Who doesn’t love a good eyeshadow pallet? I used to love buying single shadows and creating my own but these days, I just want to buy a pallet that is beautifully curated and makes my job easier. Creamy, high-pigmented shadows are what dreams are made of. Anything with minimal fallout is ideal but with pigment, usually comes fallout so it’s a little give and take. There are MANY great palettes out there, but my top picks include: MAC Eyeshadow X 9 Palettes, Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Eyeshadow Palettes and Viseart Eyeshadow Palettes.
​What can be said about Viseart palettes other than that they’re literally ESSENTIAL if you are a makeup artist and if you’re an average consumer and you want quality shadows that will last you forever, you need to pick these up. I have four of the Viseart pallets in my kit and even though those four palettes cost as much as one of my car payments (before I paid my car off last year, HEYYYY!) I still stand by my decisions. $80 a pop is well worth the price for palettes that have literally lasted me 3+ years of personal and professional use so far and I still have not hit pan.
Viseart’s formula is created in small tightly-controlled batches to maintain pigment quality, powder integrity, and consistency. They are a staple in most working makeup artist’s kits. These products are not tested on animals, contain organic ingredients, and they are free of silicone, petrochemicals, and mineral oil. The weird thing in my opinion is that the shadows feel kind of dry and chalky to the touch but when put on the skin and blended out, they are fantastic and highly pigmented, giving no patchiness at all. If I had to recommend 3 of the palettes to an artist looking to invest, I must go with the Neutral Matte, Cool Mattes and Warm Neutral Matte palettes. If you are a consumer looking to purchase just one, Neutral Mattes all the way! As much as I LOVE the matte shadows, I could live without their satin formulas. I find that they (or at least the Sultry Muse that I have) are a bit drier and produce a lot of fall out when applied with a brush. I’ve never actually tried to apply with a finger before but for the price point, I don’t really want a product I only feel comfortable applying one way. Maybe you’re better at makeup than I am though, and you can rock their satin formulas. So, go on with your bad self!

A favorite for myself is the Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palettes, I currently have 3 of her gorgeous little quads. My favorite part is that “each palette contains four harmonious eye colors: Prime, Enhance, Smoke and Pop”. This provides me with just enough shadow range to create some simple, romantic eye looks – nothing too over the top. This has been my staple look lately, pink or bronze (or pinky-bronze) looks that enhance my eyes. I find these shadows to be extremely creamy and blend beautifully. Charlotte was the head makeup artist for the 2019 VS Fashion Show and honestly, those looks made me emotional. See what I mean? →

The MAC Eyeshadow X 9 Palettes have a range of 5 palettes. The one I have is the Semi-Sweet and I have full intensions of purchasing a few more when some of my other rosy-toned shadows run out. The textures in the palettes range from matte to satin and frost making it easy to create a variety of different looks. The Semi Sweet palette is the only one that contains all matte shadows but for that reason, it pairs perfectly with my CT pallets that contain 3 out of 4 shimmer shades. The pigments are saturated and soft and the 9-shadow palette is almost as compact as the CT quads, making it great to throw in your purse or kit! I do not use this palette specifically in my kit, but I do have plenty of MAC individual shadows in palettes I designed, and I love the way they perform. The MAC shadows also include talc in their list of ingredients. These palettes will run the average consumer about $32.00, well worth the price point IMO.
So many brands have great eye shadows so if one of your favorites was not one of mine, that's a-okay! Let me know what kind of shadows you love so I can try them too!

