Gucci Westman’s Skin Care and Makeup Tips for the New Year
Celebrity makeup artist Gucci Westman shares the secrets to glowing skin. (Photo: Getty Images)
Celebrity makeup artist Gucci Westman has become a trendsetting fixture in the fashion world working on magazine cover girls and models backstage at Fashion Week in addition to perfecting the faces of stars like Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz. This past year Westman left her role as global artist director of Revlon and partnered with Japanese skin care brand SK-II. Shifting from cosmetics to a focus on skin care makes perfect sense to us — the entire beauty industry seems to be following suit. We caught up with Westman, who shed light on the subject and divulged some of her biggest makeup and skin care tips. Prepare for a flawless complexion in 2016.
Gucci Westman on why skin care is more trendy than makeup:
I’ve been saying for a while it’s not so much about the blue eyeshadow. Obviously you have to have color for fantasy and romance and subversion of real life. For the runway shows, you want to see something you don’t always see. But maybe it’s more about what’s real for every day. I love the notion of having your skin really well looked after. Now more than anything with all of the social media, it’s more realistic to want to have beautiful skin. Obviously, you need your mascara and your blush, too.
On makeup minimalism:
I think it’s more exciting to see women be a little more daring with fashion as opposed to doing something crazy with your makeup at the moment. I just bought a silver skirt!
On achieving a healthy glow:
I love the look of luminous skin. I’d start with primer and then a cream. Then I would use the SK-II Mid-Day Essence ($80) and add luminizer for the cheeks — anything to look more luscious or juicy. You can also use same color on your lips as your cheeks. You can freshen up with the Mid-Day Essence, too. It helps the makeup penetrate into the skin so it doesn’t’ look like it’s sitting on top.
Gucci Westman relies on SK-II’s Mid-Day Essence for luminous skin.
On detoxing in the New Year:
We do a cleanse in January, my husband and I, after the holidays and New Year’s Eve. It’s such an important time to change your routine and get back on track and take care of your skin. You can use a warm towel, and gently exfoliate. I love this brand May Lindstrom. She has a really nice honey mask. And I mix the mask with the exfoliator and I scrub to get all the sluggishness off. I follow that with the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence ($99) and then get in a bath with a big book and put on the SK-II Mask ($17) and really get all the hydration. When you’ve exfoliated, you’re more susceptible to everything penetrating on a deeper level.
On her evening skin care routine:
Night is when you should treat your skin, especially after an entire day of atmospheric stressors outside and pollution and UV rays and everything else. That’s a really good time to have a night cream that you love. You can use a mask a couple of times a week — an eye mask or a regular mask.
On her makeup must-have:
I’m also really into lots of lashes at the moment, like a dolly. It’s kind of fun and more of an obtainable trend than green eyeshadow or glossy lips. I’m so happy that’s gone. Gucci has a really nice mascara ($34) that I like — it’s super volumizing and lengthening. It’s good clumpy, gives you a little personality.
On her clever makeup removal trick:
Sometimes I use a little bit of Lucas Papaw lip balm ($16) to take off mascara. Just with my fingers.
On her biggest skin care don’t:
Never ever wash your face with soap. Use a hydrating cleanser. I like an oil, Never use cleanser with no alcohol, because then your skin overproduces oil because its pH levels are off.
On an easy (and free) way to keep your skin looking young and vibrant:
I also suggest massaging your face. It’s such a big difference when you wake up your musculature, patting your face and getting your circulation going. If you do that at a young age, it will make a big difference. And doing a mask regularly is a big kind of component to understanding the philosophy of treating your skin like you exercise. If you start exercising rigorously, a few days later, you’ll only have to do it a few days a week because it maintains. It’s kind of a no brainer.
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