Face, Makeup
Your make-up base: healthier and more skin-friendly thanks to hyaluronic acid.
Face, Makeup
The secret to a correct beauty routine? A hyaluronic acid-based cream. Which should also be a part of your night-time skincare routine.
We all know the first rule of makeup: never apply foundation directly to the skin. This is the reason the “make-up base” was born. The issue is that this good health-hygiene habit has acquired ideological connotations over time, and the world of cosmetics has made a real business of it. So much so that it now seems the quality of one’s make-up is directly proportional to the number of layers we put between our face and the foundation. Obviously a false conclusion, because the more products one applies, the less one’s skin breathes and the more it feels suffocated.
Nowadays, thanks above all to the spread of hyaluronic acid-based moisturizers, your skin’s needs are once again at the forefront. Hence a new first rule: it is better to invest less time and energy on the makeup base (i.e. the beauty routine) and more time and energy on treating your skin (i.e. the skincare routine), which you should perform every evening before going to bed.
This said, let’s see the steps to create an optimal make-up base, to moisturize the skin and lets it breathe, and at the same time to enhance the foundation, facilitating its application and improving its effect.
Facial cleansing: the first step for a perfect beauty routine.
Deep and thorough facial cleansing will remove both the days’ dirt and traces of previous makeup. You can use neutral soap or a cleanser. After thoroughly washing your face, you may want to apply a toner, which refreshes the skin and quickly rebalances its pH.
The make-up base: it protects the face and improves the quality of make-up.
The make-up base prepares the skin of your face before you apply actual make-up. As I said earlier, it has a double function: it prevents the skin from coming into direct contact with the colored pigments of the foundation, and at the same time it makes the skin softer, so the foundation can be applied more easily and effectively.
Let me reiterate that this phase is an integral part of the make-up process, and cannot be skipped. Even if you have already applied a moisturizer in the morning, it must be reapplied at whatever time of day you decide to do your makeup. It is essential the make-up base is spread evenly on the face: for an optimal end result, the skin must be uniformly soft and without dry spots. Wait for the cream to absorb completely before you start with foundation, which will make it spread more homogeneously.
Choose the moisturizer for your makeup base according to your skin type.
Oily or combination skin
Those with oily or combination skin, whose forehead, chin and nose turn shiny by mid-morning, should choose a mattifying cream, which will make the skin opaque and will absorb excess sebum.
Normal or dry skin
Normal skin is the luckiest, but care must be taken care for it to remain so: the cold, sun and wind can easily dehydrate it. Dry skin, on the other hand, should be cared for with a long-lasting moisturizing make-up base. They are easy to identify on the shelf because the packaging says “24 hours”.
Why choose a hyaluronic acid-based make-up base.
Hyaluronic acid, as everyone will by now know, is a molecule the body naturally produces to hydrate and protect its tissues. Together with collagen and elastin, this molecule contributes to creating the “scaffolding” that supports the skin and gives it its firmness and elasticity. For this reason, hyaluronic acid has become an indispensable part of the formulation of the latest generation anti-aging creams. In addition to moisturizing the skin and counteracting dryness, a hyaluronic acid-based cream performs other important functions:
- it delays the onset of wrinkles due to skin aging, and that of expression lines;
- it nourishes the skin in depth;
- it stimulates cell renewal and restores the skin’s natural hydrolipidic balance;
- it makes the skin supple, smooth and compact.
It is clear that to obtain these results, the cream must be applied with conviction and continuity. Ideally, twice a day: in the morning or evening as a base for your make-up, and most importantly at night before going to bed. While it may sound like an excessive commitment, once you get used to it it will become a ritual moment for self-care. Not to mention an actual keystone to obtaining healthy, long-lasting beauty.
Other steps often are not necessary.
Our facial skin never ceases to surprise us with its small emergencies. On the one hand there are well-known blemishes, such as enlarged pores and acne scars. Then the periodical red spots, pimples and redness. Not to mention wrinkles and blemishes, which that increase with aging. These problems are usually managed with specific make-up products. Primer, for example, is an actual pre-make-up that is used to cover irregularities and makes the skin appear smooth. Concealers are used to cover red spots and acne (a greenish hue for the former, and a brown tint for the latter). An eye contour concealer is used to hide under-eye bags and dark circles.
These treatments are all very effective, but they have one common contraindication: they clog pores and consequently do not allow the skin to breathe. And it only gets worse with the subsequent steps, when it comes to the actual make-up: foundation, powder, eye shadow, bronzer, blush, and so on. In particular, primer should be used sparingly when you want your make-up to stay for more than 8 hours, but better not overdo it – also because it gives the skin an unpleasant suffocating feeling.
Spend more time on skincare to improve the quality of your makeup.
There is one way to avoid the drawbacks of excessive make-up. Reduce the time spent on your beauty routine, and add it to your skincare routine. This is possible thanks to hyaluronic acid. When you add a hyaluronic acid-based moisturizer to your beauty routine, it already makes the skin smoother and more compact thanks to its excellent moisturizing properties. And when used in your skincare routine, it heals the skin, making it softer and firmer each day.
Of course, the time perception is different: time spent applying make-up flows quickly, full of promises of charm and beauty. Time spent on skincare feels longer and more tiring, especially for women who come home late and have a hard time keeping their eyes open. Still, this time is well invested. Because when it comes to beauty, application is worth more than applications.