Normal skin is exactly what it sounds like – not oily or shiny anywhere, but doesn’t feel dry or tight anywhere. Doesn’t get any flaky patches, and doesn’t generally get pimples (apart from maybe once a month, with all the hormonal fluctuations). Pores not very visible either, or not at all.
Touch test: Skin should feel soft, smooth and an even temperature – not that warm and not really cool either. No dry or rough feeling, and no sheen on the fingers after touching the face.
However, these things not always that easy to spot – the condition of the skin can be so pronounced as to hide the skin type.
Let’s use an example – me. All through my teens and twenties I was convinced I had dry skin, meaning I thought my skin type was dry. It felt tight and painful on the cheeks after washing so I was using a rich creamy moisturiser, which seemed to help a bit but after a while I would develop flaky patches on my forehead and cheeks, despite the sheen on my forehead and nose. Also my skin was dull and flat-looking.
When I joined Clarins and began my week of intensive training, we were asked what we thought our skin type was. Of course I said dry (very dry!), so the trainer looked at my skin for a minute and told me I have combination skin but it was very dehydrated. See? The sheen I was seeing on my forehead and nose showed the oily T zone, the tight feeling was from the dry cheeks (both comes under ‘type’), and the flaky patches and dull appearance everywhere showed the dehydrated ‘condition’ of my skin.
Feel free to ask me anything and I’ll do my best to help you out 
– find me on twitter: @velvetfur
ARTICLE: by Vikki Velvetfur
