Vivian Vogue (3:03)
All right, let's get into it. I asked you all to send me your toughest beauty questions, your biggest concerns. And I have so enjoyed doing research, going through my own skincare experiences to give you answers. And this first question I really love because it's about how we stop breakouts in in their tracks. There actually is a way that you can stop breakouts from getting worse. So I will read the question. This first question is from Kawahia and she is an American living in Portugal. That sounds fabulous. She's been a listener of Naked Beauty for about a year and she has combination skin. So her question was, when you feel your skin about to break out, what is your go to for prevention and care? And when she wrote in, she also said, I know when my face is breaking out. I mix hydrocortisone with my moisturizer to dry up anything. Is that common? Is that common or am I doing more damage by doing this? This is a great question. First, I want to acknowledge how impressive it is that you can sense when your skin is about to break out. This is something that's taken me years to figure out. That kind of awareness takes time and intention. It really means that you're paying attention to your skin. And that's honestly the most important part of caring for your skin. Looking for signs, looking for clues, being intuitive with your skin, knowing what's coming around the corner. So for me, when I feel the breakout coming on, my very first thing I do is simplify everything. I strip my routine back to the bare essentials. I do no actives, no exfoliants. The first thing I reach for is a gentle, fragrance free cleanser. Right now I'm using the La Roche Posay Pigment Clear Cleanser. That's a cleanser that they have that helps to get rid of dark spots. If you're looking for something simple and very widely available. I see you're living in Portugal. I don't know if they have Aveeno there, but Aveeno has a great gentle foaming face wash. La Roche Posay is also very widely available, but you really want something that is fragrance free. And for my luxury skincare fans, when I want something really simple and stripped back, I love the Dr. Barbara Sturm foam cleanser. It's a very minimal foam cleanser and it's completely non irritating. Now the other thing you're going to want to do in addition to stripping back your routine is not wear makeup. If you can, don't wear any makeup. When I feel any type of breakout coming on, I cease makeup immediately. And even if the breakout has begun, I try not to cover it up with makeup. That's why I think Starface pimple patches are so brilliant. Because it's like okay, you have a pimple, you cover it up. You've got a cute star sticker on your face. If the Starface pimple patches are too in your face and a little too Gen Z coated for you, there are clear pimple patches from Cosrx that I really like. Rael R A E L is another K beauty brand that does invisible patch pimple patches but cover up the breakout. If it's coming up, do not put makeup over it. In terms of hydration, I avoid layering multiple products at night. I'll usually stick to one single oil. Yes. Like I don't even use a moisturizer. I'll use Argan oil or Jojoba oil because I know that those work really well for my skin and I just know that Jojoba oil or Argan oil are not going to cause me any irritation. And for my Argan oil and Jojoba oil, I order from Mountain Rose Herbs. They do great cold pressed oils. Now if oils aren't your thing, you just need a moisturizer with no actives in it. I call them my Plain Janes. I swear by these. I think everyone needs to have plain Jane moisturizers in your routine. If you want something simple that you can find at any drugstore, CeraVe PM is a great nighttime moisturizer that will not irritate your skin. I also love Instant angel from Dew Skin. I think that is a great just. Paula's Choice also has an entire line. I think it's called their Calm line. It's all of the blue bottles for products that will not irritate skin. A recent discovery I've made. It's this incredible balm. The company's name is Bonjour B O N J O U T. It is a French brand and it is like this serum moisturizer hybrid where she basically formulated this to be used after getting any sort of treatment. So if you get like a laser treatment or some sort of peel or micro needling, you basically layer this onto your skin. So it's really meant to like nourish your skin, but it's just this like beautiful balm that sinks into the skin. I will link to it in the show notes. I use the unscented version version, but you want to basically use something very, very plain to moisturize your skin at night. Now you mentioned adding hydrocortisone into your moisturizer. This is an interesting one. Hydrocortisone is a topical steroid and while it can reduce inflammation in the short term, it's not really designed for consistent everyday use. You really want to be using topical steroids with a dermatologist or it's also not something you want to be using long term. Overuse can basically thin, thin your skin, especially on the face. So it's something that I