Don’t we all just desire that porcelain, poreless, flawless skin we see on Instagram and Snapchat (HELLO FILTERS!) on a daily basis? As much as we hanker after that, let’s hold our horses for a sec and not get sucked into the whole curated façade of social media perfection. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that glowing, clear skin is unattainable. If there’s a will, there’s always a way!
Many of us might already know the basic rules to achieving beautiful skin, but often times we are just too lazy busy for it. Well hopefully, the following tips will serve as a good guide to achieving the good skin we desire without having to do too much:
1. The Girl with the Right Skin Care
What is your skin type? Is your skin normal, dry, oily, sensitive, acne-prone, or combination? Most of the time, it can be tricky to determine the type of your skin. You might think you have oily skin due to the greasiness you feel on your skin, but in actual fact, your skin could be severely dehydrated. This is because the skin is working extra hard to produce oil to compensate for its lack of water content. Thus if you’re feeling iffy, it’s best to find out what your skin type is professionally from a dermatologist. It’s always easier when you know what you’re working with, right?
As a girl with dry skin, I can’t stress enough just how important it is to use the right skin care. There was a time when I was just being a sloth and couldn’t care less about using any skincare for months. The aftermath? My skin went completely downhill with bumps and textures surfacing on my dull skin. Lesson learnt: never ever forget your skin care, girls!
2. The Girl with the Healthy Diet
Our body is filled with toxins, thanks to the junk we consume on a regular basis. To eliminate those heinous toxins and waste, our skin naturally unleashes them through the surface, resulting in problematic skin conditions such as rashes and acne. As time goes by, the toxicity accumulated will then lead to fine lines, wrinkles, pigments, dull complexion, and all things unattractive (you get the drill).
“You are what you eat” is a phrase we hear most commonly, and this can’t be truer. When I was introduced to clean eating, I stayed away from refined sugar, processed food & bad carbs, and included a generous amount of leafy greens, proteins, healthy fat & fruits in my meals. Over time, I noticed a huge improvement in my skin complexion and texture! Another great tip for pretty skin is to sip on mixed fruit smoothies jam-packed with loads of vitamins and antioxidants!
3. The Girl with the Brush
If all else fails, we have makeup to the rescue! To achieve glowing, youthful-looking skin, the skin has to appear as if it has drunk up 200 gallons of water. Two vital weapons to this: Foundation and highlighter!
Look out for foundations which give a dewy and glowing finish. For starters, you may want to check out foundations such as Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, Makeup Forever HD Foundation, Stila Aqua Glow Serum Foundation, and even popular K-beauty brands with the likes of Innisfree and Banila Co. as they are big on achieving glowing radiant skin.
Next up, after you have your beautiful luminous base on, it’s time to get your highlight on fleek! Illuminating your face with highlighter on the high points of your face will give your skin that extra oomph of goddesslike glow. Quick tip, always remember to shy away from highlighters with chunky glitters; you don’t want to look like a disco ball!
4. The Girl with the Cleansed Face
Never get too lazy to take off all of your makeup. Keeping makeup on will only clog your pores, and even stretches them out over the long haul. With that said, double cleansing is your pal. Always remember to strip your makeup off with your favourite makeup remover (ideally in oil form for its moisturizing benefits), followed by a face wash. Subsequently, use a cotton pad soaked with toner to wipe off any makeup residue and impurities that still linger on your skin. Nothing feels more amazing than a freshly cleansed face.
5. The Girl with the Beautiful Smile
This is probably the cheesiest, most cliché tip you will ever come across. Yet think about it, have you noticed when someone’s beamingly happy, their skin glows naturally from deep within? Just take a look at the brides and expecting mothers. Where did you think their glow comes from?
That’s right, work on your inner self, eliminate all unnecessary gloom, and always think of beautiful thoughts! Ultimately, it’s what’s on the inside that makes us girls truly beautiful.
Giveaway!
Our good friends at L’Occitane wanna give you a head start to achieve the good skin you desire by giving ONE lucky winner their latest range of Pivoine Sublime skincare worth RM602! All you have to do is share with us how you take care of your skin and why good skin is important to you in the comment section below. Best answer will be contacted via email. Also, don’t forget to follow us on instagram @megsmesh
*Contest ends on the 8th September 2016 and only valid for those living in Malaysia*
photos by Jon Teo
Sarah Koh
I think I’m one of those lucky girl with easy skin to take care of! I don’t get sun-tan easily, pimples only pop out during the time of the month and less oily skin. But that does not mean I don’t need to take care of my skin! On a daily routine, I wash my face every morning and night. I don’t always apply moisturizer. On days when I don’t wear make up out, I carry facial wipes so when I sweat or have oily skin, I use them to wipe it off. I also mix a drop of face oil (serum/moisturizer) with my foundation for extra skin protection and wow-make up skin! To have good skin is so important because as we grow older our skin will definitely get affected from our lifestyle. My favorite factor to maintain good skin is that it will boost your self confidence! A little effort will go along the way! ?
