I’ve been meaning to put together a comprehensive beauty post for quite a while, but it took a supremely sweet email from one of you to prompt me in to action. Like most women, my makeup routine changes depending on the season, my hair color and how adventurous I’m feeling. The one constant? Illuminizer. At some point last year I became obsessed with illuminizers and have accumulated an embarrassing amount. I use one (or two) each day.
Q: You’re going to think I’m silly, but what products do you use on your face? Your skin is radiant!
-Robin
A: I firmly believe the keys to healthy, glowing skin are as follows: Wear sunscreen, drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep. That said, sometimes a woman needs some extra help, so I’ve compiled my favorite products and tips to get healthy, glowing skin. (Also, I recognize most of us won’t be using $150-per-ounce face creams day and night. There are plenty of reasonably-priced alternatives to the below products that work wonderfully.)
The thing that made the biggest (and longest lasting) difference for me was using this Clarisonic brush to cleanse my face in the morning and at night. At first I was skeptical about its benefits, but I kept reading about how much it contributes to beautiful skin. After using it for a year, my experience has been that it a.) gets rid of dull/dead skin quickly and softly and b.) helps skin absorb products better, so when you put on your lotion it gets right in there and helps diminish fine lines.
If I I don’t wear makeup, my face already looks better than it did prior to using a Clarisonic brush. Now, when I do wear make up, I use Dior BB cream in place of foundation and I mix in a drop of Nars Illuminizer on my hand and then apply it with a beauty blender.
Second, try a Beauty Blender. It’ll give you that ‘airbrushed’ look & ensure your makeup doesn’t look caked.
*FYI — I recently got this BB cream from Olay and it works almost as good for getting healthy, glowing skin and is half the price.
I use the products below if I have extra time in the morning or want to look extra spectacular for date night:
Benefit High Brow goes right under your eyebrows to highlight the brow bone. You can also put it in the corners of your eyes to make you look more awake when you are tired.
High Beam highlights your whole face. Apply it to the high points of the face: bridge of nose, apples of cheeks, forehead, chin and cupids bow (above upper lip). Use your fingers to blend because the warmth of your skin will help blend it better and you won’t waste any like you do if you use brushes or sponges. If you want to save money you can also use a white eyeshadow with a little shimmer.
Watts Up is also a highlighter like High Beam. This one has a bronze tint so I put this on my cheek bones and above my brow bones. When applying it, pretend you are making a boomerang from over your eyebrow to your cheek bones.
Oh la lift another highlighter. This one goes on under your eyes. I use it because I have dark circles due to a toddler not respecting the concept of “beauty sleep.”
You definitely don’t need all of these to create a healthy glow. Use Nars Illuminizer mixed in your BB cream or foundation + Nars Orgasm blush for a healthy, natural glow will do the trick. I just wanted to be thorough. If you don’t already use a Clarisonic I recommend starting that too. The smoother and healthier your skin is, the better you’ll look and feel no matter what you cover up with!
