This is going to be a very text-heavy (and talk-heavy) post xD Now you are forewarned and hopefully will find this helpful regardless. And you better because I spent about a week (or two) editing the video and typing this sinfully long post -__- ehehe
Skincare Tips:
1.) Makeup cleanser > foundation.
My (admittedly idealistic ^^) philosophy is that the best kind of makeup is none at all. In that light, skincare takes great precedence over makeup for me and the importance of a good makeup cleanser was something I learned by accident. Last year I was content to just use bar soap in the shower on my face, I kid you not. I had never used toner before but when I was gifted a toner, I began to notice how much residual makeup was coming off onto the cotton swab. So out of necessity I later semi-upgraded to Neutrogena Makeup Foam Cleanser. I noticed right away that I was getting no more residual makeup on my cotton bells when I toned but since it was drying my face out a bit, I switched to the Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel, which I am using right now. I think my face has taken to it well, I haven't broken out, I know I'm getting all the makeup off my face, and honestly, my face feels like it's really breathing after I wash :) After about 3 months of thorough cleansing, my face has improved and I'm sure that it's because my better-cleansed face has been able to soak up the nutrients from sheet masks and lotions better. There's a translucency to my face that wasn't there before and I like to think it's because my skin is healthier ^_^
2.) Sterilize your makeup area.
ehehe, I'm sure this has roots in my mild OCD-ness ^^ But I do think that there is no harm and a lot of good in having a clean makeup area. Things I can't live without in my bathroom: Isopropyl alcohol = for tweezers/metal things/plastic caps and Clorox wipes for counter tops. I see a lot of people not cleaning their tweezers, which is basically asking for acne if you think about since you probably use it to pull hairs out of pores ;)
Also I forgot to mention in the video: Ideally, your makeup area and makeup storage would be located in a separate place from where you shower. I think I remember reading somewhere about how the dampness from hot showers can ruin some makeups, especially powder compacts and foundations. Not to mention, damp environments are always a great breeding ground for all sorts of suspicious bacteria ><....
3.) Don't touch your face.
....Not much to elaborate here except just don't touch your face. If you feel the urge to pick at a pimple, just put an acne patch on it. I'm not saying this will solve all your acne problems because we all know pimples/acne have many factors, but this tip may help some people - particularly if you have localized acne.
4.) Keep your hands clean.
More OCD-ness....Wash your hands before washing your face, applying makeup, using sheet masks, applying any kind of mask...basically if you're going to touch your face, just wash your hands. It baffles me when people obsess over keeping brushes clean then go straight to blending or touching up with dirty fingers.
5.) Care for your neck & hands.
I think I was traumatized by this really lovely, young looking 50 year old lady.... She literally had no wrinkles and by looking at her face I thought she was in her mid-30s. Then she took off her scarf and gloves - O_o! This isn't to say anyone with wrinkles is ugly (in fact they can add an air of maturity and refinement young people rarely have), but the contrast between her face and her neck and hands was so stark (and gave away the fact she got massive Botox). Her neck was exceptionally wrinkly, there was even a "waddle." As for her hands...they were clearly wrinkly because they were totally abandoned x_X They were so dry, something I think that was easily solved hand lotion. Anyway, after that I realized that caring for your face is not enough, you need to care for your neck (which supports your face) and your hands, which do everything, so they need some lovin' ^_^ I use Neutrogena Anti-Aging Night Cream on my face and hands (it's too strong for my face) every night. I don't see any results right now but who knows, I may one day be a 70 year old with the youngest looking hands and neck.
6.) Don't scrub your face up & down.
I FOUND THE VIDEO ON YT! There are no subs but it's pretty self-explanatory :)
Key points are that:All I know is that I want skin like that when I'm 52 ^_^ I think this lady was invited to Korean talk show too and did a demo with SNSD's Seohyun and a couple other celebs once. Ahhh...the quest for eternal youth is indeed universal.
1.) She looks "up" and smiles while she's cleansing her face.
2.) Uses only the foam from the soap. Aka nothing that tugs at her skin. I'm sure gel cleansers would work just fine too.
3.) She makes tiny little circles with her fourth finger (the weakest finger) to massage her face.
4.) She always massages in an upward-outward motion.
5.) She never rubs her face with her hands and to rinse she just splashes or pours water on her face.
7.) Acne patches heal zits with whiteheads.
The little "hole" where the whitehead is lets the patch pull out the impurities but without a hole...obviously the patch's effects will be minimal. But this isn't to say the patch wouldn't help at all - if you have a cystic pimple or nodule, just clean the area and put a patch on it anyway. It'll prevent you from touching it and keep it clean.
8.) Chapstick is essential to your everyday skincare routine.
There is nothing attractive about chapped lips xD I tend to lose chapstick when I carry it around so I've just learned to incorporate into my nightly skincare routine. If I may say so myself, I rarely have chapped lips now because they are moisturized every night, no matter what the weather or need. Also my lips are always lipstick-ready in the morning ^_^ Also, welcome to my new fear:
Plumpy lips today, lips that cannot be helped with even collagen tomorrow ;) Lips are a pretty forgotten body part in the whole skincare thing so give 'em a little love (and not just the kissing type ^_~)!
Makeup Tips:
1.) Silicone-based primers are for those with textural scars (aka large pores, icepick scars, wrinkles, fine lines).