Yen Mei
My daily and night routine contains almost the same steps
Day & Night
– remove makeup (if any)
– cleanse face
– apply toner
– apply eye cream
– apply serum (night-better absorption)
– apply moisturiser
– apply sunblock (day)
From my point of view, a good skin is super vital as it brings out the best in a woman. As women, we have to and must Ensure good skin as it boosts our confidence level. When our confidence boosts up, rventually we will put much more effort into loving our skin more 🙂 nonetheless, we must love ourselves in and out in order to achieve good skin ?
Amelia
Here’s some of the ways I keep my skin in tip-top condition:
– Always stay hydrated, firm believer that being properly hydrated is key to having good supple skin!??
– Load up on sunscreen every 3-4 hours a day because we all know those UV rays ain’t helping nobody ?
– Make sure I do the whole 3 step (and a little extra extra in between) every single day and night: Cleanse – Tone – Moisturise. ??
– To obey the one cardinal rule of wearing makeup: never EVER go to sleep with makeup on ?
– I also put on a sheet mask every other day to just help my face chill out.
Having good skin is crazy important to me cause I feel like it’s the first thing people look at when they meet me! It really does give me a good dose of self-confidence that my skin is looking good. Also, I’m 25 this year but got ID-ed at an 18+ movie recently, I think my skin (and the lack of facial lines from taking care of my skin) really helped there ? Also, we only have one face and one life to live with it so might as well make it a good one ?
Gwendolyn
I use micelar water to remove my makeup up..Then I use a foam cleanser with acne treatment in it.mainly because of hormonal acne on my chin otherwise my skin is dry..I love quality skincare products so I am always on the search for good anti aging skincare!
Zee
the secret to good skin? Always stay hydrated and feed your skin with ample amounts of H20 and sleep! The first thing I’ll do when I got up from bed is to replenish my body with at least 1-2 glasses of warm water as It will instantaneously feed and hydrate the body’s cells after a night of long sleep. Happy cells = happy skin! Besides the normal cleanse, tone and moisturize, mask routine, that one thing I can never leave home is to apply sunscreen.
Whilst for makeup wise, I’ll usually go for the minimalist option, depending on occasions. I’ll make sure the skin is thoroughly cleanse and never ever go to bed with any makeup on. Besides that, I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle by attending yoga classes and committing myself to other sport activities. Eat a healthy and well balanced diet mainly consisting of dark colored vegetables, less fat and salt.
Having a good skin is important to me as it directly portrays on your complexion itself. It is perhaps the most basic foundation to everything as the skin is the largest organ to our body. Happy skin = happy me!
Chai Lian
Hello there,
My personal skin care routine starts with a positivity (always, always be grateful and be thankful), lot of love and happiness, good night sleep, and honey with lemon drinks early in the morning.
Then, cleanse (exfoliate every once or twice a week to get rid of dead skin cells and enhance absorption of skin products that we put on our face) followed by toner (be generous with those toner though), eyes cream, serum/essence and moisturizer. Put on mask once or twice a week for those tired skin.
Good skin is very important for me because it represent my confidence. What others first saw on us is our skin. There is no words to describe better than a clear and clean skin to represent ourselves before words are spoken.
Tan
May
My secret to good skin is that less is more, which admittedly, is mainly due to my laziness in applying many products onto my skin. However, I find that this method works well for me and I don’t need to spend much on skincare (score!). In the morning, I just wash my face with water because I have dry skin so I don’t want to wash my face with a cleanser too often. After that, I apply moisturizer and sunscreen. Even with sunscreen on, I try to avoid getting too much direct sunlight because I am terrified of aging.
At night, I use a gentle cleanser to wash my face. I don’t double cleanse because it is not easy for me to find a first step cleanser which would not clog my pores or make my skin drier. Hence, my solution is to use a sunscreen that can be removed by regular facial cleanser, so I would only need to wash my face once. Thereafter, I use a thick moisturizer so I will wake up the next day with glowing skin.
As to why good skin is important to me, well, to be honest, I am not blessed with sharp features and big eyes. Therefore, I need good skin to be my saving grace. With good skin, half the battle is won so I would at least look average.
By the way, I follow on instagram as doggiebeans.
Rachell Ho
I totally agreed on the fact that skin feels oily most of the time is caused by the dehydrated skin condition. I used to have the same problem where my skin is super oily and greasy. The secret in solving the problem, I used toner more frequently and spray mist whenever I feel the greasiness. Getting various types of toner which targets on different problem.
In the morning, I cleanse my face with water or soemtime just wipe it with toner. The reason of not using cleanser is because the face wouldn’t have much dirt on it while sleeping. Then, I’ll apply serum which contain highly in Vitamin C that helps in brighten my skin tone. Follow by applying sunscreen.
At night, I’ll use milk cleanser to cleanse the face. (Using scrub twice a week) Then, apply toner and serum. Follow by using gel type of moisturiser.
To some this might sound a lot of work but I found this routine helps in reducing the bumps and pimples. Now, I’m more confident to walk of the home with minimum make up. Plus, adjusting the sleeping routine does helps as well. Getting enough of rest gives a great result on reducing pimples.