Get Flawless Skin Without Makeup — Part I

Natural beauty is just that — natural. It means you don’t have to slather on seven layers of makeup in order to appear to have beautiful skin. So how would you like to wake up in the morning and be comfortable walking out the door with minimal or no makeup? Here’s how.
{STEP #1} Your Skin Reflects Your Food Choices
Unfortunate, but true. If you’re really motivated about wanting beautiful, flawless, dewy skin, then you are going to have to re-evaluate what you eat.
This is not about going on a crazy diet, this is you simply taking better care of your body, which reflects onto your skin. Granted, some people may have good skin even while eating McDonald’s and going out drinking, but this will catch up to them eventually (plus, even if it’s not showing up on their face, their insides are still unhealthy, which leads to more severe problems than just pimples and wrinkles).
Don’t think for a second that our bodies are perfectly equipped to handle everything on their own and we don’t need to do anything further to help out. Our bodies are bombarded with more crap in our air, food, and water than ever before in human history, and it can never hurt to simply help our bodies deal with these waste products more efficiently. Why make your body work harder than it already has to by drinking, smoking, and eating improperly?
Here is your main focus when it comes to getting flawless skin: Eat an unprocessed, nutrient-dense diet in order to allow your liver, kidneys, adrenal and thyroid glands, and intestines to work efficiently.
Translation: Fresh, flawless skin. No makeup required. Yay!

For the liver and kidneys, it is essential to drink 2–3 liters (1/2 – 1 gallon) of water per day (more if you are living in a dry climate or exercise regularly). Drink a tall glass of lemon water before breakfast to stir digestion, aid the liver, and give yourself a pop of Vitamin C (an enormously important nutrient for skin). Use turmeric — a common spice, you’ll find it in curry — in your meals to help protect the liver and provide anti-inflammatory benefits. Milk thistle seed and dandelion are also two wonderful liver and kidney helpers, and if you’d like to try them, check out Lucky Vitamin or Mountain Rose Herbs for good options.
For your adrenal glands, avoid refined sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, etc.) and caffeine. Substitute sugar with raw honey, stevia, xylitol, molasses, or maple syrup. Alternatives to caffeine include sleeping properly, ginseng tea or powder added to smoothies, and Elixir of Vitality (yum! love that stuff). Remember that your adrenal glands pump out the anti-aging hormone DHEA, as well as your “standard” estrogen and testosterone. The adrenal glands are also taxed by stress (which is why most of us break out when stressed out), so breath deeply, try yoga, listen to calming music, or taking calming herbs like valerian root and chamomile. You need these glands to be in great shape if you want great skin.
For your thyroid, avoid foods containing bromides/bromine, which inhibit thyroid production and prevent the thyroid from absorbing iodine so it can work properly. A poorly functioning thyroid leads to weight gain, dry skin, dull skin, and a whole host of other issues. The good news? The solution is pretty simple: don’t buy breads that use dough conditioners like potassium bromate, use organic produce as often as possible (bromides are often used as pesticides), don’t buy soft drinks (bromides are in their ingredients), and purchase a quality water filter for your sink or whole house to filter out bromine in the water. Another easy fix is to eat more foods with natural iodine in it, like seaweeds (kelp, nori, dulse). Avoid processed soy products (except natto and tempeh, which are fermented), and in the case of soy milk, substitute with almond or rice milk.
For your intestines, simply eat healthy, unprocessed, fiber-rich, and fermented foods. Rice, vegetables, fruits, homemade soups, stews, salads, smoothies, yogurt, kefir, etc. There’s so much good stuff to eat, and it doesn’t come in a shiny bag with a 50-ingredient list. Keep your intestines clean and you’ll have great skin as a result.
Flawless Skin Checklist
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine, i.e. coffee
- Drink and bathe in filtered water only
- Buy organic produce whenever possible
- Avoid oils that have been cooked and/or fried
- Avoid trans fats — a.k.a. anything “hydrogenated”
- Use sea salt instead of table/kosher salt
- Avoid dairy — except yogurt and kefir
- Avoid soy — except natto and tempeh
- Cut down on wheat and gluten foods
Flawless Skin Foods
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Kale
- Spinach
- Turnip, dandelion, & mustard greens
- Romaine lettuce
- Fruits
- Acerola cherry powder
- Brown rice
- Seaweeds
- Berries
- Yogurt
- Kefir
- Sauerkraut
- Fish oil
- Coconut & olive oil
- Acacia fiber
If you incorporate these little changes, they add up to a HUGE difference for your skin. You’ll see results within 1–2 weeks.
{Get Flawless Skin Without Makeup — PART II} Continue Reading…
Important Note: If you have acne, limit your intake of seaweeds, shrimp, and citrus fruits (though lemon water should be just fine). They can worsen or even cause breakouts.














