We know they’re paid to look perfect all the time, but we still couldn’t help gawking at how perfect Ariel Lin’s (林依晨) skin is in real life. Known for her on role as Cheng You Qing (程又青) in the TV drama In Time with You (我可能不會愛你), the petite singer and actress was in Singapore recently to promote Kose Sekkisei Sun Protect Essence Gel. We did all of us a favour and asked for her skincare secrets, and were surprised how simple and effortless they are.
ARIEL LIN’S TIPS FOR GREAT SKIN
1. Never overwash your face
Ariel says her top beauty secret is not washing her face for more than a minute. The Taiwanese actress credits this strict habit as being her number one beauty secret. She claims that over-washing dries out your skin and strips of moisture, leaving it prone to other skin sensitivities. Which is why she makes sure her entire cleansing process is under 60 seconds ━ from the second the cleanser touches her face until it is washed off. So the next time you’re thinking about giving your face an extra wash will help, you might want to reconsider.
2. Never hot or cold
Surprisingly, the svelte beauty never washes her face with either hot or cold water. She believes that warm water will drain her skin of moisture, making it lose its natural oils. Instead, she opts to wash her face in water at room temperature. When asked if she felt uncomfortable doing so, she shared that this practice is part of her firm belief that our skin is best suited to all things natural, so using water at room temperature makes the most logical sense.
3. Tailor your skincare to your daily routine
You may not realise it, but your activities vary from day to day. Even if you’re a regular office worker, your weekends may be filled with a trip to the park or a late night party. These little things make a difference to your skin, and therefore, your skin care too. Ariel believes in tailoring her skin care to her daily activities. For example, if she’ll be out on the beach, she opts for greater sun protection. And for her night regime, she stresses the importance of investing in a great night cream, as the skin needs to ‘recover’ from the activities of the day.
4. Ditch the towel
Before you begin, I have to tell you that this tip isn’t for the environmentally conscious. According to Ariel, towels have fibres that will rub against the surface of your skin, which is a big no-no for the actress. So how does she dry her face? The actress gently lays a piece of tissue over her visage, and pats it really gently. This tip is a bit time consuming (coming from a perpetual towel user), but if you saw the state of her skin like I did, you wouldn’t think twice about ditching the face towel.
5. Don’t swipe your make-up
She may not have a choice when it comes to applying make-up for her job, but one thing that Ariel makes sure of is how the make-up is applied. Instead of swiping motions (like most of us are guilty of), she makes sure that make-up is dabbed and lightly pressed onto her skin. She explains that this lessens the friction of the sponge rubbing against the delicate visage, retaining your skin’s elasticity and collagen. But what if you’re applying powder foundations? You can actually pat them on too. Simply take a smaller amount of powder, and gently dab away. The same principle applies to liquid foundations. I do admit that this will mean that getting ready will take another 10 minutes, but if you had seen how porcelain perfect her face is up close, you won’t mind the effort one bit.
Ariel Lin is the face of Kose, for more information on the brand, visit www.kose.com.sg and follow the brand on Facebook.