Foundation Tricks

Tips When Applying Foundation

* Tap foundation on with sponge or finger. Your skin will look luminous, yet natural.

* To give the skin a dewy finish, moisten a gauze pad or wash cloth in astringent and gently pat your already made up face. The astringent (witch hazel is perfect) will remove the matte look of makeup, while leaving the skin radiant.

* Open your mouth when applying foundation to expose the neck area and eliminate an obvious line at the jaw line.

* Keep two shades of foundation on hand. One will be suitable for winter, and the other for summer skin. Most of the year, they will match perfectly if mixed together.

* After your makeup application, take apart a tissue, and pat over your face. It blends the makeup together while softening the look.

Winter Skin Tips

Winter Skin Tips - How To Look After Skin In The Winter
Joanne Elliott

Changing temperatures mean a change of routine, no matter which part of the world you live in. Knowing a little about how skin functions in the winter, and tweaking a few habits, can make all the difference between a dull winter complexion and glowing radiance.

• Start the day with a hot shower... but before you get out switch to cold water for about fifteen seconds. Then turn up the heat a little, and down again to repeat the process for about two minutes. �Why would I want to do that?!� I hear you cry! This is a simple hydrotherapy technique which revitalizes the skin by stimulating the flow of blood through the body. It is both invigorating and highly beneficial to the skin. So even though you may not really enjoy the process, just think of the all the good it�s doing you!
• Use a good moisturizer. Choose a highly protective day cream which contains zinc oxide, and provides SPF30 protection to form a barrier against the elements. Creamier, water-in-oil emulsions are best. And don�t forget about your lips. Chapped lips are often the most noticeable problem for a lady in the winter. Use a highly moisturizing lip balm which provides a protective barrier, with vitamin E for good elasticity.
• Exfoliate at least twice a week. This will remove dead cells and allow the skin to absorb extra moisture. The oil which we all complain about in the Summer is no longer being produced because of cooler winter temperatures and central heating. Therefore the skin looses the water which should be retained in the lower dermis of the skin. This can lead to premature aging of the skin and fine lines, whilst your skin can appear puffy and grey. Nice!
• Drink a glass of hot water with lemon. This Chinese herbal remedy is a sure-fire method of energizing your body. It will de-tox your entire system, including the liver and gall bladder. This means that your body will be able to clean the blood faster to get rid of toxins responsible for bad skin.
• Simply sleep! Money can�t buy the benefits of a good nights� rest. Your oxygen levels will drop if you don�t get enough sleep, meaning that your cells will not be renewed as quickly. This is when degenerative skin aging sets in. Try to get seven, if not eight or nine hours of rest a night to achieve absolutely painless benefits. It�s ideal!

Concealer

What Kind?

The right concealer can hide just about every imperfection and give you flawless skin. Gently pat concealer on with fingertips, or brush on with a soft flat brush. Anyone who has less than perfect skin needs a good concealer.

Hint: Concealer should cover entire under-eye, including outside of eye to give it lift. The outside of the eye is also prone to redness and dryness.

Liquid concealer is especially recommended for dry skin and for concealing large areas like under-eye circles.

Solid concealer is necessary to hide stubborn pimples, scars and bruises.

A more natural looking concealer is a cream-to-powder foundation. Match it to the shade of liquid or cream foundation.

Hint: With liquid or solid foundation, best results are obtained by using concealer afterwards. When using a cream-to-powder foundation, concealer should go on first.

Expert Tricks

* Add yellow eye shadow to concealer or foundation to conceal dark circles. It will color-correct dark undertones while concealing.

* Blue or green eye shadow added to concealer or foundation will correct ruddy tones and broken capillaries.

* Use the residue in the cap of your foundation as the perfect concealer. It's slightly dehydrated, making it just the right thickness to conceal. And of course, it matches your foundation beautifully!

About Freckles

About Freckles

What To Do About Freckles
Submited by Sarah K.

Freckles appear early in life, increase in number during summer months and fade in winter. After the age of 40-45 they disappear, but who wants to wait?
Age spots are similar to freckles. They appear later in life and can occur in any skin type.

If you know why the discoloration occurs and take measures to prevent and treat it, you can have an even skin tone at any age.

What To Do

If you want to avoid skin discoloration, the first and the most important thing you need to do is to avoid sun exposure and wear sunscreen. This way your body will not need to produce more melanin (melanin is produced by the body in response to sun exposure).

Since melanin is accumulated in the upper layer of the skin, you might want to consider skin lightening and peeling. There are different products that can be used for this purpose:

Hydroquinone has been a very popular treatment, however it can irritate the skin.

Kojic acid, discovered in Japan in 1989, is a natural product derived from fungi. It is gentle on the skin and very effective in treating skin discoloration. Penetrating upper skin layers, it inhibits the formation of the pigment.

Alpha hydroxy acids help to shed the old cells faster, therefore they will be helpful as well. By removing the outer skin cells, which are usually darker, you will make your freckles or age spots lighter and less visible.

If you decide to use any of the above products, extra sun protection is imperative. If necessary, apply an SPF cream several times a day. By using skin lighteners and peels, you affect the upper darker layer. Lower layers are lighter, with less melanin present. If you don't protect your skin, it will launch its own defense mechanism producing more melanin. This will result in darker and more intensive discoloration which can be even harder to get rid of.

Please remember that skin discoloration require consistent treatment. Once you stop using lighteners and protection, the dark patches will be back. But keeping up with your skin regiment is not difficult: all you need is a gentle yet effective lightener and a moisturizer with complete UV protection - against both UVB and UVA rays.

Natural Remedies

Wash your face with sour milk. Lactic acid will provide gentle peeling effect without irritating or drying your skin.

