“I’m all about moisture and having glowing skin,” says Ashley Graham. In fact, “I like to look a little greasy,” the 31-year-old model and body positivity advocate revealed in a recent Elle interview.
Her approach to hydration starts from the inside, with a daily vitamin regimen and “a ton of water.” She also relies on her go-to facialist for glow-boosting treatments like oxygen facials and red light therapy.
But when it comes to skincare products, figuring out a routine has been a process of “trial and error.”
“I have a combination skin type,” Ashley told Harper’s Bazaar. “It’s a little bit oily, a little bit dry. I get a little dry around my nose, a little oily [on my forehead]. Sometimes I get dry on my chin, and I would say that my cheeks are combination 100 percent—[it] just kinda depends on what is happening with the weather. If it’s summertime, we’re oily. If it’s the wintertime, we’re dry. So I always am changing my products around.”
Blessed with a usually clear complexion, she switches things up based on what she wants to try (often looking to Instagram for recommendations!), rather than religiously sticking with one brand.
“I have taken my beauty system from different people. It’s not because I’m looking to switch it out; it’s more like, ‘Oh, I want to try that product.’ If I try it, and I like it, then I switch over, and if I don’t, I go back to the basics.”
Photo: @ashleygraham
Read on to discover the exact products Ashley swears by for her signature dewy skin!
Ashley’s Morning Skincare Routine
1. Cleanser:
“I don’t wash my face [in the morning], I just rinse it.”
2. Vitamin C Serums:
SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic
SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic: “One of my biggest ‘aha! [moments],’ like, ‘I can’t believe you weren’t doing that before,’ was when I walked into Dr. Idriss’ office and I wasn’t using vitamin C serum. She looked at me like I had a third eye. So now, as a part of my morning routine, I use vitamin C serum. It’s a tried and true brand, too, that everybody knows—C E Ferulic. This is very good vitamin C. I had no idea that it was very important.”
Dermophisiologique VitaC Skin Perfection Active Serum
Dermophisiologique VitaC Skin Perfection Active Serum: “Sometimes I pop a little vitamin C under my [skincare] if I’m feeling tired.”
3. Face Mists:
Heritage Store Rosewater & Glycerin
Heritage Store Rosewater & Glycerin: “I use rosewater with glycerin. I like the one from Whole Foods or any natural grocery store. I spray it before moisturizer, after moisturizer, before makeup, after makeup, in the middle of the day. [It makes the skin] baby soft. Your skin feels like it’s got this moisture-laminate on it. It’s beautiful.”
ZAQ Hydrating Facial Mist
ZAQ Hydrating Facial Mist: “One of the people I watch on Instagram who’s, like, a healthy, everything’s organic kind of person uses it. So I thought maybe I’d try it.”
4. Moisturizers:
Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream
Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream: “I’m obsessed with this moisturizer. I feel like every beauty blogger in the world is using it right now. I take two pumps of that. I like to look a little greasy, and then you can go in and powder where you don’t want to be greasy, and then not powder where you want to be highlighted.”
Nuxe Crème Fraîche de Beauté 48Hr Moisturizing Rich Cream
Nuxe Crème Fraîche de Beauté 48Hr Moisturizing Rich Cream: Nuxe—take, like, a dollop. Do not forget the neck. Everybody forgets the neck…. I have not forgotten the neck and that’s why this thing looks so good.”
Carasoin Cold Fusion Intense Moisture
Carasoin Cold Fusion Intense Moisture: “My favourite moisturizer right now.”
5. Eye Creams:
Dermophisiologique Optyma Instant Eye Lift
Dermophisiologique Optyma Instant Eye Lift: “We’re also going to do a little eye cream. Mzia [Shiman], who’s my facialist, I just basically do whatever she says, and after she gives me an oxygen facial, I’m just like, ‘Okay, I want everything, I’ll buy it all.'”
Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff
Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff: “I’ve actually been using eye cream since I was 15 years old.”
6. Neck Cream:
Neal’s Yard Remedies Wild Rose Body Elixir
Neal’s Yard Remedies Wild Rose Body Elixir: “Clearly, I like this. I need to order some more. I use this in my décolletage to just keep it all moisturized and sexy. And it smells delightful, like roses on my neck. So good.”