would really not recommend using regularly. A spot treatment. If you're doing it for like one or two days in a row on like an area that's affected, I think it's fine. But I think you should look for something to calm inflammation and prevent breakouts without the long term risk of steroids. Niacinamide is something you can look for in your skincare. Or zinc. Those are both great for balancing the skin and reducing like redness without being too harsh. Now if you're looking for a moisturizer that has zinc in it, the Larode Roche Posay Cecoplast Balm B5 has zinc in it. So that could be really good to use year round to help prevent breakouts as well. Now when I feel a rash coming. Do you all remember calamine lotion? When I was a little kid and I would get bug bites, I would have calamine lotion put on them. You know, it's like that pink liquid that you basically put on and it kind of dries and it's a little bit runny. Like it's not a very pleasant experience. But years and years and years ago at an ayurvedic spa in Soho in Manhattan, I discovered a brilliant elevated calamine lotion. So the spa is called Prutima and they basically use ayurvedic methods to heal your skin. They do facials, they do treatments. And I was telling my facialist there, because I went in the summer that I had a sun rash. I am someone that breaks out when I am in the sun for long Periods of time and sun rash is just like this persistent. It's like these little tiny bumps that come onto my skin when I'm in the sun and sometimes I get it really bad. So I asked her what can I do for sun rash? And she said, we have this amazing calamine lotion here. I will definitely link to this in the show notes. It's their sandalwood soothing lotion from Pratima. This is incredible. It's an ultra pacifying herbal remedy featuring calamine comfrey and neem. Our signature spot treatment heals breakouts on the face and offers dramatic and immediate relief from acne, irritation, rashes and inflammation. It's $49. A little bit goes a long way. If you buy this, you will have this for years and years to come. I put this on when I have rashes or any sort of breakouts and it really, really does the trick. It is called their sandalwood soothing lotion. So I would look into that as well. Thank you so much for this question. You are paying close attention to your skin, so you are already ahead of the game. All right, next question. This is from Ibilola. She is from Lagos, Nigeria and Sacramento, California and she's currently pregnant. Four months. So she says she's been listening to Naked Beauty for four to five years and she started during the pandemic. I appreciate that so much. She said, thank you for all that you do. Okay. My skin type is combo and it leans more on the dry side. I'm not very experimen experimental when it comes to my skincare routine, but pregnancy has required some changes. No more retinol. I'm curious to learn about your favorite pregnancy skincare products that make you feel good and like you're doing your whole quote unquote routine. Thank you, Lola. First of all, congratulations. You are four months in. Hopefully that first trimester exhaustion is starting to lift. I just remember that deep bone level tiredness I had for my first few months of pregnancy. I completely understand the desire to still have a skincare routine that feels like you, especially when so many products are suddenly off lim. I remember looking at all of my acids and of course my tretinoin and it was like, oh my gosh, I can't use these. But I still am a skincare girl at heart and I want to remain a skincare girl throughout my pregnancy and even breastfeeding. I'm dealing with this too. So. So just to go over the basics things you have to let go of retinol, high concentrations of salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and some essential oils. That doesn't mean you can't still enjoy your routine. What I did was I really leaned into things that felt good sensorially, things that really smelled good, products that melted into the skin. Your skincare routine really becomes more about nourishment and comfort, which is actually really beautiful. The thing I did this pregnancy to pamper my skin was I got really into face masks. I really loved taking those few extra moments to indulge and do something that was calming. One of my favorites was the Hana Hana Beauty Clay Detoxifying Face Mask. It's a powder, so you basically just mix it with water. And I got a little fancy with mine. I started applying, applying it with a brush. I just used like a kabuki brush or you can order any face mask brush on Amazon. But it just made it feel that much more luxurious. And the ritual of mixing the powder with the water and painting it on my face felt just decadent in the best way. When I wanted a little bit of extra hydration, I added in some of those oils that I have. But it was just such a lovely ritual. I also, though, had to change a lot of my masks now. One of my go to Holy grail masks was the Biologique Recherche Masque Vivant, which, if you all know, it, is a holy grail. But the smell of that mask