​I know that on a day like yesterday and today in Chicago, we’re all thinking about sun protection right? If you’re not, you should be. Even in the dead of winter - with recording breaking cold temperatures - if you are going outside, you should be wearing sunscreen. Even if you are sitting inside but near a window, you should be protecting your skin. I haven’t always been adamant about sunscreen but you bet you bottom dollar, at 29, I don’t leave the house without it. It took me about 26 years to realize the importance of protecting my skin from the sun’s damage. Because it took me so long, I am probably going to have a decent amount of issues pop up later in life, but I’m glad that I started later than never.
My family is relatively pasty across the board. German, Irish, Croatian and French heritage doesn’t lend itself to skin that handles the sun well. On my mom’s side, several of us have had suspicious freckles/moles removed or even as bad as actually having skin cancer. I myself, had a dark freckle taken off about 2 years ago that was almost in between my butt cheeks. How does an area of the body like that get a potentially cancerous spot? Tanning beds, my friends.
Probably 4 years after I stopped using tanning beds all together, my dermatologist found that spot.  Sun damage usually doesn’t rear it it’s ugly head until much later than the time you initially spent in the sun, which is why it is important to constantly be protecting your skin because the damage isn’t always immediate, like a sun burn, and it is much more difficult to treat than to prevent sun damage.
There are two types of sun rays, UVA and UVB. UVA are the long waves that cause damage into the dermis of the skin (the under layer of skin). Damage from UVA rays includes, reduced collagen production, wrinkles, and skin cancer. UVB rays are the short, “burning” rays. Their damage include tans, burns and hyperpigmentation. SPF only protects against UVB rays, and indicates the amount of time you can spend in the sun before burning. It gets kind of confusing but imagine that your skin normally begins to burn after 10 minutes in full sun without any protection. A 30 SPF sunscreen would provide 30 times the protection of no sunscreen. That means 30 times longer before you start to burn, or in this case, 300 minutes (5 hours). That being said, sunscreen should be reapplied every 80-120 minutes to maintain this protection. A broad spectrum physical sunscreen, containing titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide, will fully protect you from both UVA and UVB rays!
While reading a new book, "Ageless Beauty the French Way" I was shocked to learn what the true recommended amount of sunscreen that should be used per application was actually 1 tablespoon for the face and 1 ounce for the body. During the winter months, I really only apply sunscreen to my face, neck, decollete, ears and hands and I can say that I a using nowhere near 1 tablespoon of sunscreen to do so. Honestly, I feel like that actually sounds like an outrageous amount but hey, what do I know? I'm only 1/4 French.
It is very important for everyone to be taking care of their skin and protecting against the suns harmful rays. Ask my boyfriend, the big, tough, football coach that spends endless hours outside with his team several months a year. I have harassed him since probably our first date, or at least the first month of dating, to make sure he is wearing sunscreen at every game and practice! I can tell by his skin that he doesn't always listen to me and is probably not reapplying after the 80 minute mark when I am not around. That's fine, I'll be the youthful looking one, for the both of us! But it isn't just about the superficial look of sun damage, it can lead to some pretty serious implications, so try to do your best and protect the skin you have - it is the only one you're going to get.

Here are a few of the top sun care tips also listed in "Ageless Beauty the French Way":
1. No sun for kids under the age of 3 - keep those babies covered!
2. No sun between 1 and 3 pm. The best time for your skin to spend on the beach is between 5 and 8 pm.
3. Constantly reapply sunscreen (every 80-120 minutes) And buy a new tube/bottle AT LEAST every year. If you're using the recommended amount I described above, you may need a new bottle every week!
4. Hydrate skin before and especially after spending time in the sun.
5. Before sun exposure, prepare skin with antioxidants and eat foods containing vitamin c, e, and zinc. Foods containing these elements are not only helpful to your skin but your overall health - double whammy.

​If you’re anything like me, shopping and coffee are your drugs of choice. At this point in my life, caffeine has little effect on helping to wake me up in the morning, but a warm, delicious cup of coffee can really sooth my soul. A little bit of caffeine a day actually does show to be beneficial for the adult human body, with the recommended dosage of 400 mg (roughly four cups of brewed coffee, 10 cans of cola or two "energy shot" drinks). Plenty of positive effects can be found for the body but also for the skin, providing anti-inflammatory, exfoliating and anti-aging properties.

