’t. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with makeup and skincare giants like NARS, Max Factor and Charlotte Tilbury… while every makeup artist and every brand had different ways of achieving this look, the result is always the same: incredible, radiant and glowing skin. Here’s some of the top secrets I brought from under the ring light, and into my home:
Skincare really is everything: you’ve heard them say it before but I’m telling you again. Sure, it’s alright saying that, but what’s the key to good skin then? Well, I can’t tell you everything but this much I do know:
Exfoliate once a week. Do not exfoliate more than once a week or your skin won’t have enough time to repair. I would recommend the Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream but Frank Body and Lowengrip also do brilliant exfoliators/face scrubs.
Invest in a good face cream. I am not saying that cheap face creams are bad for your skin, but if you’re going to spend money on anything make sure its skincare. A few recommendations are Shiseido’s Bio-Performance Cream (my absolute favourite and the cream I swear by), Estee Lauder DayWear, and Clinique Dramatically Different. I have tried all the aforementioned products and only have good things to say about them.
Take off your makeup! Another thing you’ve probably heard hundreds of times but nevertheless something that is extremely important. I should also stress how important it is to take your makeup off properly. Do not uses makeup wipes. The research is there and it damages your skin. Instead, I would recommend a product like Garnier’s Micellar Water. Remove it with cotton wool softly (ensuring not to pull you skin) and finish off with a face wash like Estee Lauder’s Perfectly Clean Face Wash.
Always wear primer! I would never wear foundation without primer. I also think there is a common misconception that its okay to wear foundation without face cream. The result of not wearing either of these is dull looking skin. I would recommend illuminating primers specifically. Illuminating primers are something both NARS and Charlotte Tilbury often use, and I would recommend both of their products highly!
Wearing the right foundation is key. Many people prefer a matte foundation and that is absolutely fine, however, I have always preferred a glowing look. This article is also dedicated to glowing skin and therefore a non-matte foundation is needed. There are a multitude of great foundations out there but I would particularly recommend MAC’s Mineralise Foundation, Rimmel’s Radiance Foundation and NARS’ Sheer Glow foundation!
Use your fingers, not a brush. One of the biggest debates in the beauty world is whether to apply foundation using a brush or your fingers. I have worked with makeup artists who’ve done both and honestly, the fingers work every time. This being said, if you don’t have the time and patience to apply the foundation slowly and with a light touch then I would use a brush. Using your fingers only works when you have a light touch and can layer the foundation slowly.
Think Cream, not powder. As tempting as it is to use powder contours/highlighters, if you are trying to achieve a glowing look then I would advise against them. That’s not to say you can’t use them at all to achieve a glowing look, but I would be wary with using too many. For a highlighter, use the cream based NARS’ Endless Orgasm Palette. You’ll look radiant without looking powdery.
Contouring is not always necessary. When you’re using a lot of cream based products, you might find that contour will smudge, and we don’t want a muddy face! What a lot of makeup artists will use instead is a bronzer. Apply the bronzer where you’d usually apply your contour - its that simple.
Face mist is your new best friend. A lot of you probably haven’t heard of it, but from now on, its your new best friend. While working at GLAMOUR I was introduced to Korean beauty, and wow, was I blown away. Research shows that their beauty industry is ten years ahead of the rest of the world. One of the products I discovered was vitamin infused face mist - the Power 10 Face Mist in particular is infused with Vitamin C and instantly brightens your face. Lucky for you, it’s also available in the UK now. I finish every look with this product, it gives you that natural glow even on the days that it isn’t there.
Having a hot bath or shower after you’ve completed your makeup isn’t such a bad idea. This sounds funny but one of the world’s biggest makeup artists told me this (I am not allowed to say who but if you knew who it was you would listen). The idea is that after you have a hot shower your makeup relaxes a little bit and some of that mist sticks to your skin and leaves you looking positively radiant. This is something I do before any big event - it just gives you a little bit of WOW factor.
And there it is… those are my top secret tips for glowing skin. Truly, every person is different and while some of these tips might work great for you, they might not work for others. I hope you enjoyed the article but till then, have a fabulous week!
Always,
Oriana xx