made me want to gag. I mean, the smell is bad even when I'm not pregnant. But when you're pregnant, you are so, so sensitive to scent. And the smell of that mask, I like, couldn't. I was like, I literally cannot use this mask. I need to just, like, store it away until I can tolerate it. So I started looking for other hydrating masks. I feel like when you're pregnant, you do a lot of, like, sitting around and laying around, so you might as well have a mask on. I was also pregnant during the summer, and I just felt so hot a lot of the times when I was pregnant in the summer. So I. The Clarins Cryoflash cream mask. It's a face. It's a face mask that firms your skin, but it also just makes your entire body, like, drop in temperature. I swear, because it's like a cooling face mask. It feels so, so good. In the summertime, I also would put that in the refrigerator and then apply the mask to my face. So on those days when I just felt, like, overheated and puffy, I would always reach for that mask. Another clay mask that I love is from Beauty Stat. It's the Microbiome Purifying Radiance mask. It has natural clay and charcoal and white honey in it is just a beautiful mask and it's really good if you're dealing with large pores or texture. So I kind of just like went back to the basics of my natural beauty ways. If you've been listening to the podcast for five years, you know I am like at heart a natural beauty girl. It's been really nice during pregnancy and breastfeeding just to lean into more like natural skincare brands. I love my serums from Retrouve. I love the Okra serum from Sable Labs. I feel like that's really good for kind of like tightening the skin. Vitner's daughter has been like my go to cream cleanser this whole time. You really don't need a ten step skincare routine. You're so tired anyway. You just need a few really beautiful products that make your skin feel good and just help you stay connected to yourself during a time when your body is going through so many changes. One of the things I look back at most fondly is just rubbing oils and shea butter, lots of shea butter. The Hana Hana Beauty unscented shea butter or the scented one. I like the lavender one as well. But rubbing shea butter all over my belly all the time, you know, having a face mask on and just rubbing my belly with oils, you know, keeping your skin hydrated really helps to prevent stretch marks. But really pouring into yourself, especially if this is your first pregnancy, you don't have a toddler or another baby running around that you have to take care of. Like really take care of yourself, nourish yourself, lean into those little rituals. Pregnancy is really a time of transition, but it can also be a really great time to deepen your self care in new and meaningful ways. I wish you a very happy rest of your pregnancy. Thank you so much for your question. All right, let's get into our last question and it's a good question about makeup. This last question is from Anastasia. She's in Australia. Look at the naked beauty audience being so international and global. I love it. She says I've always had oily to combination skin which has been a positive as I don't have many deep wrinkles now that I'm in my early 50s. But I still have congestion on and around my nose so I feel the pores appear large and even more so with makeup up. I've tried matte finish foundations but they're so drying. Would sheer liquid makeup be better or their techniques that I should be using instead. Anastasia says she's been a listener for about three years and she loves the podcast and the inspiring topics and guests. Okay, Anastasia, thank you so much for your question. Managing larger pores and the appearance of pores with makeup is a very important topic. And I'm so happy that you asked this question because I think it gets at one of the main, main issues that we all collectively have as we think about beauty and skincare. And it is looking at images and videos, the Internet where everything is so heavily filtered. So, Anastasia, you are not alone. Pores are totally normal. We all have them. But it can feel like everyone else has magically smooth, filtered skin when you are scrolling. And it actually makes a lot of sense that your skin has stayed so youthful and wrinkle free into your 50s, because oily and combination skin types tend to age really well. So that's definitely a blessing. But I hear you on the congestion around the nose and the way that makeup can sometimes emphasize pores rather than minimize them. So in terms of solutions, sheer liquid foundations are definitely more forgiving than matte finishes, especially on skin that still has oil production but doesn't want to get that dried out, cakey look. So you want something lightweight and buildable. Look for foundations that are labeled hydrating, radiant, or even a skin tint, rather than a full coverage foundation. You probably don't even need a full coverage foundation. But before we even get to the foundation, do not sleep on a good primer, especially a smoothing or blurring primer. It really can help to create that even