7. Sunscreen:
EltaMD UV Sport Broad-Spectrum SPF 50
EltaMD UV Sport Broad-Spectrum SPF 50: “You can’t forget your SPF, kids. Especially if you’re 30 years or older. And even if you’re younger, you should be still protecting your skin. My mom has always taken pretty good care of her skin. She never wore sunscreen, though. Cardinal rule: You better be wearing sunscreen when you walk out of the house. I love EltaMD.”
8. Foundations:
Revlon PhotoReady Candid Natural Finish Anti-Pollution Foundation
Revlon PhotoReady Candid Natural Finish Anti-Pollution Foundation: “When I’m on the go, I don’t like to do a ton of makeup. I like to keep it really simple, really clean…. I put a little foundation on my hands. Sometimes I mix a little bit of moisturizer in with it. I take it and dab it all over my face. I got made fun of in high school for having foundation lines, and I think I’m traumatized a little bit, so I always take it down the jawline. I don’t ever wear [full-coverage] foundation unless somebody’s putting makeup on me, only because I like my freckles, and I like to show off my dewy skin.”
Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation
Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation: “I love Koh Gen Do. I usually do about three dollops on my fingertips like this. Kind of put it together and tap around. I do a lot of tapping because I don’t think that the makeup should be sinking into your skin. I think it should be sitting on top.”
9. Concealers:
Revlon PhotoReady Candid Antioxidant Concealer
Revlon PhotoReady Candid Antioxidant Concealer: “Sometimes, if I’m feeling a little tired, I’ll do a little bit of concealer under my eyes. It’s nothing major, because I don’t want to, like, OD. I feel like when you wear too much makeup it can make you look older. Or any fine lines you have, it can just seep into them. And I’m 30, I don’t have time for any makeup to seep into my lines, okay?”
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer: “Next is the love of my life, NARS concealer.”
10. Powders:
Revlon ColorStay Pressed Powder in Translucent
Revlon ColorStay Pressed Powder in Translucent: “Katie Jane [Hughes] told me that if you just put powder where you don’t want the makeup to move that everything else stays nice and glowy.”
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish in Medium
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish in Medium: “I love Charlotte Tilbury’s setting powder. Medium is my go-to and I just put it in the places where I really don’t want the makeup to move.”
11. Contour:
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow
Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow: “I also really love to accentuate the cheekbones. Get out my handy dandy Charlotte Tilbury, and I always do it into the hairline and down the jaw so that there’s no lines. I love makeup.”
12. Highlighter:
Milk Makeup Flex Highlighter in Lit
Milk Makeup Flex Highlighter in Lit: “I love highlighter and I believe in loads of highlighter. It’s so Lit. And someone once told me that it looks healthy and beautiful to have highlighter on top of your lip, so I just do it….”
13. Lip Balm:
Nuxe Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm
Nuxe Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm: “This stuff is the bomb dot com. I just use a little bit on my fingertip.”
Ashley’s Nighttime Skincare Routine
1. Micellar Water:
Bioderma Sensibio H2O
Bioderma Sensibio H2O: “I don’t care how intoxicated you are on what, you better wash your face at night. At least get the makeup off. If you forget the moisturizer, so what. Get the makeup off. Very important. I like to use Bioderma. It’s a classic. I actually found it in Paris when I was working there with some makeup artists… [but now I realize] it’s not as secretive as I thought it was.”
2. Cleanser:
SkinMedica Facial Cleanser
SkinMedica Facial Cleanser: “This is just like a really clean cleanser.”
3. Hyperpigmentation Treatment:
La Suite Skin Tone Enhancement Therapy Pads: “Now I like to use these Therapy wipes, and I got them from my dermatologist. Her name is amazing Dr. Shereene Idriss. There’s ones that have hydroquinone in it, but I don’t have that because… I don’t necessarily want to whiten my skin or take my freckles away. I don’t want to have to deal with hyperpigmentation but I like to keep my freckles.”
4. Serum:
DefenAge 8-in-1 BioSerum
DefenAge 8-in-1 BioSerum: “After the pads, I go straight into my serum, it’s BioSerum by DefenAge Skincare. Make sure to get the neck, okay?”
5. Eye Cream:
Retrouvé Revitalizing Eye Concentrate
Retrouvé Revitalizing Eye Concentrate: “Eye cream has always been this really weird thing for me because I’m like, ‘Do I need eye cream? Are there wrinkles? Am I using it for discolouration? Am I using it for bags?’ So now that I’m 31, I’m like, ‘Okay, maybe I look a little tired, maybe there’s a few little things I want to do.’ I found this brand from Tracee Ellis Ross—thank you Tracee!—and she uses it all the time on her Instastories. It’s called Retrouvé. I use it all around my eyes because my facialist, Mzia Shiman, she said there’s no rule about eye cream. You just use it and you use it all around your eye.”
