I often find myself scrolling through Instagram - and by often, I mean every night before bed, every morning when I'm downing my coffee, and every single time I get in a taxi/train/bus. I can't help it.
With all my Instagram stalking, I find myself hovering over pictures of insanely beautiful people (aka models), quite a lot. I always wonder how they look so effortlessly fresh, glowy, and like they just stepped out of a Glossier ad? Is it just good luck and good genes? Or do they have a bathroom shelfie that'd make even Caroline Hirons jealous? I decided to find out.
I asked 6 models to tell me every single product they use to prep their skin for a photoshoot - plus their day-to-day make-up. After all, I figure if your face pays the bills you've gotta be invested in taking care of it, right? Here's what I learnt...
1. Lea Mohr
London-based model, Lea, is a regular face in all our favourite glossy magazines.
The night before a photoshoot: 'I take my make-up off as soon as I get home with Bioderma wipes. Then I use my Face brush by Philips, I feel like it gives my skin a deep cleanse without irritating it. With the brush I like to use the Centella Skin-Calming Facial Cleanser by Kiehls. It's meant to be for sensitive skin and I find that it doesn't stress my skin too much.
I'm not a big fan of exfoliators or peels as they have a tendency to leave my skin dry and red most of the time. That being said, this Peeling Powder by Annemarie Boerlind has changed the game for me, as it comes as a powder which is so fine and gentle on my complexion. Finally, before I go to bed I love to keep my lips hydrated with Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream.'
The morning of: 'Since most of the photoshoot have a super-early call time, I like to keep things minimal and wake up my skin with the Beauty Elixir by Caudalie.'
Go-to beauty products for a casting: 'I cover up any blemishes with the Secret Camouflage Concealer by Laura Mercier. Then I like to warm up my face with the Healthy Glow Sheer Powder by Chanel, I use it as a bronzer. I always fill in my eyebrows with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz.'
Philips Visapure Cleansing Facial Brush, £149.99 buy now, Kiehl's Centella Skin Calming Facial Cleanser, £28 buy now, Annemarie Börlind Beauty Specials Enzym-Peeling, £27.61 buy now, Caudalie Beauty Elixir, £12 buy now, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, £22 buy now, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflague, £27.50 buy now, Chanel Les Bieges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder, £40 buy now
2. Ruby Campbell
As well as being my newest girl crush, Aussie model Ruby, has starred in campaigns for the likes of Ralph Lauren and Reformation.
The lead up to a big photoshoot: 'If I know I have a big shoot coming up, once a week before bed I'll use one of the Dr. Jart face masks, or Origins' Charcoal Face Mask to help prep my skin. If I get a break out before a photoshoot I'll always reach for the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion to make sure it's under control by the day of the shoot.'
The night before: 'To make sure my skin is clean from all makeup at the end of the day I'll use either the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water or Simple's Face wipes to cleanse. Then night before a shoot I like to use Origins' Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. I have really dry skin, and I feel like overtime my complexion needs a little pick-me-up of hydration, this stuff always makes my skin feel so good the next day! If I'm not in the mood for a face mask then I'll just use my Daily Face Moisturiser from Shea Moisture with a Mario Badescu Hydrating Eye Cream.'
Go-to beauty products for a casting: 'For day-to-day I love Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturiser, YSL's Touche Eclat, Bobbi Brown's Pot Rouge for lips and cheeks and a Fenty Beauty highlighter. I like to add tiny bit of gloss on my cheeks and some Lucas Papaw for the lips, my favourite mascara is by Benefit Cosmetics, and the best brow definer is by Anastasia Beverly Hills.'
Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, £4.99 buy now, Origins' Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask, £22.50 buy now, Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask, £22.50 buy now, Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, £16 buy now, Mario Badescu Olive Eye Cream, £18.50 buy now, Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser, £34 buy now, Lucas Pawpaw, £6.30 buy now
3. Sarah Haplin
Sarah has starred in campaigns for Topshop and projects for Calvin Klein. She's one half of sister blogging duo What She Said (see her sis, Joanna below), and she's quite possibly the coolest girl I follow on Instagram...
The lead up to a photoshoot: 'I do as little as possible to my skin and just try to drink plenty of water. A lot of the make-up on set tends to dry my skin out, so in addition to my usual skin routine, I occasionally introduce a Elemis' Superfood Facial Oil. I've also recently fallen in love with this La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo Moisturiser.'
The night before: 'I find keeping my routine fairly minimal, a simple cleanse with the Elemis Biotec Skin Energising Cleanser and Embryolisse Lait-Crème Moisturiser, works best for my skin the night before a shoot. The Chanel Hydra Beauty Mask adds some extra hydration when I need it.'
