The Skincare Routine a New York City Makeup Artist Actually Uses (Step by Step)

After 15+ years working as a makeup artist in New York City, I can tell you the one thing every radiant client has in common: a consistent skincare routine. Not a 12-step production. Not a shelf full of expensive serums. Just a few minutes, morning and evening, with the right products in the right order.

Your skincare is the foundation everything else is built on. When your skin is hydrated, balanced, and properly prepped, your makeup goes on smoother, lasts longer, and looks genuinely better. So let me walk you through the routine I recommend — and follow myself.

Step 1: Remove Your Makeup

This one is non-negotiable, especially if you’re wearing mascara or eyeliner. Our Double Up! Eye Makeup Remover is a bi-phase formula — shake it to activate, press a cotton ball into the hands-free dispenser, and watch even waterproof mascara disappear. No tugging, no oily residue.

Step 2: Cleanse

Spend a full minute (yes, a full minute!) massaging our Botanical Cleansing Gel into your skin. It removes the day’s grime without stripping your skin. You want your face to feel clean, not tight. If it feels tight after cleansing, your cleanser is too harsh.

Step 3: Tone

Forget everything you know about toners from the ’90s. The Balancing Act Toner is alcohol-free and formulated with moisturizing and antioxidant ingredients that restore your skin’s pH, soothe sensitivity, and prep your skin to actually absorb what comes next. Think of it as the step that makes every other step work better.

Step 4: Treat

This is where targeted ingredients go to work. The Eternal Youth Serum is packed with polysaccharides and revitalizing minerals that stimulate skin’s natural regeneration and help blur the appearance of wrinkles. From the first application, your skin looks visibly smoother.

For the eye area specifically, reach for the Supreme Eye Contour Cream — a rich, silky formula designed to combat dark circles, puffiness, and expression lines. Your under-eyes need different care than the rest of your face, and this delivers it.

Step 5: Moisturize

Choose based on what your skin needs most:

• AHA Miracle Cream — ideal for mature skin or anyone dealing with texture and uneven tone. Liposome AHAs gently exfoliate and refine, day after day.

• Lavender Dreams Moisturizing Cream — ultra-hydrating and perfect for all skin types, especially dry. Captures moisture without any greasy finish.

One More Pro Tip

Layer your richest, most emollient products at night — that’s when skin loses the most moisture. Keep your daytime routine lighter so your makeup wears longer throughout the day.

Want to Learn Your Perfect Routine in Person?

This is exactly the kind of thing we cover during makeup lessons in New York at our Manhattan studio. In a one-on-one session with one of our licensed estheticians, we assess your skin type, walk through the products that work best for your needs, and teach you the techniques to apply everything correctly.

Book your appointment at 326 East 65th Street, or call us at (212) 600-0723. Great skin is a habit — and we’d love to help you build it.

xo, Shara Strand