by Kelli’s Makeup Artist, Courtney Glasglow
oh hello, baby faces.

I’m going to blow your mind today and tell you how to figure out your skin type. As an esthetician, I can relate most all skin problems back to one thing: not caring for your proper skin type. Literally, figuring out your skin type is what I consider to be the MOST important part of makeup and skincare. For example, if you are wearing a pressed powder that’s for normal/dry skin and you actually have oily skin, you’re going to look like you rubbed vaseline all over your face by 3 pm. Not cool. So I’m going to describe all the facial skin types and tell you the kinds of makeup that look great with your type, and also the ones to stay FAR away from.

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1. DRY SKIN- dry skin typically has tighter, less visible pores, and you never have to worry about face blotting (Lucky). It may flake or crack, if it’s not treated with a thicker moisturizer. Dry skin can pull off a “dewey” look very well, because they don’t produce oil that makes them look shiny. It works very well with liquid or pressed powder foundations. However, MAKE SURE you use a moisturizer/SPF and primer before. If you don’t, you may end up looking cakey mid-day and ain’t nobody got time for that. Dry skin needs to steer clear of loose powder foundations; they will soak up any oil you have and make your skin flakey, or make your makeup appear caked on.

2. COMBINATION SKIN- Combination skin can also be referred to as dry/combo. You’re typically dry, but you may have more oily areas, for example- The T-zone. I kind of love that it’s called the T-zone, because I feel like I’m talking about Jurassic Park. Anyways, moving on. The trick with dry/combo skin is moisture. More than likely, your skin is overproducing oil because it isn’t getting any.. in fact, you’re most likely stripping your skin of it’s moisture. Therefore, it compensates for that by producing more, and then you think that means you’re not cleansing it enough, so you strip the oils… it’s a vicious cycle. And you know what? You’re really harming your skin in the long run. So knock it off. Use a moisturizer/SPF and primer. One thing to do that hide oily areas and large pores, is to use a pore minimizing cream and apply it to JUST the oily areas, where the pores are bigger. You can use liquid or powder foundations and they work well, or you can even combine them, and have like a glowing complexion.

3. OILY SKIN- People with oily skin, usually know it, because they’re best friends with their blotting strips. Oily skin also tends to be thicker. You can do a test, by pinching your skin by your jaw bone, to see how thick your skin is. Bonus to having oily skin though, is that your skin will age less and you’ll look younger. 🙂 Loose powders are best for oily skin or matte liquid foundations. Find a good translucent powder to apply at the end of makeup routine, to decrease shine. Stay away from pressed powders/ liquid foundations that aren’t marked, “for oily skin”.

4. NORMAL SKIN- If you’re like, “Oh, none of that applies to me, my skin is perf” then… I freaking envy you. Immensely. And that means you’re considered “normal” skin. Meaning, you can probably use any products and they look great on you. So keep doin your thang, but DON’T forget sunscreen. 🙂

So, that’s it. You should know you’re skin type by now. If you stick to buying skincare products and makeup that’s suitable for your skin type, you’ll probs find that you breakout less and glow more. 🙂
Have a fabulous week!

-Courtney