6. Moisturizer:
Retrouvé Intensive Replenishing Facial Moisturizer
Retrouvé Intensive Replenishing Moisturizer: “I also use Retrouvé’s face moisturizer. You just need a little bit because it is thick. I mean, it’s very rich. Can you see how my skin is literally turning into glistening gorgeousness?”
7. Lash Conditioner:
Kopari Coconut Melt
Coconut oil: “I get my eyelashes permed and I get them done at Jasmine Imani. She’s so sweet and so cute, and she gives me this coconut oil to put on my lashes at night to keep them hydrated. I had no idea that you should even be hydrating your lashes—what?! But you just take it [on a clean mascara wand] and you brush it on the top part and it literally just keeps your lashes moisturized. Again, I had no idea that you needed to moisturize your eyelashes.”
8. Spot Treatment:
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion: “Then we do a little Mario Badescu for the blemishes. If you don’t know about Mario, you know now. And it just dries your zits. I’ve got a big one right there which I think is a very strange place to have it, but whatever, you can’t control acne.”
9. Lip Balm:
Eucerin Aquaphor Healing Ointment
Eucerin Aquaphor Healing Ointment: “Okay, Aquaphor, tried and true. I use it on my heels and my elbows, too, and most importantly, my lips.”
Ashley’s Skincare Treatments
Facials:
Mzia Shiman: “My secret to keeping hydrated is getting oxygen facials with Mzia Shiman.”
Dermatologist:
Ashley’s Diet, Exercise and Lifestyle
Diet:
“People think that bigger women don’t maintain their bodies, and honestly, it’s the other way around, I try to eat very healthily and exercise three to five times a week. I try to eat gluten-free and be conscious about where my meat comes from. And I drink a ton of water. I know it’s, like, so cliché to say, but it’s real.”
Supplements:
Olly Daily Energy Gummies
Olly Daily Energy Gummies: “I’m a vitamin girl. I have a holistic doctor that has me on all kinds of regimens. I’m definitely not a hypochondriac, but I do like to take care of my body and my brain from the inside out. So I do all my vitamins, a bit of energy, B12. [My favourite Olly product is] the Daily Energy. I only drink caffeine if I need to and I’m not a coffee girl; I like a matcha but I don’t want to have to OD on caffeine. And your body is already producing B12 and there’s tons of B12 in the Daily Energy. I can take a couple in the morning and then if I’m feeling tired around 2 or 3 o’clock I’ll take a couple then. It just sustains me—my energy level goes up but I don’t feel jittery, my heart doesn’t race. You know how sometimes you drink too much coffee and you start to sweat? You don’t get that at all with these.”
Olly Undeniable Beauty Gummies
Olly Undeniable Beauty Gummies: “There’s two different ones that I take at night. Undeniable Beauty for my complexion—hair, nails and skin. It’s amazing. I’ve definitely seen the claws grow out perfectly and the hair is so thick and lustrous.”
Olly Sleep Gummies
Olly Sleep Gummies: “And then I take the Sleep as well. It has melatonin in it, which our body is already producing. I take two of these. When I’m in bed with a night mask about to come over my eyes and I fall right asleep, I don’t wake up for seven hours. They’re amazing.”
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides: “I also take Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides for my hair, skin, nails, bones and joints.”
Exercise:
Dogpound: “I work out at a gym in New York called Dogpound and try to get there three days per week.”
Personal Trainer:
Kira Stokes: “Kira kicks my ass. So if I have the time, we do an hour and a half workout. [There’s] just something about that boost of a hard workout and a good sweat that clears my mind. It’s my time to really focus and if I’m in a bad mood it makes me in a great mood.”
Colonics:
“Gosh, I love colonics. Not everybody is into them, but I do love them.”
Attitude:
“Self-confidence is really the best ‘beauty product.’ Glow from the inside out.”
Thanks to Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Glamour, Coveteur, Forbes, W Magazine, Vogue, Vogue Paris and Us Magazine.
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How to Do Ashley Graham’s Skincare Routine syndicated from The Skincare Edit
August 29, 2019 at 11:13AM
Dawn Siler 