Perfecting skin – level 1

Beautiful skin is essential to the no makeup look. It should look like your skin is naturally flawless. Here are the basics we are looking for:

• Even tone – no blotches, redness, sun spots or pimples;
• Small pores – not really erased since skin needs texture, but minimized;
• Glowing – flawless skin isn’t shiny or matte but has a soft sheen to it, especially on cheeks. Sometimes referred to as dewy skin.

So how do we achieve that? There are many options and many levels of involvement. I’d like to start this series of posts with the lightest one, the tinted moisturizer.

Tinted moisturizers are wonderful products to even out tone, create good texture and achieve the right amount of sheen. Most formulas include some SPF which allows you to skip that step!

Application is refreshingly easy. If your skin is normal or dry, you may want to start with a serum or light moisturizer. Wait a couple of minutes to let it sink in and then proceed to the tinted moisturizer. Pour a largish pea-sized amount of product on your fingertips, rub your fingertips together gently to warm it up and then massage it to your skin as if you’re applying moisturizer. Make sure it has gone on evenly and you haven’t missed any bits. If your skin is combination or oily this amount of moisturizer is probably enough in the summer, but in your case take a fluffy powder brush and add a tiny amount of face powder to the t-zone (forehead, nose and chin).

A favorite of beauty editors everywhere (and mine also) is Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer SPF20. I also like Stila’s Sheer ColorTinted Moisturizer SPF 15. Both offer plenty of natural colors, comfortable wear and a very natural finish.

Less shine please!

I live in Austin, TX, which means that the summer is ruthless. Temperatures are mostly over 100 degrees and it’s always sunny. Makeup literally melts when you walk out the door!

After putting on a moisturizer with a high SPF, I need something weightless that will keep shine to a minimum. Powder looks like makeup – a matte finish in August is too much of a giveaway – so I’ve found the perfect product to give me a fresh complexion that looks completely natural.

A pea size amount of Laura Mercier’s Secret Finish Mattifying makes my skin look velvety, like it’s been perfected. I apply it mostly to my t-zone (forehead, chin, nose and areas around nose) and I’m good to go. A friend recently commented that I don’t see affected by the heat. If only!