It's Time For You to Stop Hiding Behind Your Makeup

Secrets to skin so flawless, lips so soft and eyes so bright, you wouldn’t dream of covering them up. 

12 February, 2020
It's Time For You to Stop Hiding Behind Your Makeup

1. Pamper your eyes:  A DIY laser plus a peptide-rich eye cream are all you need to achieve your #EyeGoals. Harnessing the same technology used by professionals, Tria’s at-home laser delivers a mild injury to the eye area, encouraging the skin’s natural renewal process. Just move the laser in teeny-tiny circles around each eye for a minute (it’s normal to feel a prickly sensation), and follow up with eye serum. We’re loving Kaya’s—the potion is enriched with hyaluronic acid, yeast, and rice peptides that help to target puffiness and makes the skin firm around the eyes.

 

Tria Eye Wrinkle Correcting Serum, Rs16,000 approx

Tria Eye Wrinkle Correcting Serum, 16,000 approx

Kaya Brightening And Firming Eye Serum, Rs. 990

Kaya Brightening And Firming Eye Serum, 990

 

2. Luxe up your lips: The easiest way to pout perfection? A pre-bed lip facial three times a week. Start with a softening scrub to remove flakes and roughness. “Use your fingertip to buff in small circles, or apply the scrub to a toothbrush for more intense exfoliation,” says Dr Engelman. As you buff, you’ll increase plumpness by boosting circulation as well as clear dead skin, so lips can absorb the soothing ingredients in a balm or an overnight lip mask better.

 

Kiehl’s Lip Balm, `495

Kiehl’s Lip Balm, 495

 

Forest Essentials Cane Sugar Lip Balm, Rs. 475

Forest Essentials Cane Sugar Lip Balm, 475

 

 

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3. Nip your skin woes in the bud: Whatever's causing you to pile on primer, foundation, concealer, and powder in the morning can easily be fixed with a specialised nighttime routine (That's when our bodies are fixated on repair). Time to get your beauty sleep, ladies! Here's what you need to do if you wake up to:

 

a) Breakouts: Reach for salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. Seeing mostly blackheads and whiteheads? Go with salicylic acid. It exfoliates to purify pores and unclog sebum. (Find it in Garnier’s Face Wash.) “If you have red or painful cyst-like bumps—signs of bacteria overload—opt for antibacterial benzoyl peroxide,” explains Eric Schweiger, MD, a dermatologist in New York City. He prefers a micronized formula like La Roche-Posay’s. Super-potent, the particles are small enough to penetrate the skin’s surface.
HEADS UP: Benzoyl peroxide is notorious for bleaching fabrics, so use old pillowcases

 

b) Dark Spots and Pigmentation. Reach for Hydroquinone.“It’s the most effective lightening agent out there,” says Dendy Engleman, MD, of Manhattan Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery. The ingredient inhibits the enzymes that pump out melanin (responsible for producing dark spots). Two percent is the highest concentration you can get without a prescription (find it in Peter Thomas Roth De-Spot Skin Brightening Corrector at amazon.in, 6,918)—used nightly, it fades everything from freckles to melasma (sometimes in as little as one week!) and even helps to prevent new discoloration if you’re vigilant about SPF daily. For seriously dark spots or large patches of discoloration, see a dermatologist for a 4 percent prescription of hydroquinone.

 

 

c) Dullness and Dryness. Reach for Hyaluronic acid. Dry, lacklustre skin basically craves moisture, and nothing is more quenching than hyaluronic acid. It’s a hydrophilic, or water-loving, molecule that constantly pulls in moisture from the outside air for 24/7 hydration, says Dr Engelman. As the top layers of your skin soak up the moisture, the barrier on the surface looks plump and dewy. For an HA-packed regimen, try two drops of Pestle and Mortar’s Pure Hyaluronic Serum (3,000 approx), followed by Lancôme Hydra Zen Anti-Stress Moisturising Overnight Serum-in-Mask (`4,000).This combo’s serum-like delivery quickly penetrates the skin’s surface, providing intense overnight hydration.

