Ladies, chant after me: “Product, Practice and Patience”. Make it your mantra this festive season if you crave that va-va-voom visage, lit-from-within skin that glows, and all those other catchphrases you hear on the ’Gram for luminous skin. If you have the right products, enough practice and the patience, you’ll have that radiance you crave. But as nutritionists tell us, skin health is the function of gut health. So, revamp what you eat, amp up your skincare and use makeup as your embellishment. Get set glow!
Here are some skin care tips for glowing, healthy skin:
Eat Right:
For that buxom skin that reminds you of a baby’s derriere, you need to feed your gut, because mom is right when she says, “what you eat, shows on your face.” Coming up to the festive season, start by eating good fat and Omega 3 rich foods. Don’t get turned off by the word fat, because your skin needs all the plumping it can get with foods like walnuts, avocados, beetroots, sweet potatoes and salmon. What’s more, these anti-inflammatory foods help fight acne, oily skin and pigmentation.
Hydrate:
There’s absolutely no substitute for good ol’ aqua. Even if you’re running from pooja to party, make sure you’re hydrated. Water is the most undervalued beauty elixir we have and believe us when we say it can actually solve a myriad of problems, ranging from under-eye puffiness, pigmentation and acne. Chug! Chug! Chug!
Exercise:
Truthfully, most lit-from-within divas don’t just “wake up like this”. They work it…Try to incorporate 40 minutes of cardio thrice a week to rid yourself of pore clogging toxins that cause skin darkening. The healthiest way to detox is by sweating it out. So, get moving!
Face Massage:
Once the sebum floodgates, a.k.a., your pores, have been opened, massage on a luxe face oil. Make sure it’s replete with skin goodies like Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C and other antioxidants. Gently massage your oil in an upwards direction, to not only firm-up your skin but also wake up your complexion. Nothing works like a jade roller to really get that serum in there.
Ice Cubes:
A trick I learned from mummy dearest. If you have a serious case of orange rind skin (Open Pore Central) use this old-fashioned remedy to minimize them. Often our dream of gleaming skin makes us go overboard, and we end up with an oily mess. Instead, cool skin down with some ice cubes to tighten pores and boost blood circulation. You know what that means right? More oxygen= more glow!
Bend Over:
Umm, this one’s a bit out there. But trust me, when I say IT WORKS. Right before I’m about to start my makeup, I do a headstand. But for those who are novices (and quite frankly, sane), bending over, hanging your head against gravity and returning to a standing position will produce an adolescent blush to your face that’ll shock you. Doing this forces blood to your face, which in turn flushes it with colour and boosts radiance. But don’t do it too hastily because you could get dizzy.
Strobe Cream:
Coming to the goods. A nifty hack to faking radiant skin all day every day, is slathering your face with strobe cream. For those who haven’t dabbled in this new trend, here’s an express tutorial: Apply highlighting liquid or cream to the high points of your face so that they can catch the light and give you that 24k sheen. When prepping your skin prior to makeup application, apply a generous amount of strobe cream right after priming. It shows through foundation and makes your skin look luscious.
Liquid Illuminators:
One product you can’t not have this festive season is a liquid illuminator. Add a couple drops to your favourite skin plumping foundation for that otherworldly glow. It gives your skin a healthy glow and 100% oomph.
Highlighters:
If there’s ever a time in the year to hit pan on your highlighter, it’s this one. I don’t need to tell you about what highlighter can do. But here’s my trick to make it look EXTRA. You’ll need a cream-based highlighter and a powder highlighter. Use your fingers to blend the cream highlighter around your cheek bones, going up to your temples. Next swirl your brush into your powder highlighter and go over the highlighted areas with it. Grab some shades, cuz your face is going to be LIT. I swear by this not only because I’m obsessed with looking like the sun, but also because it makes my highlight last through the day and night. That’s what I call a win-win.
Nykaa recommends: M.A.C Strobe Cream - Silverlite, Nykaa Glow Getter Highlighting & Illuminating Duo Palette - Gliterrati 02, Maybelline New York Facestudio Master Strobing Stick - Nude, Huda Beauty 3D Cream and Powder Highlighter Palette - Pink Sand, Wet n Wild MegaGlo Hello Halo Liquid Highlighter - Halo Gorgeous and St.Botanica Vitamin C 20% + Vitamin E & Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum.