Caffeine and your skin: Caffeine has the ability to constrict small blood vessels and reduce inflammation making it desirable in many skincare products like eye creams to minimize dark circles and skin that sags around the eyes. It is able to decrease redness on a person with rosacea or reduce puffiness. Caffeine is also a strong antioxidant and helps the skin against free radical damage. Another thing I was shocked to find was that caffeine has the same pH as our skin, so it will never leave your skin too dry or oily!

Coffee grounds can also be used a manual exfoliator, although I wouldn't personally use it on my face. I don't really love manual exfoliators for my face and tend to stick to chemical but I'm all for a nice scrub down on the body, especially in the winter. If you are looking for a great body scrub, try a DIY coffee scrub at home. Side note: Coffee grounds are among the biggest drain clogging offenders so maybe try a coffee body scrub at someone else's house.

As much as I hate to admit, caffeine can have it’s downsides. Caffeine is known to be a dehydrator so this can show on your skin if you overdo it. Consumption of caffeine leads to a heightened stress response in the body. Stress hormones, like cortisol, may increase the amount of oil produced by your sebaceous glands, meaning you can be more prone to breakouts. Moral of the story, too much of a good (or freaking amazing) thing, can be a bad thing.

Caffeine and your body: “Studies have shown” that caffeine intake can help increase well-being, happiness, energy, alertness and sociability. I haven’t read these studies personally, but I love caffeine so I’m going to choose to believe them. Once you exceed four or five cups of either tea or coffee however, it’s possible to experience symptoms like shakiness, headaches and nervousness. Caffeine can also interfere with the compound in your body that helps you fall (and stay) asleep. For this reason, I try to not drink caffeine after like 3 or 4pm, unless I feel like laying in bed late that night, staring at the ceiling, thinking about mistakes I made 15 years ago.

So to wrap up, drinking coffee everyday will keep you beautiful and happy. Kidding… although I will truly just keep telling myself that every day, I don’t want to lie to you guys. Caffeine has some great benefits, if used within reason; like most things in life. 

That's some suggestive wordplay right there, huh? Sorry to disappoint you but this one's just about my dirty-a$$ hair and what I use to make it look semi-presentable.
Anyone that knows me knows that if I could go a month without washing my hair, I would. I am not ashamed. I’m sure you have heard plenty of times that “it’s not good to wash your hair every day”; and to that I say, to each is own and if you like washing your hair every day, I can think of a lot more things that are detrimental to your hair’s health than just washing it too much. That being said, if you’re like me and despise washing your hair and only choose to do so when your boyfriend won’t come in for hugs anymore until you do... dry shampoo is your friend.
I’ve tried a lot of shampoos and very infrequently do I make it through a bottle without tossing it in the garbage. Call me picky but I like what I like and anything floral-scented, I DO NOT like. I like my hair products to be either fruity, musky or un-scented if possible. I do not like my dry shampoos to be chalky and I tend to gravitate toward brands that have tinted shades, whether it be a “dark tones” or has a blonde/violet tint so that I don’t get that white cast on my roots. Even with having blonde hair, that is never a cute look. Unless you have bleach-blonde or grey hair, I would suggest trying one with a tint.
Below, in no specific order, are my top 3 favorite dry shampoo sprays and 1 dry shampoo foam that I don’t actually know how I feel about but I figured I would throw in the list for some “wow factor”.

Moroccan Oil Dry Shampoo $26

This dry shampoo comes in two colors, for dark and light hair. It “contains ultra-fine rice starch that absorbs oil, buildup and odor, leaving hair instantly cleansed and refreshed. UV-protecting, argan oil-infused formula contains subtle violet undertones to balance brassiness in blonde hair and bring out the best in light tones.” The dark tone ensures that there is no white residue on your roots if you have darker hair as well!
I really like the smell of this product, it smells like the lighter version of the oil that they have (or just Argan Oil in general). It has a nice consistent mist that doesn’t just shoot out and leave you with a blob of dust in one area of your head.
The price point is a bit high to me but if you have a buddy with a cosmetology license, have them grab you several to stock up! But if not, I definitely think the product is still worth the price.
 