 

Products to try: 

Garnier Pure Active High Foaming Face Wash, Rs. 105

Garnier Pure Active High Foaming Face Wash, 105

La Roche-Posay Corrective Unclogging Care, Rs. 1,300

La Roche-Posay Corrective Unclogging Care, 1,300

 

 

Detox MaskDaily toxins from pollution and make-up get stuck in pores, stretching and enlarging them. Purge them with a clay mask, and pores will look smaller and other products’ active ingredients will penetrate more deeply. Now’s the time.

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask, Rs. 1,100

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask, 1,100

 

RetinolThis Vitamin-A derivative is the only skin-care ingredient proven to grow collagen. This one contains retinol plus Vitamin B, which strengthens the layer of skin that retains moisture.

Dr Dennis Gross Ferulic Acid + Retinol Brightening Solution, amazon.in, `7,308

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask, 1,100

 

Moisturiser: A great moisturiser is key to maintaining heathy skin. “Think of it like a Band- Aid,” explains Dennis Gross, MD, a dermatologist in NYC. “It locks in natural moisture and seals in all the ingredients you’ve layered on previously.”

Clinique Smart Night Custom-Repair Moisturizer, Rs. 2,950

Clinique Smart Night Custom-Repair Moisturizer, 2,950

 

 

Look Out! These Sneaky Saboteurs could be screwing with your skin:

 

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AllergiesEven if you don’t suffer from seasonal allergies, irritants like pollen, dust, and feathers can find their way into your bed, resulting in red, watery eyes and unwanted puffiness each morning. The quick fix? Wash sheets in hot water each week (cold water does not sanitise as effectively), and cover your mattress in a plastic slip cover.

Late Nights: If you’re sleep-deprived, your blood flow kicks into high gear, thanks to a spike in cortisol, showing up in the form of dark under-eye circles (they’re actually engorged blood vessels beneath the surface). On nights when a full eight hours is impossible, try this sleep cheat: use Relaxing Eye Patches, their texture is cooling, which helps contract blood vessels, and also helps to brighten the area over time.

Diets: Booze and Chinese food are sure-fire ways to wake up to puff. “Alcohol and sodium make you retain fluid,” says Dr Engelman. If you overindulge, sleep propped up with a few pillows to encourage drainage from the eye area.

 

 

Adopt a Sexy Skin 24/7 routine:  Your skin runs on a schedule. Sync up for a glow all day long!

 

8am - Prep and prevent Aggressors like pollution and UV rays stress out your complexion throughout the day. The solution? Kiehl’s antioxidant-packed concentrate, which keeps skin bright and smooth for eight hours.  

Kiehl’s Daily Reviving Concentrate, Rs. 3,500

 

Kiehl’s Daily Reviving Concentrate, `3,500

 

10am - Snap a selfie “At this point in the morning, your body temp peaks, increasing circulation”, says NYC derm Julie Karen, MD. “That gives skin a healthy glow.” If you want to snap and send, now’s the time.

 

4pm - Fatigue Alert! Your skin can have an afternoon slump too. Since the thin skin around the eyes shows fatigue first, touch up with a brightening concealer like L’Occitane’s, which contains glycerin to reboot the delicate area.

L’Occitane Brightening Touch Targeted Corrector, Rs. 2,390

L’Occitane Brightening Touch Targeted Corrector, 2,390

 

10pm - Night Necessity. Skin’s protective barrier is reduced at night—that’s actually a good thing, as it more readily absorbs ingredients while you snooze. Slather on a firming sleep mask like Elizabeth Arden’s.

 

12am- Skin’s Power Hour Between midnight and 1 am, the skin’s restorative chores are in overdrive. This hour is hardwired into our internal clocks...FYI, night owls!

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Overnight Firming Mask, Rs. 5,800 approx

 

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Overnight Firming Mask, 5,800 approx

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