No Makeup & Smaller Pores in Minutes

The secret to beauty is not packing piles of makeup onto your face or sleeping in it hoping it’ll still be picture perfect when you wake up. The secret is all in how you care for your skin at home. Like many, we may get an occasional breakout from satisfying cravings we need to avoid but we’re only human, right? I often get complimented on my skin. “OMG, are you wearing foundation? Your skin is flawless.” Not everyday. I recently started wearing liquid foundation from a luxury salon brand not sold in stores. It’s amazing and nothing compared to filler-filled formulations. Before using that however, I would only do cleanser, moisturizer and eyeshadow. I still do, of course, but foundation is only whenever I’m working in the salon.

Some women will NEVER leave the house without “cake on the face”. But I achieved the power to do so through the use of something we all can get for free. ICE. One secret to flawless looking skin and even better makeup application is using ice to close your pores. Reducing the look of your pores will allow you to retain moisture after cleansing the skin and also will allow your makeup to look even greater.

Ice facial

Want to achieve smaller pores and be able to look flawless without all the crazy foundation? This is a good trick if you aren’t planning to wear makeup. Check out the ice facial regimen I follow:

Step 1

Prepare your pores for cleansing by giving yourself a steam treatment. The heat from the steam will gently open your pores so you can clean them more effectively. You can do this by using a facial steamer or bringing a pot of water to simmer on the stove. If steaming in the kitchen, remove the pot from the heat and make a tent by placing a towel over both your head and the pot. Breathe in the steam for about three to five minutes as your pores begin to open. If you’re feeling fancy or want a little luxury at home, place a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil into the water for some added aromatherapy.

Step 2

Exfoliate your skin. You can use a store-bought exfoliating cream of choice. I found that most estheticians recommend using an exfoliator that contains alphahydroxy acids to dissolve dead skin. You can also make your own exfoliating cream by mixing brown sugar and olive oil, creating a paste and rubbing it gently on your face. Alternatives could be using sugar and honey or sea salt with olive oil. This will help to slough away those pore-clogging dead skin cells camping out on your skin.

Step 3

Cleanse the exfoliator off your skin with a mild skin cleanser that does not contain soap, which causes irritation to the fresh layer of skin. The cleanser should help remove any dirt or oil particles that could be stretching out your pores. Using soaps can be drying and result in an overproduction of natural skin oil. Look for an oil-free, gentle cleanser.

Step 4

Now, take a cube of ice alone or you can choose to put it in a thin cloth or piece of fabric and apply it to your face. I rub the ice all over my face in counter-clockwise motions. The cold from the ice will shrink your pores, allowing them to look tighter and smaller, thus, you looking younger. Cold compresses from frozen foods can also be used. It seems silly, but people do use them.

Step 5

You’re done! You can now apply your favorite moisturizer or a pore-minimizing cream. Pore-minimizers go on as lotion but dry as a powder to help fill your pores for a more smoother appearance. Look for a lotion formulated to be pore-minimizing, with ingredients such as retinoid.

****If you don’t have time to steam, no problem. Simply cleanse your face and rub the ice cube as instructed. KUDOS TO YOU!! You just gave yourself a mini face lift. lol.****