Meet a Beauty Blogger Who Overcame Severe Acne

Award-winning blogger, viral content creator, and makeup artist Katie McBroom covers everything from beauty and food to fashion and booze on her blog Martinis and Mascara. Among her many passions is skin care, so we asked the red-haired beauty to share all of the deets surrounding her “admittedly a little high maintenance” skin care routine, plus the skin care tips and tricks she swears by. All that (and more) ahead! 

McBroom is a firm believer in investing time to properly care for your skin. Her typical skin care routine involves six products, plus a weekly sheet mask and a monthly professional facial. “I cleanse in the morning with a gentle cleanser followed by a hydrating enzyme mask in the shower,” she says. “I multitask by doing a face mask in the shower. I throw it on and let it sit while I wash my hair.” Talk about an easy, mess-free removal!

After cleansing, McBroom reaches for a product she simply can’t live without—rosewater spray— and follows up with a vitamin C serum. In the morning, she uses a brightening under-eye cream and finishes off her routine with a daily moisturizer formulated with SPF. “My skin is incredibly fair,” McBroom says. “So a great Broad Spectrum SPF is definitely a must.”

At night, McBroom uses micellar water to remove her makeup, and follows up with a glycolic acid cleanser to help smooth her skin’s surface. Next, she adds a layer of hydration with a hyaluronic acid serum, and hydrates the area around her eyes with an anti-aging under-eye cream. To finish off her nightly routine, McBroom uses a retinol night cream.

I wish I had listened to everyone who told me not to touch my face when I was younger.

McBroom’s hard work and dedication to her skin has certainly paid off (she’s got the glowing skin to prove it) but she’s the first to admit that things have not always been as they are today when it comes to her body’s largest organ. “I battled severe acne when I was growing up,” she says. “I have been working to correct the scarring aftermath ever since.” One of her biggest regrets related to her skin dates back to her youth. “I wish I had listened to everyone who told me not to touch my face when I was younger.”

With time and dedicated effort—much like building a blog and growing a following—McBroom has been able to achieve some of her skin goals. A piece of advice she’d like to spread on to her fans? “Give your skin care routine time to work,” she says. “If you switch up your routine too often, you could actually trigger the skin issues you’re trying to solve.”