Pati Dubroff On Her Everyday Beauty Routine
Known for crafting flawless, natural red-carpet looks, Chanel makeup artist PATI DUBROFF shares her own glow-giving skincare routine, her love of crystals and tarot cards, and how to guarantee great makeup every time
The first thing I do in the morning…
…is oil pulling. It’s an Ayurvedic practice that detoxes the body. I use an oil blend with sesame, neem, clove and ginger made by an Ayurvedic dentist. I do this before I do or have anything else, even a glass of water. I swish it around in my mouth for a good 20 minutes or longer. My husband and I both do it, so we kind of make grunting noises at each other [while we are doing our swishing] in the morning – and if my daughter calls me too early, she’ll know that I can’t talk and will call back later. The benefits are that it’s drawing out impurities and it helps to keep your sinuses and mouth clean. My dentist has remarked that my gums and teeth are in great shape, so I know that it’s doing something – and helping with my overall immune system.
I do a tarot card pull to see what’s in store for my day
I’m deep in study for tarot cards. It feels like a language I used to speak and I’m being introduced to it because I know it already. I’ve been interested in it since my twenties and it has always been my thing to have someone read my cards. I was a bit intimidated at first. Both my husband and my daughter took tarot classes during the pandemic, which made me think I should do it, too – so I got myself into some classes.
After my morning workout, I’ll take an ice-cold shower
I’ll get the water as cold as I can. It’s a good at-home version of cryotherapy, to tighten everything up, but it also helps with muscle recovery. Then I’ll put on a body serum because, during the day, I don’t want to put on anything too heavy.
My morning skincare regimen is extremely boring
I don’t even wash my face in the morning because it’s clean from the night before. If it’s a very hot day, I’ll keep things extremely minimal and light and focus on a serum. My favorite ones are Bioeffect’s EGF Serum and 111Skin’s Y Theorem Repair Serum NAC Y². On a normal day, I also use a simple serum – and if it’s a colder or drier day, I’ll do a bit more product layering.
“Every time I use tools on my clients, and I see how fast their skin changes before my eyes, I wonder why I don’t do it every day
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I save the heavy lifting of my skin for the evening
I always take a bath with a blend of Epsom salts, sea salt and magnesium flakes, mixed with an oil from UMA Oils to suit my mood. This is when I’ll do a double or triple cleanse. I don’t wear makeup that often, so I’ll use Tata Harper’s Nourishing Oil Cleanser to lift up dirt, then I go in with an exfoliating cleanser, like Joanna Vargas’ Exfoliating Mask. I leave it on for a few minutes, then I apply a face mask. I love face masks and I have so many to choose from, so it just depends which one I go for on the day. I like jarred cream masks in the bath, like the 111Skin Oxygen Express Mask and Noble Panacea’s The Exceptional Chronobiology Sleep Mask. I generally save sheet masks for meditation time. Occasionally, I’ll even do two face masks – a purifying mask, followed by a hydrating one.
If I’m having a ‘bad’-face day…
I like to use microcurrent…
…and rotate between the Ziip Beauty Ziip Device and the NuFace Trinity. After the microcurrent, I’ll start using a straight roller – Refa rollers are the best. My favorite shape is the mini Caxa M1 Face Roller because it mimics traditional gua sha – and it’s magic. I also love the Refa Carat Ray Face for my jaw line and neck and under the cheekbones. Then I’ll top it off with the Lyma laser, which I keep in my purse. It might seem as if it’s not doing much, because you don’t feel anything, but don’t be fooled – it’s doing a lot of deep, deep work. If I’m at home, I’ll then go into my freezer for some cryo balls or use Joanna Vargas’ Magic Glow Wand, a tool that switches between hot and cold.
François Nars taught me to always do my makeup in natural light
I was his assistant years ago. If you follow this rule, your makeup will look good no matter where you are (or where I’m shooting). I always follow his advice, whether I’m doing my own makeup or someone else’s, because makeup that you put on in poor lighting becomes bad makeup.
I love to use crystals
I have black tourmaline in my purse, which helps keep bad vibes away. I always have a lemurian quartz with me, too – it’s highly energetic and is for tapping into your intuition. Then I mix it up, depending on my mood – it could be a tiger-eye day or an amethyst day. I sleep with crystals on me or under my pillow, depending on what’s going on.