No matter if it's Valentine's Day or you have a stay-in for the weekend plan, it can be just the right inspiration to truly, madly, deeply love the one who deserves it most… you! Treating your skin to some self-love, self-care rituals is an ideal way to show yourself the kind of TLC that we could all use a little more often. Movie and mask anyone?
Beautiful skin creates the perfect canvas for gorgeous date night makeup, so we’re going to tell you exactly how to achieve your most captivating complexion as you prep for your night out. If you’re relaxing at home, pour yourself a glass of wine or a cup of hot tea and get ready to indulge in these same steps as the ultimate self-care ritual that will have you glowing for days.
1. Skin to Swoon Over
Even the best foundation goes on better when it’s applied to smooth, clear, hydrated skin. If our skin is flaky, rough, or hydration is out of balance in either direction, foundation can look uneven and it can grab onto and settle into any textured areas. A good primer can always help to camouflage this, but addressing the root cause will get you glowing and closer to a flawless canvas before you begin applying any makeup.
Exfoliation is one of the most dramatically effective steps you can take to smooth out, brighten, and clarify your skin. However, if you overdo it by exfoliating too often or with a product that’s too intense, it can have the opposite effect and leave your skin looking over-processed. Strike the right balance with a special treatment like our Clearly Radiant Enzyme Mask. After cleansing the skin with your preferred cleanser, apply your mask and take a few minutes to rest and allow the mask to do its work. Rinse and reveal gorgeous skin!
2. Lush Lips
Any night out often calls for “the perfect red lip.” Anyone who’s attempted said perfect red lip knows that dry, dehydrated, and lined lips can turn that classic glam lip look into a flaky, feathery beauty blunder. Even if you’re opting for an easier lip color like a pink or nude, you’ll still want to start your look with smooth, hydrated lips to keep your favorite shade look amazing throughout the evening.
You’ll need a rich, nutritious oil for the skin like our Nutritive Oil Cleanser & Makeup Remover, which is packed with antioxidants and high-quality hydrators like pomegranate and wheat germ oils and hyaluronic acid. You’ll also need a dry washcloth that isn’t too soft, but most washcloths will suffice. Before applying any primers or makeup whatsoever, apply a drop or two of oil to your lips with your fingertip and massage onto both lips. Then wrap your index finger with the dry washcloth and massage the cloth over your lips to gently exfoliate the delicate skin in this area. This circular and side-to-side motion will remove most of the oil as it’s rubbed away and absorbed by the washcloth. In the process, you’ll also remove dry skin and deliver moisture to the lips. You might even experience a slight plumping effect from the light friction. Finish with a sweep of your favorite lip balm to seal in the hydration and then your pout is ready for your favorite shade of lipstick.
3. Bright Eyes
We all know the feeling of frustration that comes with applying liner and eyeshadow to tired eyes and feeling like the makeup only accentuated the lines, puffiness, or dark circles we were hoping to camouflage, especially at the end of a long day. Choosing the right eye makeup and concealer for your needs go a long way to combat this, but caring for the skin around your eyes first is an essential prep step.
Make sure you’re staying hydrated with water and consider drinking a bit of caffeine like green tea to help liven up your eyes from the inside out before going out. For a boost of moisture, the perk-up of caffeine, and firming and brightening results for the skin around the eyes, use our Advanced Eye Therapy Complex as part of your pre-makeup skincare routine and preferably daily to enjoy the cumulative anti-aging benefits of this powerful eye treatment. Makeup will apply more smoothly to hydrated, less lined skin and reducing puffiness and dark circles means you can use a lighter hand with your concealer. Now you're ready for a smokey eye, a dramatic winged liner, or just flirty, mascara-swept lashes. Everything looks better on fresh eyes.
4. Crush-Worthy Contour
Contouring with makeup is all the rage these days and we can totally see why. Using strategically placed highlighters and contour shades on the skin, you can enhance the definition of your features and create a more chiseled appearance to your face. But before you pick up a single blending brush, you can actually hone your skincare regimen to address definition and contour as well.
We can do this by focusing on lifting, sculpting, and restoring volume. Hydration and collagen conditioning will help you maintain and even enhance the appearance of plumper, more voluminous skin in places you’d normally highlight. Firming and toning treatments will help sculpt and add to the convexity of the cheeks and jawline where you’d normally contour. Our bestselling DMAE Serum is an ultra light, powerfully effective anti-aging serum that addresses all of these facets of naturally enhancing the appearance of facial contour on the skincare level. Use it daily after cleansing and toning and prior to your moisturizer.
5. Perfectly Prepped Hydration
Your last step before applying any makeup is to ensure that your skin is moisturized and ready for primer and foundation. There are a few important tips for achieving balanced hydration. The first is to hydrate from the inside out by drinking plenty of clean, pure water. The second and often overlooked consideration is to avoid cleansers or exfoliators that are too drying or intense. They may leave your skin feeling like you need more moisturizer, or for some skin types, they can cause an imbalance and result in excess oil production, both of which will make achieving a flawlessly long-wearing foundation application more difficult.
Finally, choose a moisturizer for your particular skin type that leaves your skin feeling like silk and balances your skin with nutritious plant oils and brightening antioxidants. For most skin types, the key is to find a moisturizer that absorbs easily and gives you a comfortable amount of moisture without being too rich. This will keep foundation from sliding around or becoming uneven. If you’re not sure what type of moisturizer may be best for your skin type, check out ours here and feel free to reach out to us at hello@kateryanskincare.com for personalized advice about moisturizers or any of the other skincare solutions we’ve covered here.
Use these skin prep strategies to level up your movie date night at home look or take your time with them and incorporate each step into an indulgent at-home facial treatment as the perfect self-care ritual.