Key Ingredients : Argan Oil: Extremely rich in tocopherols (Vitamin E), essential fatty acids and antioxidants, this natural oil helps to nourish. 
Rice starch: A natural absorbent that draws out excess oil.

Batiste Dry Shampoo $5-10
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If you’re looking for a great dry shampoo that is easier on your wallet, then I highly recommend Batiste. My favorite scent is Tropical but I also love their colored sprays as well. They have blonde, light brunette and dark brunette toned versions! It is both vegan, sulfate free for those of you that are into that. Batiste can be commonly found in drugstores, Ulta but if you’re lucky, you can find it at it’s best price in TJ Maxx/Marshalls!
Unlike the Morrocan Oil mister, this one is a bit more intense so be careful when spraying. Make sure you have a good 8-10 inches between your roots and the nozzle or you will end up with dusty and crusty looking hair. That being sad, you can always flip your head over and shake it out to get rid of some product!
 
Key Ingredients: Butane, Isobutane, Propane, Oryza sativa starch, Alcohol denat., Parfum (Fragrance), Coumarin, Distearyldimonium chloride, Cetrimonium chloride.

Design.ME Dry Shampoo $22

“Quickie.ME is a dry shampoo spray with a rice starch formula that absorbs, lifts and styles hair without the need for water. Rice starch absorbs oils and gives volume while the cetrimonium chloride and disiloxane condition.” I like the dark tone of this product because it is not too dark, so for my dirty-dishwater-blonde hair, it is perfect! It does come out a little on the dark grey side, so that is something to keep in mind if you have super dark or warm toned hair. The smell is great and it doesn't leave my hair feeling gritty or gross. Like the Moroccan Oil dry shampoo, it has a nice mist but I would still recommend that you shake well and spray 6-8 inches from dry hair.  Let dry, massage and brush out.
Side note, this company also makes a really nice volumizing powder named, "Puff Me" so check that out too if you like extra volume!

​Key Ingredients : Rice starch: A natural absorbent that draws out excess oil.

Ouai Dry Shampoo $28

This dry shampoo foam is a little weird to me. On my curly hair, I love it. On my straight hair, well... I wont try it, to be honest. Because I have naturally really curly hair, when I spend the time to straighten it, I really don't want to risk putting any moisture on my roots, activating my curly-q's. Quai states that it works on all hair types so if you're willing to try it out on naturally curly hair that is straightened, let me know how it goes!
Otherwise, I love it on my curly hair! It's the only dry shampoo that I've tried that actually makes my hair look and feel cleaner instead of just soaking up the oil while depositing powder on my hair. I would highly recommend this for anyone that has curly hair to refresh third or fourth day hair or to give naturally straight hair a little more life! 

Hair products are really one of my favorite things to try out. If you saw my medicine cabinet, underneath my bathroom sink and the hallway closet, you would really understand just how much I like trying out new products. So if you have any product recommendations, please let me know! Or if you would be interested in knowing more about how I style my curly hair and the products I use on a regular based to achieve defined curls with less frizz, leave me a comment below.

