Whether you’re glamming up or slapping on the face paint, here’s how to prepare a flawless look for October 31.
From Día de Muertos (or ‘day of the dead’) make-up, to a timeless Hollywood power-pout, Halloween is a festival that involves a heavy dose of make-up.
You might be going all-out scary for this year’s celebrations, or playing it high-glam with your first proper party dress of the season. Either way, prepping your skin over the next few days is a great way to ensure you have a flawless base to work with.
We’ve rounded up some of the most powerful pre-party products so you’ll make a killer impact at your Halloween event:
With a unique balm-to-oil formula, Dermalogica’s Pre Cleanse Balm cuts through build-up in just one application, setting the stage for your healthiest skin ever. As well as helping you achieve a flawless base before your Halloween hijinks, it will also tackle long stay lipsticks, waterproof mascara and other pollutants, such as face paint debris, afterwards. The oil-based formula gathers grime like a magnet, while citrus and lavender essential oils relieve mental and physical fatigue and energise skin tissues – it’s the perfect companion for healthy, glowing skin.
If you prefer to deep clean with an oil, Dermalogica’s original Precleanse thoroughly melts away layers of excess sebum, waterproof make-up, environmental pollutants and residual products that build up on skin. With skin fortifying borage seed, kukui and apricot oils, mixing this product with water transforms it into a milky emulsion that easily rinses debris from the skin’s surface, allowing your prescribed Dermalogica Cleanser to penetrate even further for professional cleansing results.
Working to keep pores clear, Medik8’s Pore Minimising Tonic transforms the texture of your skin. Infused with a combination of oil-controlling and gently exfoliating acids, the serum works to refine and resurface the skin in only a few swipes. Exfoliating acids flush oil from deep within pores, helping to keep them clear from debris and rebooting skin’s natural elasticity: this allows enlarged pores to shrink back to their original size. Leaving a flawless base and naturally healthy glow, the result is a smooth and luminous complexion.
To refine the skin before you apply make-up, Decleor’s Hydra Floral White Petal Skin Perfecting Concentrate offers a new skincare step that can be integrated into your beauty routine. Visibly reducing the appearance of dark spots, this product helps to refine your skin and reveal a brighter, radiant complexion.
A breakout is the last thing you need on Halloween – and oily skin needs extra support if you’re going to be using lots of make-up. Try Elemental Herbology Moisture Milk Facial Moisturiser, a lightweight moisturiser with naturally antibacterial botanicals to reduce excess oil and calm breakouts.
Even after you’ve cleansed thoroughly and used a moisturiser, a primer is an absolute must if you want to create a flawless canvas for your Halloween make-up. Dermalogica’s Hydrablur Primer is suitable for all skin conditions, particularly dry or dehydrated skin, and offers three benefits in one formula – intense hydration, neutral coverage and pore-refining properties. This lightweight, non-greasy formula powerfully hydrates and transforms skin into an even surface with a dramatic blurring effect.
Another option is New CiD’s iPrime, a priming product that improves the appearance of skin instantly and allows foundation to glide on perfectly (even in tricky areas) and stay on all day. A lightweight serum with skin-quenching shea butter and powerful antioxidant vitamin E, it can be applied to skin after moisturising.
