Is Skincare The New Make-Up?

For many of us, spending a lot of money on expensive make-up is just a way of life. We never bat an eyelid as we fill our online basket with 3 digits worth of the latest and greatest make-up brands and releases.

After all, we need all of this make-up to ensure our skin looks perfect every time we leave the house!

But actually, if we committed to an effective skincare regime, a lot of us wouldn’t dream of spending the same sort of money or effort on makeup as we do now.

After all, some of us are even guilty of going to bed at night without even taking our make-up off properly!

Perhaps you have an issue with acne or you have dry, irritated skin. Rather than take the time out to work on it, it is often easier and quicker to simply cover the problem with make-up. For those with busy lives, though, we simply don’t have the time in the mornings to do a full-face contour.

Nor do you want to have to deal with make-up when you have to nip to the shops for something as simple as milk – this is just a waste of expensive foundation!

Which is why, for 2019, our skincare routine is now becoming just as – if not more – important than our make-up habits. As people learn more and more about the benefits of good skincare, and skincare influencers grow in popularity, it is becoming plainly obvious that skincare is the cheaper, more effective and only truly reliable way to look as young, smooth and beautiful as we possibly can.

Makeup is more expensive, often damages our skin, and is just a temporary cover up instead of a solution!

This means that as our skin becomes more naturally healthy and glowing after following expert skincare routines, many of us are actually ditching the heavy make-up, instead focusing on light products that enhance our natural skin. In fact, many of our favourite celebs are now going make-up free - and looking all the better for it.

This is especially the case when many of the make-up products we use can contain ingredients that are extremely harmful to our skin.

How to Build an Effective Skincare Routine

For most of us, our make-up addiction started back in our teenage years, when we would layer our face thickly in foundation and concealer to hide our spots. It was a way for us to feel more confident about our skin, and we would believe all our imperfections would be hidden.

Unfortunately, a lot of the time our spots would actually be accentuated by that make-up. Yet we still continued to wear our safety blanket of make-up well into our twenties and even thirties. If you do have an acne issue, fear not, take a look at  our guide on how to beat the pimples.

For those past the days of the acne struggle, you still need to work on your skin to improve how clear and healthy it is, which is achieved through adding an effective skin care routine into our daily lives.

Just think, you could add concealer under your eyes to hide dark circles, or you could improve your skin tone so you don’t need that concealer.  

Which would you prefer in the long run?

First: Commit to a Skincare Routine!

Before you go out to the shops and start buying every skincare product available, it’s important that you take note of your skin and any imperfections you might have. By knowing your skin in and out, you’ll be able to decide on the best products for your skin.

Firstly, it’s important that you know what your skin type is, as your skin type will help you choose the perfect skincare products for your skin. There are four skin types: normal, oily, combination and dry.

• Normal Skin

Someone with a normal skin type will have a good balance between dryness and oiliness. Your pores will be small and you’ll not be prone to blemishes. Some people with normal skin suffer from a slightly oily t-zone (which consists of our forehead, chin and nose), however, overall your skin will be smooth and soft to touch.

Normal skin is not usually sensitive. As you get older, though, your skin might get slightly dry.

• Dry Skin

Sebum is the oily secretion produced by the glands in your skin, which keeps your skin soft and moisturised. When you have dry skin, your skin produces less sebum than normal. There are of course varying types of dry skin, with the worst causing flaking skin and itchiness that is hard to hide with make-up.

Dry skin will also get worse as we age, meaning it's something that's best tackled early if possible.

• Oily Skin

Caused by an over-production of sebum, oily skin is recognised by large pores, shiny and pale skin. Oily skin can be caused by a number of things, such as:

• hormonal changes
• medication
• genetics
• stress
• comedogenic cosmetics

Oily skin is prone to spots and even acne, so needs to be cared for to keep the excess oil under control. You can read our extensive guide on preventing oily skin here.

• Combination Skin

Combination skin is a skin type where you have a mix of both dry and oily skin. The oily skin is usually across your t-zone, while your cheeks will range from normal to dry (and occasionally tight). You will tend to get pimples and enlarged pores on the t-zone.

Many people don’t realise that your skin type can change over the course of your life, as many external factors contribute to the condition of your skin. So, just because you use to have normal skin, doesn’t mean that your skin won’t turn oily at some point.

However, by implementing and sticking to a skincare routine, you can help limit these changes or even prevent them from occurring at all.

If you haven’t used a skincare routine in a while and you’d like to kickstart your skin’s health, follow our 7-day skin detox plan for clearer skin.

Choosing a Skincare Routine

Many people are put off the idea of a skincare routine as they believe they’ll need to spend too long every morning and evening using lots of lotions and potions.

Actually, though, when you choose the right products, your skincare routine needn’t take more than five minutes.

Here are our top tips for a flawless skincare routine:

1: Cleanse

It might sound obvious, but clean skin is happy skin, so you should always cleanse your skin twice a day and choose a cleanser that uses natural products, such as micellar water. This will remove dirt and impurities from your skin, leaving it feeling clean and able to breathe.

2: Tone

A skin toner will help sweep away dead and dull skin as well as dissolving excess oil. Make sure your toner is alcohol-free and simply apply to some cotton wool and sweep over your face.

3: Serum  

Serums are wonderful for locking in moisture and targeting specific skin problems we might have.

Two of the most popular serums at the moment use extracts from swiss apple stems and snail extract. Both of these are available from our shop, with the Swiss Apple Stem serum being ideal for fighting the effects of ageing and Snail Extract Renewal Cream working well for all skin types both young and old.

You can also get serum specifically to target your eyes, like ours here, which will help reduce puffiness, dark circles and wrinkles.

4: Moisturise

Moisturising your skin isn’t just for dry skin, even those of us with oily skin should be moisturising our skin twice a day to lock in moisture.

Most of all, a quick skincare routine means you get to spend longer in bed and sleep is one of the best ways to make your skin look younger and healthier.

Better Skin Will Make Your Make-Up Look Better

Most importantly, not only does improving the look and feel of your skin give you the confidence to go make-up free. A good skin routine makes for a better base for any make-up you do use – it's a win-win!

Plus, you’ll be able to use lighter products like BB creams, that will enhance your skin to look absolutely flawless.