You can always rely on Janice Daoud to deliver. The makeup artist behind Miley Cyrus’s most iconic looks is self-taught, but there’s nothing nonchalant about her approach to a perfectly calibrated face of foundation, a statement eye, or an immaculately drawn lip. The same can be said tenfold for her approach to skincare:
“Give your skin as much love as you can, take care of it properly, nourish a glow from outside and within,” she says, “because the more we give to our skin, the more our skin will give back to us—and the less makeup we’ll need for an even and beautiful look. Wherever you want to be seen, makeup and skincare—the two go hand-in-hand.”
And that’s where this story comes in: The first in a new dedicated series, it lifts the curtain on exactly how the makeup industry’s top tier artists—in this case, Daoud—approach prepping the skin for sublime, red-carpet-ready results, every time. The best part is that all of the contained tips and tricks are universal, so whether or not you’re a celebrity, this series can be bookmarked and adapted to your at-home regimen.
Here, find out how Janice Daoud preps skin for makeup:
Start with a clean face
“If you don’t prep the skin, you’ll have enlarged pores, dryness, and you’ll have to layer on foundation thicker—which is the opposite of what you want to do, because the aim is always for skin to look like it has nothing on it,” explains Douad. Whatever the occasion, she insists on always kicking things off with a fresh canvas. That means, cleansing with the Superfood Cleanser, and exfoliating with YTTP’s Kombucha + 11% AHA Exfoliation Power Toner.
Counteract puffiness with massage
In an ideal world, Daoud likes to set aside a full 20-30 minutes to adequately prep a complexion. The longer lead time allows for an indulgent—and effective—lymphatic drainage massage to help sculpt cheekbones, stimulate circulation, and brighten the look of skin.
“Dotting a little moisturizer all over your face, and going straight in a blender will not do the job,” she warns.
Apply a moisturizer
As far as Daoud is concerned, nothing is as important as adequately hydrating the skin—and she’s got a few nifty tricks up her sleeve:
“I love to use the Superberry Dream Eye Cream around the lip line, pressing it into fine lines above and around the mouth,” she says, adding that the Superfood Air-Whip Moisture Cream is her holy grail product. “I use it personally, and on every one of my clients—and I don’t just apply it to the face, I use it all over the body, legs, and hands as well.”
Bust out the spritz
Post moisturizer, it’s time for makeup, but Daoud’s skincare protocol doesn't end the minute she applies concealer.
“To me, a perfect face of makeup should look natural, so once I’m done with the entire complexion, I love to spray the face with a fine mist and take my sponge—usually a Beautyblender—and stipple all over to make sure everything looks flawless and smooth,” she says.
Refresh with vitamin C
One of the perils of being famous is the constant pressure to appear switched on, but most of Daoud’s clients (Miley Cyrus included), are regularly flying across time zones or dealing with multiple hours under the camera’s hot glare. To keep their makeup looking fresh, she reaches for YTTP’s 15% Vitamin C + Clean Caffeine Energy Serum.
“If things are starting to feel a little heavy, I give another spritz and then pop some of the serum on my sponge and stipple it over the finished look. It fixes the issue right away without having to pile on more makeup.”
Written by Elsa de Berker for Youth To The People
