First, I wanted to get my skin to a place where going without foundation would feel comfortable — this meant at least partially addressing my main concerns, like clarity, hydration, and tone.
As I've heard echoed everywhere from the famed 10-step Korean skin-care routine to celebrity dermatologists, double-cleansing is a good idea. The first cleanser, such as a micellar water, removes the day's cream, makeup, and dirt gently, clearing the way for the next cleanser to reach deeper inside the skin and draw out sebum and bacteria.
I've tried others, but I've preferred this cult-favorite French pharmacy micellar water since discovering it while living in Paris — and I'm not the only one. The company estimates that a bottle is sold every two seconds, and it's firmly seated on Amazon's best-selling skin-care products.
It's gentle enough to wipe away the day's grime without irritating my sensitive skin, and hydrating enough to make dual-cleansing viable for my dry skin. Equally important, micellar water respects the skin's hydro-lipid film (no micro-scratches working like chinks in the armor) which helps get your complexion on a sustainable, self-managed clarity track.
For even tone, texture, and clarity that doesn't strip the skin of moisture, I swear by Dr. Dennis Gross' Alpha Beta facial cleanser.
Simply put, it's the best cleanser I've ever used — and you'd hope it would be after it took Dr. Gross four years to perfect. It's not a foam and wasn't formulated with soap, so it doesn't leave the skin feeling uncomfortably dry or tight. But, having said that, it's also a more intense clean. It works into a rich lather, and the alpha and beta hydroxy acids work diligently (on multiple levels of the skin) to slough away dead, tired cells and facilitate healthy turnover to even tone and texture. Altogether, it's formulated to treat skin concerns while maintaining the skin's integrity and pH balance.
After using it, my skin looks brighter and tighter, and dark spots faded at a faster rate thanks to frequent exfoliation. This worked for the no-foundation project twofold: I didn't feel the need to cover up my skin's imperfections because there were fewer of them, and I didn't want to cover it up because my skin actually looked better au naturel than it did covered in foundation.
I definitely still get the occasional blemish, but the texture and overall tone of my skin is so consistently even now that I typically just dab concealer on the spot, blend it into the surrounding skin with a brush, and head out the door.
This was the high-impact, clinical-grade serum I turned to for treating dark spots quickly and efficiently. It has 10% L-ascorbic acid (which is another way of saying concentrated vitamin C) and Kojic acid, which is great for brightening dark spots, as well as lactic acid, a gentle exfoliator.
Within a few weeks (the company notes two to eight weeks depending on severity), I noticed my skin looking brighter and its tone evening out considerably. After four, it was even enough to skip foundation. That's because the IPL exfoliates your skin in its current state and prevents any additional lower pigment from surfacing. It also helps protect skin from environmental aggressors like free radicals.
These are the products I use to get dewy skin without makeup. Unlike most foundations, they simultaneously create the look and pay into the overall health of my skin, rather than sacrificing said health for said look. Together, they look better and more natural than the I-can't-believe-it's-not-highlighter, Glossier look.
Essences are lightweight liquids packed with a concentrated blend of hydrating, complexion-enhancing ingredients, and this one by Neogen feels and absorbs like a soft water, but hydrates my skin as deeply as a rich lotion. Combined with the Acwell pH Balancing Toner, it creates a dewy, lit-from-within, poreless glow — nicknamed "honey skin" by the beauty community. It's supposed to be evenly distributed and the glow should look luminescent rather than oily, but if you prefer not having certain parts of your face catching the light, you can selectively apply the essence to cheekbones and brow bones.
They were also two of the ten products picked by Soko Glam (the Sephora of K-Beauty) as the best Korean skin-care debuts of 2018, and they're the same ones Charlotte Cho, the founder of Soko Glam, also swears by for achieving honey skin.
This has quickly become, true to its name, the one cream that I use habitually. It was developed by a group of former MIT students using clinical research and AI to be the best cream for the most skin types. It's deeply hydrating, fast-absorbing, and has never caused irritation or breakout in my temperamental, sensitive skin. I recommend it and the affordable skin-care line Maelove to everyone.
My dermatologist let me in on the open secret of Differin Gel a few months ago, and it has been instrumental in achieving consistently clear skin — primarily with surface-level bumps that make for uneven texture.
As he described it, the $25 tube is a common workaround to an expensive prescription of essentially — if not definitely — the same formula, for a fraction of the cost. (The lowest recorded price of the most common version of Adapalene (Generic Differin) is $92 and it retails for $233 on average). Differin Gel used to require a prescription, but, now that it's available over-the-counter, it's the only FDA-approved, prescription-strength retinoid acne treatment available without a prescription.
To clear up little blemishes and overall texture, I dab this on at night. When I broke out over vacation, it got me back to clear skin in two days rather than the characteristic five. It will probably cause your skin to feel dry in the beginning, but you can slowly transition the product into your routine every other night until you adjust. According to the company, side effects like dryness should peak around week two of use, and then subside around week four. Ultimately, it's worth it.
Mighty Patch is the secret weapon for dealing with drastic blemishes without disrupting the skin's natural barrier — or letting wandering hands make the situation worse with exposure to added bacteria and grime.
You place these Hydrocolloid patches on top of blemishes like transparent stickers, and they use a technology once used to treat wounds to draw impurities from deep within the skin. In as little as six hours, blemishes look like they've skipped days of healing and are noticeably less inflamed.
The best defense is a great offense, and this under-$15 clay mask helps me prevent breakouts before they ever happen — which is saying something after living the past decade mostly reacting to inopportune breakouts. After a few weeks of using it once a week, my temperamental combination skin was smoother, clearer, and more even overall.
It's been called 'the world's most powerful facial,' and the 100% natural calcium bentonite clay draws out all the impurities deep in your skin. You'll have to figure out the combination that works for you, but I mix it with apple cider vinegar and a bit of water so the acidity can help further exfoliate and energize my skin.
The trick is to not leave it on too long. Clay does a great job of absorbing excess oils, but if you put it on for too long, your face will become dry and your skin will overcompensate by producing its own stockpile of extra oils. The goal is to absorb excess oil but not absorb so much that your skin overcompensates, so you should stick to the recommended time frame or take it off once you start feeling tightness from the mask.
Lastly, I had to consciously add a sunscreen into my routine, since most of us — knowingly or not — rely on our foundation to have SPF. I was reluctant to add anything into the mix that could mess up the balance I had struck with my skin, but after a dermatologist told me 10-15 minutes per day adds up to significant sun damage over time, it was non-negotiable. While aging is normal and I won't mind wrinkles in due time, I'd rather not expose myself to cellular damage.
Mild Essence is a sunscreen I found through testing the 10-step Korean skincare routine and was one of the products I was most impressed with: it's lightweight enough to go under makeup should you want to wear it, and it doesn't leave a greasy film or white cast on the skin. It's a bonafide K-Beauty cult-favorite. Incorporating it into my daily routine was effortless, and my skin never broke out in response.
However, the Mild Essence does have fragrance. Most people who pay attention to ingredient lists typically try to avoid fragrance because it can be sensitizing, and there are a lot of unsavory ingredients that can lurk behind that moniker without much oversight. However, K-Beauty products tend to have a fragrance, and I didn't notice any added sensitivity after a few months of use.
Because of that, and a desire to be more eco-friendly with the sunscreen that regularly gets washed into the water supply, I'll be replacing it with Farmacy's Green Screen Daily Environmental Protector Broad Spectrum Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 once it's done. You can also check out the Insider Picks Buying Guide to the best sunscreens you can buy here.
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