Skincare Products So Good You Won't Need Makeup
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Written By: Brianna Snyder
At Pure Healthy Living, we’re all about healthy (duh). But one of the best things about 2018 is that health is a total aesthetic. We’re eating better not just for our bodies but for our minds (and snapping our gorgeous greens for Insta) and we’re exercising not to burn calories but for the pleasures and benefits of getting stronger.
And speaking of aesthetics, it’s also vogueish these days to look like a Glossier model, and I fully confess to being one such person who yearns for the youthful dew and sheen of that disingenuous no-makeup look. Not only does that gorgeous boy-brow look take a fair amount of product, it also requires that ever-elusive ...being 22 years old.
I feel you. Unless you’re 22. Then I do not feel you.
But it also takes treating your skin right.
These days, the fresh-faced no-makeup look is so sought after that some brides are flying in Italian dermatologists to help them with skincare in lieu of a makeup artist on their wedding days. Nice, “natural” countenances are at a premium: unruly brows, nude lips, linerless eyes--we’ll be looking back on 2018 and saying, “Oh, yeah, remember when we pretended we didn’t wear makeup?”
No, we’re not wearing makeup (at least not visible makeup), but we are wearing Olympic swimming pools’ worth of moisturizer, plumping our cheeks, imploring our crows’ feet to recede with placenta creams and milky jelly.
Here are the best skincare products to protect your gorgeous mug this summer and to prime your face for the no-makeup look on days when, really, honestly!, you’re not wearing makeup ;)
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel
If you’re a sufferer of painfully dry skin, there is truly nothing better on this earth than Clinique’s linoleum-colored moisturizer. It’s among the only creams that penetrates your pores immediately upon application--when you put it on your face after a shower, it’s like all the tight dryness of your skin just gives into its thirst. Add a layer of the Clinique Moisture Surge after it, and you can literally feel your face plump up with hydration.
I’m speaking from years of experience. This is the only important thing I do all day.
Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture With SPF 35 Sunscreen
If you’re an oily person, SPFing your face (which you should obviously do in the summer, but should also do all year round) can be kind of a greasy nightmare. This oil-free lotion provides UVA/UVB protection from the sun and helps prevent early signs of aging caused by sun exposure. It’s also lightweight, hypoallergenic, and you can totally wear it under your makeup.
Olay Complete Daily Defense All Day Moisturizer With Sunscreen SPF 30 Sensitive Skin
If you’ve got sensitive skin, navigating the wide world of gels, creams, and lotions can be like walking through the Fire Swamp. But this Olay cream has top ratings on Amazon for people with skin sensitivities, providing hydration and protection from UVA/UVB rays, plus vitamin E, B3, and aloe. It’s also oil-free and fragrance-free, and it’s not greasy.
Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Facial Moisturizer With Broad Spectrum SPF 30
Want to be protected, hydrate your skin, and look LUMINOUS? This summer must-have is great for moisturizing, protection from the sun, and for evening skin tone and giving you a happy, healthy glow. It’s made with natural light diffusers and soy, so it’s also hypoallergenic.
Paula’s Choice Resist Super-Light Daily Wrinkle Defense SPF 30 Tinted Matte Moisturizer
For that no-makeup look, using products that are multifunctional is a good strategy to looking bare-faced. This lightly tinted SPF moisturizer prevents premature aging, protects from sun damage, and leaves your skin with a nice matte finish. It’s great for combo and oily skin and enlarged pores.
La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Intense 24-Hour Face Moisturizer With Hyaluronic Acid SPF 20
Here’s your workhorse SPF hydrator. This 20-SPF lotion will keep your skin hydrated and protected for a full 24 hours. So if you’re a camping-on-the-beach person, this might be a go-to for you.
Replenix Antioxidant Sunscreen Moisturizer SPF 50
For the really white people: This is more our speed. If you’re Irish fair, with freckles and light eyes like a little baby rat, that SPF 20 stuff is QUAINT. I like this high-SPF cream since my doctor told me I had the skin “of a 50-year-old woman.” (I’m 34!) Years of trying to get tan have of course resulted in blotchy, freckly spots on my chest and that kind of old-leather-couch wrinkling. Horrible. So don’t make it worse! Lay on the high-diesel stuff. You need it, you pasty weasel people.
According to Dermalogica, here are the best ways to treat your skin right this summer:
1. Exfoliate for clearer, smoother skin
“Exfoliation removes dead, dulling skin debris to prevent congestion and improve hydration from toners and moisturizers,” the site sys. Do this in the mornings before you put on your moisturizers and sunscreen.
2. Keep your skin hydrated (duh)
Along with your usual moisturizer routine, freshen up “with a revitalizing toner spritz at your desk, in the car, at the gym, on the plane,” Dermalogica recommends.
3. Drink water!
It’s hot out and if you get dehydrated, you could end up dizzy and headache-y. So do your eight glasses of water a day. (But, Dermalogica warns, if you’re drinking coffee, too, “triple the amount of water you drink.” Whoa.)
4. Don’t be afraid to re-apply
Even that long-lasting stuff--it’s great, but it’s not a bad idea to touch up throughout the day, especially if you’re outside. “Studies indicate that most people do not apply nearly as much daylight protection as they should,” according to the site.