With the busy holidays (and parties!!!) coming up, taking good care of your skin can take a backseat amidst all the planning and partying. Days get darker and chillier, and nights are reserved for merrymakings! However, taking extra care of your body especially with the festive season around the corner can reveal glowing, luminous skin. Even though the year has ended, the celebrations have just begun! Give your skin some TLC that it deserves, because it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Here are seven tips to enhance your look this party season.
1. Moisturize by the book, and know when to moisturize
Dry air outdoors and heating devices indoors will undoubtedly strip your skin of the essential oils that it produces, rendering it dry and stiff. Maintaining smooth and supple skin throughout the colder months can be a difficult task, but there is a simple way out of this problem- moisturize. If you have excessively dry skin, the trick is to use a light moisturizer of your choice, and top it off with a thicker, more occlusive moisturizer to lock the moisture in your skin (a.k.a. ‘double moisturizing’).
The key to supple, luminous skin is to moisturize while your skin is still damp. Damp skin allows more product to penetrate, so your moisturizer will work at its best. This trick works for most hydrating products, including serums and hydrating mists.
2. Take care of parts of your body other than your face too!
To nobody’s surprise, winter is a well-known conspirator to cause chapped lips; these unassuming fellows dry out 10 times faster when compared to the rest of our skin. Drink enough water, avoid licking your lips at all costs, use a good lip balm, and don’t peel flaky skin.
Like your face, the rest of your skin is also more receptive to products when it’s still damp. Exfoliating your body while you’re still showering will be the right call, but make sure the products you use are gentle enough (to avoid: apricot!!!). Slather body lotions as soon as you jump out of the shower, and avoid super-hot showers.
Depending on your hair type, invest in a good serum or a hair mast to get your hair game on! If your hair gets oily too soon after you wash it, a good dry shampoo will be your best friend come what may.
3. Don’t let a breakout ruin a day you’ve been anticipating for so long
Getting a breakout before an occasion can be a dreadful nightmare, but it can be avoided with just a smidgen of pre-planning. Purchase the right products, which include hydrocolloid patches for any future acne that might pop up. These patches won’t work overnight (alas!), but will surely cover up flare-ups to a major degree.
4. Don’t skimp on a skincare routine (even beneath your makeup)
A skincare routine is very effective before you start putting on makeup, as it ensures everything glides effortlessly and stays put. This routine should start with a clean face, after which moisturizers and hydrating serums should follow, culminating with an SPF (for the daytime parties). If you do not want a heavy base beneath your makeup, you can use a foundation that already has SPF incorporated into its formula.
5. Stay away from matte, powdery products
If you are going to dress up for a gala, try to amp up your makeup products. Instead of going for a matte foundation, you can use a moisturizing CC cream or an illuminating SPF. If a foundation is your go-to, stick with liquid and cream formulas. Instead of a powder highlighter, go for a stick/liquid one. Instead of matte lipsticks, go for something less harsh- lip tints and tinted lip gloss. Have a facial mist with you at all times to give your skin a boost of hydration throughout the day.
6. Let your skin have an after-party right after the party!
To help your skin revitalize, taking good care of your skin after a party is indispensable to avert problems because of sleep-deprived gatherings and fried foods. Remove all your makeup (double-cleansing to the rescue), exfoliate with acids (or a chemical peel). If you have oily skin, you can use a mud- mask especially in your T-zone. Ultimately, end your routine with a hydrating cream.
7. If need be, gift yourself a humidifier this season.
It is the season of chilly winds and dry skin. Along with the dry atmosphere, electric heaters, radiators, as well as hot baths can render our skin and hair parched, despite taking enough care. Enter the best investment for someone with extremely dry skin: a humidifier! Essentially, a humidifier will increase hydration levels in the environment thus increasing the amount of humidity you have indoors. Having a humidifier also means less static, which means you’ll have gorgeous hair too. P.S a bonus: your indoor plants will bloom as well.
Getting glowing skin during winters, particularly during the holiday season, is a quite simple deal if you take care of your skin’s basic needs. Hydrate your skin well, and use the correct products while you get ready, and you’ll be good to go!