Help!!! My skin is SOOO dry!!! My Makeup Looks Patchy and Not So Pretty – What Do I Do???

Corrie Dubay is a makeup artist extraordinaire and owner of Femme Makeovers, an amazing transformation studio in Minneapolis.  She is a friend and hero to girls everywhere.  She is beyond talented and I am lucky to have worked with on photo shoots in the past.

Corrie has a newsletter that she sends out with helpful makeup tips like these and is reprinted here with her permission.  I am certain you’ll find this useful!  You can sign up for her newsletter here.

Love, Hannah

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello darlings! I hope this newsletter finds you well.

Today’s newsletter talks about dry skin and how to deal with it when applying your makeup. Winter – you can seriously just go away!!!!!!

Also!!! Be sure to check out the new Instagram page (@Femmemakeovers). If you’re on there – feel free to follow me!!

Warm wishes for a happy Holiday Season and super amazing New Year!

XOXO from your favorite makeup guru,

Corrie
FemmeMakeovers

Help!!! My skin is SOOO dry!!! My makeup looks patchy and not so pretty – what do I do????

That’s been a common question the past several weeks with the colder weather we’ve been having. Not only is it the season for parties and gift-giving, it’s that dreaded time of year where the cold weather combined with the dry air wreak havoc on our skin. I don’t know about you but no matter what I do – I feel like I cannot keep my skin hydrated enough….which in turn can cause some frustration when we are applying our makeup.

So…what do we do when our skin dry, flaky and our makeup will not cooperate? Well – for starters – we want to take look at our water intake. I know it might not sound like a big deal – but it’s going to be the best thing for us when trying to keep our skin looking and feeling hydrated.

From there, be sure you are using a moisturizer (even if you’re not applying makeup)….and consider using twice a day. I actually have two different moisturizers I use. I use my Embryolisse before my makeup application. It hydrates but doesn’t leave my face feeling slimy or sticky. There are lots of great options out there but Embryolisse is my favorite.

At night I use something called a sleeping mask (which essentially is just a heavier moisturizer)…the one I’m currently using is by Laneige (you can find at Sephora). It’s heavier but because I’m putting it on before I go to bed, it doesn’t really matter. I wake up with skin that feels nice and hydrated. They also have a lip mask that is GREAT. Oils also work great for helping to hydrate the skin. I’ll rotate back and forth between the sleeping mask and oil at night…just to shake it up a bit! LOL! 🙂 The one in the photo is by Beautycounter.

Okay – so you’re moisturizing and drinking enough water but still have some flakiness happening. What do you do? Exfoliate!!! You can usually do it once or twice a week (depending on the product). This will help remove some of the dry, flaky skin that causes our makeup to look patchy or uneven. A couple of my faves are SexAppeal (you can use up to twice a week on your face and is gentle enough to use on your body daily if you want). It’s super easy to use: spray the area you want to exfoliate and massage or rub gently. The dead, dry skin will start to come off. Once it does – rinse with water. It leaves your skin feeling so soft. BONUS! This stuff is AMAZING on your feet, hands and elbows!!!!

The other one I just recently found is by Kate Sommerville – it’s called ExfoliKate and can also be found at Sephora. This one left my skin feeling AMAZING. Also very easy to use – apply a small amount to hands, gently massage onto your face, let sit for up to two minutes, then rinse. It does tingle a little bit at first but it’s not bad. I was super happy with how smooth my skin felt after though.

Side note: If you do exfoliate, do that before you moisturize and apply your makeup. You may also want to avoid using immediately after a shave as it could cause a little irritation.

Another thing to help combat dry winter skin and aid with your makeup application is to also use a primer. We might not be able to entirely eliminate all the dry skin (which can cause our makeup to look a little patchy) so adding a primer could help with smoothing things out a little more. A few of my faves are the HD Micro Primer by Kryolan, WaterBalm by Sonia Roselli (This stuff is crazy good! Actually, all of her products are super great – a little pricey but worth the $$) and the Inglot Underbase Primer is also pretty solid (a little bit goes a long way!).

The last product I LOVE and use on just about everyone – regardless what time of year it is – MAC Fix+ – it’s basically a liquid moisturizer (although they claim it is a setting spray – I don’t feel like it has any setting properties – but that is just my opinion). I use it to dampen brushes and sponges, spray it as I apply makeup and also when I’m finished (before or after a setting spray) to add moisture to the application. Hands down the product I go through the fastest and use the most. Plus – it smells really nice.

My final piece of advice when it comes to dry skin and our makeup applications, if during winter months you struggle with dry skin – avoid using any sort of foundation that says matte, satin or velvet finish. These usually have a very dry looking finish (in my opinion) which can amplify the dry skin problem we are trying to lessen.

Okay – so as a quick recap:
1. Drink lots of water
2. Moisturize (face and lips) both day and night
3. Exfoliate to remove dry, flaky skin
4. Primers can help smooth things out
5. Using something like MAC Fix+ can add moisture to makeup applications if we’re still feeling especially dry.

Dealing with dry skin is one of my biggest frustrations so hope this helps a little. Good luck!!!

And as always feel free to reach out to me via email (corrie@femmemakeovers.com) or phone (612-860-6739 – and be sure to leave a message) if you have any questions or want to book an appointment. You can also visit www.femmemakeovers.com for more information.

Byeeeee!

PS: All product recommendations are based on my own personal experience using them. I’ve not been paid to make any of these recommendations.