As a makeup artist, licensed aesthetician and specialist in glow, I am often asked what it takes to get GLOW. There are two main components of glow:
- Firstly, it is skin texture; the overall smoothness and softness of the skin.
- Secondly it is complexion which is largely influenced by genes, diet and lifestyle (in particular if you avoid smoking or drinking).
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Wash your face twice per day.
As basic as it sounds, many people get it wrong. For clear skin, you only need to wash once in the morning and once at night. Do not overwash as you will strip away oils and force your skin to overproduce sebum. Choose a cleanser that is gentle on your skin. The Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser is an excellent wash suitable for all but the most oily skin types.
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Shrink the visibility of pores with Toner.
Both morning and evening, I apply toner after I wash my face as it balances the pH of my skin and reduces the visibility of my pores. Choose a toner which has little or no alcohol as you do not want to dehydrate your skin (thereby weakening your skin’s complexion). Clearly offers a gentle alcohol-free toner which uses witch hazel, cucumber and rose water.
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Heavy hitter for smooth texture.
The Clear Out contains medical grade retinol and AZA … two often used tools in a dermie’s warchest. As the name suggests, it gets inside the pore to flush out dead skin and clogs. With the clogs removed, pimples occur less frequently and even if they do, the breakouts are less intense. Additionally, the Clear Out will give you a perpetual facial, sloughing off dull dead skin and leaving your face dewy fresh. The Clear Out is a must-have product for amazing GLOW.
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Why not use a clay mask, scrub or peel instead?
Because they are NOT left on LONG ENOUGH to penetrate into the pore². I have all tried these products yet they have done little to clear clogs and breakouts. In order to be effective at clearing clogs, opt for a lotion that can be left on overnight where it has time to penetrate into the pore.
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Getting rid of post-acne marks.
As a woman of color, my post-acne red marks always pick up pigmentation when exposed to UV. The Lighten Up has really helped reduce the appearance of these post-acne marks so that there is less chances that these red marks would get exposed to UV light and collect stubborn brown pigmentation. I haven’t come across a product as effective as the Lighten Up … it has significantly reduced the need for concealer.
"Use this simple 4-step process consistently and within two months, you'll get your skin to a happy-place."As a reminder during the day, make sure to apply non-comedogenic sunblock with SPF35 or higher as you should always protect your skin from the sun’s damaging UV rays!
@brittaneyshanae is a full-time makeup artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a specialist in glow and also runs the Instagram page @beautybybrittaneyshanae. Use the coupon code GODDESSGLOW to get 10% off any item in the clearly basics eStore.