The brush to the left (or above if looking on your phone) features a special combination of 50/50 fibers to deliver two unique results on skin: One side provides a soft, diffused look, while the other fuses color onto skin for a polished, luminous complexion. 
I love this brush for foundation application, above any other face brush that I have used. This duo-fiber brush offers different application, giving you a great bang for your buck!
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I love a good skin treatment, so I recently got an IPL skin treatment. IPL stands for "Intense Pulsed Light", and is sometimes referred to as a photofacial. It is  a nonsurgical cosmetic skin procedure commonly used to correct skin irregularities and reverse the signs of aging. What was I looking to improve? I had a lot of redness in my skin and the beginning signs of sun damage. I wanted to reduce the redness due to broken capillaries as well as form pimple scarring. A lot of the redness is just due to me being so fair-skinned so I knew going into it that all redness would not be reduced.
A little secret I don’t share with many – I used to go tanning. I know, I’m just as mad at myself as you are. And to twist the knife a little more, there was a time when I would go to two different salons to be able to tan twice in one day – tragic. I would never wear sunscreen outside and bake in the sun for hours, I even applied oil – my skin’s crying right now. I suspected that I would have a lot of sun damage to try and reconcile.
IPL treatments offer a gentle, long-lasting solution for visible signs of skin damage. This can include, removing age spots, alleviating rosacea, eliminating birthmarks, fade freckles and erase broken capillaries. Sun damaged areas darken temporarily after treatment, almost looking like coffee grounds, then slough off in a matter of days. By delivering broadband light in highly focused pulses, IPL provides pinpoint accuracy to capillary removal that won’t disturb healthy tissue or other blood vessels in the area. It combines dramatic improvement with virtually no down time – I had a little bit of down time though, I will explain more later. In a nutshell, this is the procedure:

• A cooling gel, which reduces the sensation of heat from the hand piece, is applied to the treatment area
• Cold air cooling to the skin may also be given during treatment
• Precisely calibrated light waves, which vary in intensity according to the type of skin, the location of the treatment area and treatment type, and the depth of energy penetration required for optimal results, are emitted by the hand piece
• After 30 – 40 minutes, the session is complete. The patient may experience a slight redness to the treatment area, which usually disappears in an hour
• Over a series of treatments (usually 2-6, at 3-4-week intervals) the treatment area becomes clear of spots, birthmarks, discoloration or unwanted veins

Let me guess the questions you all really want to know. Did it hurt? Did it work? Where did you go? How much did it cost ya? - Am I right?? Of course, I am. Well here’s my honest thoughts:
I got my IPL treatment at the Dermatique Med Spa in Geneva, IL. The treatment was $350 for the entire face. I believe they have a spot treatment option for $175, for if you were maybe only getting a birthmark removed on one area of your body. I have to say, I loved this place. The staff was VERY nice, and that’s saying a lot about a full staff of women in the beauty industry. You know what I’m talking about. I mentioned to them that I have my esthetics license as well and they seemed genuinely interested, so I appreciated that. They followed up after my appointment to see how I was doing and if I was experiencing any issues. The price was a little high, but you get what you pay for and I truly trusted the doctor that administered my treatment.
Did it hurt? Like hell. As I’ve said before, I’m kind of a wimp but I thought this was pretty painful when getting over the entire face. The doctor tested the laser on me with a few blasts to start out and I remember thinking “oh wow, this will be a breeze!” but by the time she had finished half of my face I was full on sweating. When she was ¾ of the way done I was happy for all the Botox in my forehead and the fact that I was wearing goggles, so she couldn’t see the expression on my face – I thought I was going to melt onto the floor I was so uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is the best way to describe it. Very uncomfortable. The pain is bearable, but it is not a breeze. Treatment on a smaller area of the body would be significantly more bearable but the entire face was a little brutal, in my opinion.
Was it worth it? Yes and no. The treatment definitely worked. I noticed a reduction in my broken capillaries and some redness. The part I am on the fence about was actually not a problem with the treatment, but I thought that I would actually have more sun damage to fix. Apparently, my skin was resilient against my best efforts to look like a leather handbag in my teens – I only noticed a small amount of “coffee grounds” on my face after a few days which to me meant that I didn’t have a lot of hyperpigmentation to get rid of. So, although the treatment worked great, I don’t think the results were worth $350, FOR ME. This is not to say if you have a more severe issue that this wouldn’t be worth it, I 100% think it would. This is something I would definitely consider doing again later on in life when those pesky age spots start to appear or if my skin drastically takes a turn for the worst, but it is not something I would do again soon based on the changes I saw with the skin I have at this point.
So, I had mentioned I had a little downtime, it was not much, and I was still able to go about my life as normal, but I just started to look like Jocelyn Wildenstein for a day or two there. The area under my eyes swelled to the point where I was a little scared they might swell shut. It was the worst 3 days after the treatment but on the fourth day I woke up with no signs of swelling. It was weird. Other than the swelling, there were not really any visible signs that I had anything done. The spots of sun damage that darkened just looked like freckles until the spots fell off within the week.
Since the treatment, my skin has been acting a fool, (I do not believe this is due to the IPL but instead to my sugar addiction) so I have not really had a day where it has been completely clear of pimples or redness. This is a little annoying because I want to see the full results of the treatment but from what I can see, this treatment works. I would highly recommend to anyone with skin issues they are looking to help reduce or if you have nice skin but $350 to blow! Dermatique was a great place to get this treatment for the first time, the staff was great and made me feel comfortable. I will list there website below if you would like to check out their other services!

