I’m often asked about tips and tricks for a flawless makeup application. Since I shared my favorite makeup products for flawless skin on my FaceBook page yesterday, today I will be sharing my NUMBER 1 tip for beautiful and clean makeup application…Take care of your canvas from the inside out. Establish a regimen that works for you, your lifestyle, and your skin type; and stay hydrated by drinking water!!!!! Cleanse, tone, and moisturize (include an SPF of at least 30 if going outdoors – especially if you, like me, are battling hyper pigmentation a.k.a those dark spots that are left behind if I even look at a pimple too long) your skin daily; and exfoliate at least once a week depending on your skin type.
While makeup can cover many skin flaws and imperfections, having a blemish free canvas to work on will provide you with the best makeup application possible. I’m ALWAYS telling my clients how important proper skin care and internal hydration – water only – is for makeup application. Here are the products I use to ensure proper makeup removal and clean skin. (I use different products when not cleansing off makeup I’ll probably share those in another post).
1. Koh Gen Do Cleansing Spa Water wipes. I use one to wipe off all makeup before using a cleanser. These are my absolute favorite makeup wipes. They are gentle yet effective.
2. Clarisonic Mia2 for 2 minutes on the lowest setting. The first minute I cleanse using the full brush, on the second minute I remove the outer part of the brush and use the smaller portion of the brush to continue cleansing my skin.

Image 1: Full brush used for 1 minute.
Image 2: I removed the outer portion of the brush and used for 1 additional minute.
Note: I use the brush head for sensitive skin.
3. Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel.
4. Makeup Artist’s Choice Rosewater as a moisturizing toner before using my topical acne prescription.
Bonus: I use a white paper towel to gently dry my face instead of a wash cloth. This ensures that I am not retransferring bacteria back to my skin from a previous wash. You could also just use a new clean white face towel daily.

Oily/Acne prone skin care products
*excuse my pesky iPhone pictures. I’m not yet sure how to work my fancy new camera.