Soft, dewy skin is sexy. A dewy face says, “I’m youthful, I’m healthy, and Yes- I look good.” Any self-respecting fashionista has her secret tactics for getting that just kissed by a beauty-mist look. But if somehow, your recipe for getting your skin to glow without looking greasy has failed you, read on, because in a matter of minutes your skin, and your inner Vanity Queen (or King) will thank you.

Step 1: Make your skin smooth

Your skin is a canvas. You can paint pretty on bare walls but you cannot “paint pretty” on skin ravaged by a rough texture. Thus, the first step to getting the fun, dewy look is to remove the dead, dry and all around ugly layers of your skin.

A cheap and painless way to do this is with a two-dollar bottle of cuticle remove. Yes, that’s right. You don’t always need a $90 facial to peel away the ragged layers of your skin when a makeshift “skin softener” will do.

Cuticle removers dissolve skin proteins while its detergents like sulfates lift and remove dirt. Additionally, some cuticle removers contain agents like sodium chloride to leave the skin moist. To soften your skin with a cuticle remover do the following:

    1. Cleanse your face your favorite face soap, I’ll just suggest your basic glycerin soap

    2. Pat your skin dry

    3. Smooth on a layer of the cuticle remover to your face while avoiding your eye area

    4. Allow the cuticle remover to act on your skin for one to two minutes

    5. Rinse off the cuticle remover

Step 2: Build layers of moisture

The true key to getting that moist, dewy look is actually having skin that is moisture rich. Dry, sickly skin will never have a vibrant dewy look. With that, our next steps on the road to “Operation Dewy Face” is to infuse the skin with serious moisture.

Step 3: Design and use a facial mist

My favorite thing to do in the morning is to spray my face with my own, customized facial mist. I created this mist for less than three dollars while I would have to shell out over $20 to buy a similar facial mist at stores. Here’s how to make your own facial mist:

    1. Get a 4 to 8-ounce bottle with a spray nozzle or go environmental and recycle one that you have lying around your home.

    2. Go to the drug store and go to the skin care aisle. Grab a 4-ounce bottle of “Rose Water” with glycerin. This is a generic, and thus cheap natural skin care product. Do not let the price deceive you though. This steal has almost all of the items you need to make a high-class facial mist- a rose hydrosol and a moisture locking ingredient glycerin.

    3. While you are shopping, get a bottle of witch hazel. It’ will run you between two to four dollars.

    4. Now, mix two ounces of the “Rose Water” mix with two ounces of the witch hazel in your bottle with a spray nozzle. Now you have a wonderful facial mist.

    5. You can customize this facial mist by adding a few drops of essential oils like ravensara, rose, lavender, geranium or ylang-ylang. Moreover, you can add a spring of rosemary, peppermint or citrus to your mist for added botanical benefits.

Step 4: Add on the layers of moisture to your skin

Now that you have smooth, clean skin, and a facial mist, you are ready to build the moisture layers that will create that darling dewy look.

Here’s how you create those moisture layers once your have smoothed your skin with the cuticle remover:

    1. Spray your skin with your facial mist. A light layer of visible moisture should remain on your skin. The proceeding layers of moisturizers will lock in the moisture this facial spray offers.

    2. Now, this step may seem silly, but it makes a noticeable difference in the final look of your skin. Cleanse your hands. Then rub on a deep moisturizing hand cream to your hands. This step matters because you are using your hands to apply a moisturizer to your face. If your hands are dry and cracked, your fingers will absorb much of the moisturizer intended for your face.

    3. Next, if it’s daytime, smooth on your sunscreen (even if your makeup foundation has a sunscreen). If it is nighttime, smooth on a light facial cream instead.

    4. Spray your face once more with the facial mist, but use a lighter layer than you did earlier. This spray does not need to be visible.

    5. Next, mix a pea-sized amount of your liquid foundation with a pea-sized amount of your facial moisturizer.

    6. Smooth on the foundation and moisturizer combination onto your face. Dewy is done.

Step 5: Repeat

Now, daily, repeat step four, while making certain to soften your skin with a cuticle remover or compatible skin care product. This repetition is critical because each day that you infuse moisture into your skin, you prepare your skin for a fresh, healthy, dewy look. Enjoy the dew.