Below are photos of the progress starting from day one after treatment, through the third day after treatment that I had mentioned I was super swollen, and the final picture is 2 weeks post treatment:

I'm going to be honest with you ladies (and men), I'm good at what I do but unfortunately I'm no magician. Believe me, I wish I could pull puppies out of a hat, make those extra pounds around my waistline disappear and guess the winning lotto numbers but sadly, I am only a makeup artist... not a con-artist. That being said, I'm going to tell you I cannot make you look as if you have had facial reconstruction surgery or get rid of your wrinkles. If you pick at an acne spot and sit in my chair with a scab on your face, I can make it less noticeable but only after asking "WHYYYYYY?!?" If you haven't drank more than a 16 oz bottle of water a day in a very long time or if alcohol and coffee are your only form of "hydration" ... girl, we need to talk. I say all of this to say, we need to work together to get you looking like your best self before the makeup goes on!
Makeup is like the icing on the cake. I don't know about you but I like my cake moist and fluffy, and yes I said moist...get over it. Don't get me wrong, I love myself a good scone or crumb-cake but only in pastry form, not when I'm trying to make a skin analogy here. We don't want dry, crumby and crusty skin "cakes" (ew), we want ones with moisture, volume and with minimal GMOs. Am I confusing you yet? Okay, okay.. let's just get to the point. You can't put makeup on bad skin and expect it to look good, I'm sorry. I wish life didn't have to be so cruel.
A lot of skin issues can be genetic and in all fairness, that does just suck - but a lot of what goes on with our skin has to do with how we mistreat, over-treat and are snacking on the treats just a little too much, if you know what I mean. So I'm starting off this blogging adventure to talk about a few common issues I see as a working makeup artist and drop some knowledge - mainly because if you have nice skin, my job is like SO much easier.
Since I have probably already lost about half of you, today I'm going to stick with just talking about the first and most common issue I see at least once in every bridal party - dehydrated skin. Dry skin may be one of the most common client complaints, especially when working with mature clients. The first step in addressing this problem is to differentiate between dryness and dehydration. 
Dry skin is a skin type, something that is genetic. You can visibly tell a person's skin type by their pore size - dry skin types have small to almost non-existent looking pores. This skin type lacks adequate oil production. Dry skin will be more dull in appearance. 
Dehydrated skin, on the other hand, is a skin condition. It is caused by climate, unhealthy diet and lifestyle choices such a lack or water consumption or over consumption of alcohol and caffeine.  All of these factors deplete your skin’s water content, resulting in a less supple appearance. A key takeaway is that dehydration is characterized by a lack of water - not oil; even oily skin types can become dehydrated. Luckily, dehydrated skin is temporary and can be relieved with a combination of topical treatments and lifestyle changes. (SkinINC)
So now that you know the difference between dehydrated and dry skin, how can you help me help you? If you truly are a dry skin type, which is actually not very common, try using oil-based products. Drinking more water will never be a bad thing whether you're dry, dehydrated or oily, so do that too. Do not use harsh products that will strip your skin of the little oil that you have. Oil, good - that squeaky clean feeling, bad. 
If your skin is actually just dehydrated, well shame on you. That's not a very nice thing to do to the largest organ in/on your body. As a makeup artist, I can tell when you have dehydrated skin by the touch. How embarrassing....just kidding, I've been there. But not kidding I will most likely subtly (or not so subtly) call you out with a "how much water do you drink?" line if I can feel it. We're all about honest, tough love over here!
I go through seasons of dehydrated skin because sometimes it's just really hard to balance life, drink an ample amount of water and maintain a consistent skincare routine. No one gets it more than me but can you do me a favor and try to take better care of your skin? It will thank you with the best gift of all, more years with less wrinkles!
Skin's natural oil production slows as we age, which is why we are more susceptible to wrinkles and dry spots as we get older. Those of us with more oily skin types are actually blessed with younger looking skin, so praise those large pores!  But like I said earlier, even oily skin can become dehydrated if you're not taking care of yourself and then you'll have large pores and flaky, dull looking skin and only yourself to blame. I'm being a little dramatic aren't I? Well, you could say I am passionate about skincare and aging gracefully (and as slowly as possible).
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Since you know a little bit more about the differences between dehydrated skin (skin condition) and dry skin (skin type), I want to give you some key tips, along with a few product recommendations. Please do your research though, not everything that works for me will work for you.
1. Drink more water. Who knows how much we're actually supposed to drink but just take however much you think you need to be drinking and drink more than that. Recently, I have been trying to drink between 100-150 ounces of water daily, and I have got to say, I truly notice a difference. My skin is still not perfect but I have noticed a real difference in the way my body feels overall and the dry patches on my skin are significantly reduced.
2. Avoid over exposure to the sun - DUH. Honestly, if I have to explain why this is important, you're already a lost cause. Kind of kidding, but not really. 
3. Use oil-based, moisturizing products. Along with that, try to avoid any harsh chemicals that strip your skin of its natural oils. Think - oils make your skin look more supple and in turn, less old and wrinkly. 