I think I talked about this enough in the video :\ Basically, unless you want to smooth out the texture of your skin, these kinds of primers aren't that helpful. Primers also advertise how they help foundation last longer but honestly, I have yet to meet a silicone based primer that significantly increased my foundation wear. Most decent foundations properly applied will last at least 8 hours on their own and with makeup setting sprays making waves in the makeup community, I see even less of a reason to use a primer. Some primers I have used have provided some oil control but I honestly think it's because these primers are literally filling in your pores and clogging them so that oil can't come to surface aka a recipe for breakouts :P All in all, I think primers are bad for your skin and provide minimal results. Colored acne scar peeps, just focus on skincare. Oily peeps, look into setting sprays and start moisturizing more (ever counter-intuitive eh :P)?
2.) Focus on accentuating your good features.
Perhaps because I am Asian but I see a lot of discontent amongst Asian chicas struggling with eye makeup and the perception that mono-lidders will never be as pretty as those blessed with larger peepers. I am the first to admit I used to long for larger, dolly eyes - and I sometimes I still do. I also did my fair share of playing around with circle lens and double lid glue. I still wear circle lens (but seriously, I wear glasses 90% of the time. Tbh I only wear lens to record vids ><) but now I have learned that I am far happier twiddling with my other features.
My lips and face shape are what are most often pointed out to me so I've just learned to have fun with psychotic lip colors (at the moment coral oranges and hot pinks have me stoked) and I always highlight my cheekbones and nose to bring out the oval-ness of my face. I don't even mind my large forehead anymore since it emphasizes the oval symmetry of my face. To mix it up, sometimes I will put a bright splash of blush instead of lipstick. And I am content. Yes, I still like to play with eye shadows but I'm no longer troubled when I can't get the same amount of color on my lids a la petrilude and xsparkage. My face is uniquely mine and I have grown to like how it looks overall. In any case, the first and last person looking at my face every day is me, so I'm really the only person my face needs to please ^_~
3.) Don't highlight your inner corners as much if your eyes are too close together.
And after THAT positive note - here's something to get us ladies all self-conscious again xD Unfortunately, it has been shown time and time again that the ideal face measurements are:
Or as researchers say, "Faces were judged as most attractive when the distance between the eyes was 46 percent of the face’s width and when the distance from eyes to mouth was 36 percent of the face’s length, according to the study published in the most recent issue of the journal Vision Research."
....basically, just measure the width of one of your eyes. That should be the distance between both of your eyes. If the gap between your eyes is greater than the width of one eye, you have wide set eyes - like the LT pic and me :D A perfect example of someone who has eyes too close together is....
Ji-yeon from T-Ara!
^_^
Wide or close, you can still be pretty (even the research article says so) and easily fixed with makeup and hair. With wide set eyes, a nice dose of inner corner highlight will bring your eyes visually closer together. With close set eyes, not so much. You want to visually separate your eyes, so use less (or no) inner corner highlighter and more outer corner makeup. In fact, Ji-yeon is always doing just that when she wears makeup:
Note how she never wears inner corner highlights and always has (much) heavier eye makeup drawn all way past her outer corners. Whee...see even celebs are always using makeup tricks xD And in any case, with flaws and all you can still be pretty :) Ji-yeon is considered one of the prettiest celebs in Korea in fact so embrace your quirks :D
A Note About Using Anti-Aging Products in Your 20s
There seems to be a little disagreement going around the YT beauty community about how young peeps need not bother with anti-aging in their 20s.
When does our skin start to age? It is different in each individual case. However, generally, already in our mid 20s skin's ability to retain water starts to decrease. Oxygen level in the skin goes down by approximately 1/4. As a result, skin slowly starts to lose its energy and healthy glow. However, it is too early to start using intensive anti-aging skin care.
By the mid/late 20s dry lines can start to appear. However, they are quite easy to treat by selecting and regularly using an effective moisturizer. According to skin experts, starting from the mid - late 20s there is 1/4 less oxygen in our blood and that is why less vital oxygen gets transported to the skin cells. Skin can start to loose its energy, healthy color and glow.
Remember, to prevent premature aging you need to use UV protection every day.My personal opinion is that it's never too early for wrinkle prevention (read here - ignore all the product plugs). However, just because I want wrinkle prevention doesn't mean I want to go overboard and slather expensive anti-wrinkle face+eye cream on every night.
Studies show that 80% of skin's aging happens due to UV damage.
When in doubt, just go the middle road - a retinol based night cream (also good for acne) or a gentle anti-wrinkle cream or sleeping masks (I'm currently using the Skinfood Fermented Soy Milk Wrinkle Care Sleeping Mask which I'll review after I've used it more) ought to do the trick for us young 'uns. That combined with a good sunscreen every day should be relatively hassle-free and you won't have any regrets later. I've also been using some Boscia AG-Amino Eye Cream from the sample bag Julie gave me, but I probably won't go about purchasing an anti-aging eye creams till my mid 20s. Ultimately, it's your skin and you should decide the best way to treat it :)
For the curious, my night routine is (after washing/sheet masks/etc):
- Skincology Herbal Corrective Lighting Serum X2
- Vitacreame B21 on face
- Boscia AG-Amino Eye Cream
- Skinfood Fermented Soy Milk Winkle Care Sleeping Mask (this is new, I'm exploring the concept of sleeping masks right now. I've only been using it for a week so far)
- Neutrogena Night Cream on neck and hands
- TBS Cocoa Butter Lip Care Stick
My face washing routine is a lot more intensive because I'm paranoid about leaving makeup residue on my face (read Tip #1 xD). Anyway, this post is already pretty text-heavy so that's all for today! And I've gotten pretty behind on replies and all that cuz of other stuff but I shall catch up shortly ^^