Go-to beauty products for a casting: 'I choose my make-up wisely as my skin gets a battering on set. I'm a huge fan of Chanel and YSL. I use the YSL Touche Eclat religiously to conceal anything that's needed. Casting directors love to see the models as natural as possible so I tend to do the whole 'less is more' thing!'
Elemis Biotec Skin Energising Cleanser, £40 buy now, La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Moisturiser, £16 buy now, Embryolisse Lait-Crème Moisturiser £22.39 buy now, Elemis' Superfood Facial Oil, £45 buy now, Chanel Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow, £42 buy now, YSL Touche Eclat £22.50 buy now
4. Joanna Haplin
Joanna has racked up over 298k followers on Instagram and it's easy to see why... As well as blogging with her sister Sarah (above), she's also modelled for the likes of Mango and Free People.
The lead up to a photoshoot: 'I'll try to drink as much water as possible so that my skin looks as healthy and glowy as possible. Alcohol the evening before a shoot is a definite no as it makes my face look a little puffy, which isn't the best for a client.'
The night before: 'I am always trying out new skincare products, but my current daily routine is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar H Hydrating Cleansing Cream, followed by the fantastic Nip & Fab Toning Pads, then I'll finish off with some of my favourite Chanel Eye Serum.'
Go-to beauty products for a casting: 'If I wear any make-up I try and keep it as natural as possible, because Casting Directors want to see the blank canvas. My current favourite go-to products are the YSL Touche Eclat, Laura Mercier's concealer and the Chanel eye palettes and brow gel.'
La Roche-Posay Effaclar H Hydrating Cleansing Cream, £12 buy now, Nip+Fab Bee Sting Fix Toning Pads, £8.63 buy now, Chanel Hydra Beauty Micro Gel Yeux, £44 buy now, YSL Touche Eclat £22.50 buy now, Chanel Longwear Eyebrow Gel, £26 buy now, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflague, £27.50 buy now
5. Billie Brown
Chances are you'll recognise Billie's face (and what a face) from her many campaigns for the likes of Rimmel London, River Island and New Look - to name a few.
The lead up to photoshoot: 'In the run up to a big shoot I'll prep my skin by drinking PLENTY of water and eating as healthy as I can. I usually cut out all dairy, as it tends to make me break out. I also use a Jade roller to increase circulation and de-puff my face.'
The night before: 'The night before any shoot, I use Palmers Purifying Face Mask to deep cleanse, then apply Superdrug's Vitamin E Leave-On Mask before bed. The mask is brilliant, it looks like you've had a facial when you wake up and it's super cheap! In the morning I wash my face with warm water then moisturise with an organic face oil by Aromacentric.'
Go-to beauty products for a casting: 'I use Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer for under my eyes and any blemishes and then curl my lashes and use Eyeko's Black Magic Mascara. I use Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate to lightly contour and highlight and give my skin a dewy glow. For lips, I use Dr Paw Paw Lip Balm, it's the ONLY lip balm I've found that works for me. I'm obsessed with it!'
Yu Ling Rollers Jade Roller, £18 buy now, Palmers Purifying Face Mask, £5.99 buy now, Superdrug's Vitamin E Leave-On Mask, £2.99 buy now, Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer, £8.99 buy now, Eyeko's Black Magic Mascara, £18 buy now, Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate, £59 buy now, Dr Paw Paw Lip Balm, £5.99 buy now
6. Barbara Maldonado
From magazine covers, to campaigns, to Cosmopolitan's own beauty pages, expect to see Barbara Maldonado's face everywhere.
The lead up to photoshoot: 'The most important thing is to have a clean skin for a photoshoot. So I always wash my face with water and then with Bioderma, to finish I just apply a little bit of Weleda's Skin Food to keep my skin happy, then I just go for a good run!'
The night before: 'I usually clean my skin with Bioderma but if I don't have it, I always go for Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser for dry and sensitive skin. I love this product because you can see and feel how deeply it cleans your skin. To finish off I'll apply a rich moisturiser.'
Go-to beauty products for a casting: 'A good concealer! My favourite is the Shiseido Perfecting Stick. I always apply mascara to get rid of my sleepy face, I love Lancôme's Doll Eyes because it smells like roses and gives you that 60s lash look. To finish, I like to use the same thing for lips and cheeks and so I always go for the chubby stick from Clinique. Works perfectly as eye shadow, blush and lipstick.'
Weleda Skin Food, £9.95 buy now, Bioderma Sensibio H2O Make-up Removing Micelle Solution, £9.70 buy now, Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser, £16.50 buy now, Shiseido Perfecting Stick, £24 buy now, Lancôme Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara, £24.50 buy now, Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Contour, £19.50 buy now