canvas before your makeup even goes on. It fills in texture slightly and it keeps things in place longer. So you want to, so you want to focus your primer on areas where you see more texture, like the nose and the cheeks. You really don't need to apply primer all over. When I first started using makeup primer, I was like putting it on my entire face. Like, no, you just need to apply primer on those areas that you want to smooth. And I'm going to put you onto a product. I hope you can get this product in Australia. But the Danessa Myrix Blurring Balm is so good. It's, it's officially called the Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder and it's a standout product that would be such a good addition to your makeup routine. And here's why I think it would work. It has a really beautiful blurring effect. It's this balm to powder formula that's designed to blur the appearance of pores and fine lines, and it gives the skin a very smooth, even texture. And it also contains a very specific ingredient called upsolite. So upsolite helps with oil control. It's this unique ingredient that absorbs excess oil and sweat while maintaining skin hydration. So that could be really good for oily or combination skin types. And it has a really lightweight feel. You can use this as a primer by applying it to those small areas where pores are visible. Or you can even just wear this alone without makeup for just like a natural matte finish that reduces shine and even skin tone. I really think that this is a brilliant product, but going back to the makeup technique is everything. Using a damp beauty sponge to press the product into your skin will help it meld rather than sit on top of your skin and accentuate texture. And before all of that, skin prep, so you can try a gentle exfoliant with BHA like a salicylic acid a couple times a week. That will help with congestion. And make sure you're using moisturizer even if your skin is. And make sure you're using and of course, make sure you're using moisturizer even if your skin is oily. Hydrated skin means smoother makeup application. I think a really good primer, a more sheer, radiant foundation using a beauty blender that's damp to press the foundation in. I think all of these things will make a world of difference and us all collectively agree filters have really ruined our perception of what real skin looks like. Your skin is doing what it does and you're doing great. I love this question. Thank you. All right, beauties, that was it. I loved answering your questions. If you have other burning skincare beauty hair care, help me figure out what to wear for this wedding I've got over the weekend questions, email me at naked beauty podcastmail.com subject line Ask Brooke and give me your questions. I love doing research research on these. I love answering them and I love when I can come on the mic and talk to you all directly. Thank you all so much for listening. And if you have questions in the meantime, do DM with Vivian. I'm like very curious to hear what your experiences are dming with her. I DM her all the time for beauty advice and beauty questions, so don't be afraid to talk to her. You can follow me at. Brooke Devard. Naked Beauty Planet is our community on Instagram. If you are not subscribed to The Naked Beauty YouTube, please do so. I will link in the show notes to where you can subscribe to Naked Beauty. And of course don't forget, every single product that I mention on every single episode of Naked Beauty is linked in my shop my shelf which is always in the show notes so you can find the products that I talk about on here. Oh, and while we're on the topic of YouTube, it was so fun reading everyone's comments about the Wheezy interview. That's a really fun one to watch if you're looking for an episode to watch on the YouTube. She is just hilarious to me. I have so many great guests coming up that I got to shoot with in studio, so great episodes on the horizon. Make sure you're subscribed. Share the podcast with a friend. Share it on your Instagram stories. I so appreciate the support and I'll be back next week. Closer to my dream I never thought I would be this obsessed with the toilet, but here we are. We installed the Kohler Veil Smart Toilet right before I gave birth, and for any postpartum moms listening, you know how those first few weeks can be. This toilet honestly made my recovery so much more comfortable. In the middle of the night when you stumble into the bathroom, you don't want to turn on harsh lights that wake you up. The Veil nightlight glows the soft blue light, the seat automatically lifts and it's beautifully warm. You just sit down and do your thing and then the magic happens. The Vail Smart Toilet has this little remote with customizable cleansing features that wash you and even gently dry you with warm air. You literally don't need toilet paper. It sounds silly, but this toilet completely upgraded my day to day life. It's luxury, but in the most functional, practical way. And honestly, it's no surprise that Kohler partnered with Laura Kim, someone who knows great design.