My top product picks for dry and dehydrated skin:
1. Hyaluronic acid is extremely effective in replenishing dehydrated skin. As a humectant, this  ingredient helps bind and retain moisture, keeping skin soft and plump. H.A is actually naturally produced in our bodies, but aging and other factors like UV exposure, smoking and pollution slows our production. Hyaluronic acid is well known for its skin benefits, especially alleviating dry skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and speeding up wound healing.
2. Rosehip oil is packed with anti-inflammatory fatty acids and vitamins A and C. The astringent properties in this oil help to tighten your pores and brighten your skin. This oil has an ultra fine consistency and is lighter than other mineral oils, so it can be absorbed more quickly - instantly hydrating the skin without clogging your pores, unlike coconut oil. I use rosehip oil one to two time daily, depending how dehydrated my skin is feeling. 
3. For obvious reasons, sunscreen needs to be a staple in your skincare routine. Overexposure to UV light wreaks havoc on our skin in many ways. The damage done can cause hyper-pigmentation, wrinkles and worst of all, skin cancer. It depletes our skin of hydration, causing even the most oily skin to become dry and dull looking. Reapplication of sunscreen is a must and these days, many brands have SPF infused makeup setting sprays and powders, giving you no excuse not to be reapplying even with a full face of makeup!

So I've given you some of my knowledge and I expect to never see a dehydrated face in my chair again, right?? Well, that's not realistic but honestly, the best way to ensure that your makeup is flawless is to have great skin! (and hiring me, of course - shameless plug). In all sincerity, if you have made it this far, thank you so much! If you have any questions or want more information, please leave a comment below. I would love to know what you guys want to learn more about so let me know.