[…] you haven’t read Get Flawless Skin Without Makeup — Part I, I definitely recommend you read that […]
[…] surprisingly, the articles I wrote on getting flawless skin and banishing dark circles contain much of the same information you would need for […]
hello, I just started reading your blog?!(is that the right term?) anyways I was intrested in kefir, I have a lactose intolerence and am positive it is a cause for my acne, I saw that you said avoid dairy except kefir, would someone with intolerence to dairy and gluten be able to eat this? Thank you.
Hi Holly!
In your case, I would avoid dairy altogether and see how you do. Once your skin clears up, consider adding in kefir or yogurt (preferably from goat milk, there will be zero lactose), and of course, discontinue if you begin to break out. Everyone is different — for instance, my brother and I are both lactose intolerant, and will both break out from regular dairy, but we will not break out from organic grass-fed yogurt or raw goat cheese. See what works best for you, but definitely avoid dairy and gluten 100% until your skin clears up.
Keep me posted on your progress!
~Stephanie
xx
Hey I love your blog and am inspired to live a healthy, beautifully glowing life. But, I have a problem! I tend to travel a lot and it seems as though everytime I fly somewhere foreign, I start breaking out and have acne around all of my cheek and chin area. Now mind you, I had clear skin when I was back at home in the states. Is there anything I can do to help that? I was reading this post, and it seems as though eating healthy will tremendously help but, since I’m in a foreign country during those times, it is hard to keep up with that great list of foods to just help me keep my skin clear. I was thinking..maybe its the change of water?
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!
hi stephanie,
I would like to ask whether tea such as green tea should be avoided as they contain caffeine. and also, does the sugars in fruits especially watermelons or honeydews lead to acne? Also I heard that rice=starch and is converted to glucose which is another sugar, will cutting down on karbs solve the acne problem?
thank you
Hi Cindy,
Green tea does contain caffeine but the whole leaf has other constituents that counteract the caffeine, and of course, the caffeine content is incredibly low. White tea is even better for you than green tea (oolong and rooibos are even better choices). You can use green tea if you like, but it’s up to you. I only recommend staying away from caffeinated beverages like coffee and sodas.
Sugar in fruit can lead to acne if you consume too much of it. I eat half a watermelon for breakfast in the summertime and lots of other fruits during the day, but had no issue with it. As long as the fruit has its fiber intact and you are buying organic, you should be fine. All carbs, including rice starch, are converted to sugar in our bodies. You can again combat this issue by eating high fiber rice like brown rice, red rice, black rice, etc. Sometimes it can take drastic measures to get your skin back to good shape, so maybe avoiding all sugars (including starches) for 2–4 weeks will help you out considerably. A book for your consideration is The Body Ecology Diet. I just read that and it’s very useful for people with sugar/carb intolerance and getting your body back on track with fermented foods, which I mentioned in my book as well.
I hope that helps!
~Steph x
Well, i am on diet and i eat fruit and vegetables mostly, but i am worried about my skin very much because its dry and that’s my biggest problem… I have tried everything…
[…] as they contain caffeine. epicbeautyguide.com […]
hello im daniela i was wondering so to remove spots from face caused by pimples. fresh lemon juice on them everyday for how long? and the acid from the lemon wont harm skin?
Hi! My name is Kaylin. I’m 15 years old and I have acne. It’s pretty mild, but my trouble area is my t-zone. I have really oily skin and I have tried pretty much everything! (Dermatologist, facials, spiralnolactone) I really want to get clear skin the natural way. I play volleyball so I work out regularly and run as well. I eat considerably healthy for a 15 year old. (Salads, 3 apples a day) I don’t drink anything besides water so I don’t know what my problem is! I use Philosophy’s Purity as my makeup remover. Then sea water to wash my face. I use epsom salt to exfoliate. I don’t know what else to do! Can you give me some ideas?