Lemon juice is a time-proven freckle fighting remedy. It is not necessary to rub your skin with a piece of lemon. Applying the juice with your fingers will do the job.

Fruit and vegetable masks (apricots, strawberries, cucumbers, red currant).

Sour cream mask. Do not rinse this mask completely, just remove gently with a facial tissue, then apply a moisturizer. For oily skin - use lemon juice before applying the mask.

Natural parsley juice (or parsley infusion) mixed with equal amounts of lemon juice, orange juice, and red currant juice under your favorite cream will help you keep your freckles invisible.

Increase your Vitamin C intake! It makes your skin less sensitive to the sun. Foods rich in vitamin C include citrus fruits, apples, green onions, black and red currant, rosehip tea.

Age Spots

If you notice brown spots on your skin, up to about an inch in diameter, then you may have solar spots or solar lentigos. These age spots result from years of sun exposure.

The age spots most commonly appear on the back of your hands, chest, or face. These are areas of the skin that typically receive the most sun exposure throughout your lifetime.

The best ways to prevent age spots are to avoid sun exposure, particularly sunbathing, and use sunscreen regularly (SPF 15 or higher).
However, this will not get rid of age spots you already have.
To reduce and fade the appearance of age spots, see your family doctor or dermatologist. He or she can recommend a prescription or over-the-counter skin cream containing alpha-hydroxy or retinoic acid.

If you use alpha-hydroxy or retinoic acid creams, make sure you put on sunscreen, because these creams contain chemicals that can increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun rays.

Laser treatment against age spots is another option. Although this method of treatment is more expensive, it does offer immediate results.

Caring For Combination Skin

Caring For Combination Skin
By Corinna Richards

If your face is partly oily and partly dry, you�ve got combination skin and there are several ways to care for it so that you can keep both types balanced and looking good.

Use a mild cleanser on your entire face up to twice a day.

Use a good moisturizer on the dry areas. - Moisturizers work by either increasing the penetration of water into the skin or by reducing the rate at which water is evaporating from the skin surface.

Look for products that normalize your skin, such as those that contain alpha hydroxy acids - Alpha hydroxy acids are derived from fruit, milk and sugar cane and have anti-inflammatory properties. When applied to the skin they help remove dead skin cells (exfoliate), giving us a younger appearance.

Use oil-absorbing makeup on oily areas to control shine.

Use a sunscreen, minimum SPF 15

The Truth about Stretch Marks

The Truth about Stretch Marks
by Joanne Elliott

What is a stretch mark?

Stretch marks (or Striae Gravidarum) is a term that refers to the scars on your skin which are caused damage to the elastic fibres that help skin stretch. Stretch marks are perfectly normal, and most women - and even some men - have them!

What do stretch marks look like?

Depending on your skin color, stretch marks start out as pink, reddish brown, brown, or very dark brown streaks. After time they can fade to a more silvery color that�s lighter than your other skin.

Where do they normally happen on your body?

They can happen anywhere on your body, but are most common on hips, breasts and buttocks.

How can I avoid getting stretch marks?

Whether you get them or not is simply a matter of genetics� that is, how elastic your skin is. There�s nothing you can do, so don�t worry about it either way!

Does cream help?

Many women use various types of creams, lotions, and oils to try to prevent stretch marks from forming. Unfortunately, while such products soothe and soften the skin, there is no medical evidence to prove that they actually work! So beware of advertisers trying to sell you expensive products claiming that they prevent stretch marks!
This said, there is some new medical research which shows that some specific creams may be able to help the appearance of stretch marks. Apparently, using 0.1 percent Tretinoin cream (commonly known by the trade name Retin-A) on stretch marks will slightly reduce the length and width of stretch marks.
(N.B. As this is a new development, Tretinoin should not be used during pregnancy or breast feeding).

Laser Therapy

Laser therapy can also help improve the appearance of stretch marks. This is where a surgeon uses different types of lasers, depending on the color of the stretch marks. Traditionally, one type reduces the color of dark stretch marks, the other stimulates the production of pigment-making cells in already faded stretch marks. There is an even newer type of laser therapy that can also be used help the body produce collagen to help restore the elasticity of the skin in depressed stretch marks. This is a very serious and expensive route to follow. You would need to talk your decision through fully with a skin specialist before making a final decision.

Pedicure - Heavenly Soles

Pedicure

Pedicure - Heavenly Soles
by Lisa Lach

There is nothing more attractive then a woman dressed up or casual looking, wearing open toes shoes, or sandals and her feet look clean and maintained. Keeping those soles heavenly are another thing. If you cannot afford to visit your spa monthly do what the rest of the working world does. Do them yourself! But if you can visit your spa twice a year it really helps. If you can plan a winter Pedicure and a before summer Pedicure at your spa, keeping them maintained in the meantime is simple. Stock up on some products before hand always be prepared.

Foot Scrub

Purchase a good foot scrub. Every Department store carries them and they are made for every type of skin. Soak your feet for a good 10 minutes in warm water then use the foot scrub to exfoliate any dead skin cells. Giving your feet and calf a new smooth layer of clean skin.

Nail File Kit & Cuticle Oil

If you go to a dollar store you can find kits that already have the files and clippers that you need for your Pedicure. Most include scissors and buffers at a great price. Cuticle Oil is not in most stores, but is stocked at most popular spas. After soaking and exfoliating, shape, file and take off any extra cuticle. The hard part is over.

Foot Scrub Brush

The best ones are to get are from the Spas themselves, most are under $20. If that is not your budget Wal-Mart and stores like them carry Foot scrub Brushes for under $10. After filing your toenails, dip your feet back into some clean water or rinse them in the tub using your scrub brush for a nice smooth finish.

Cream

Not just any cream. Try a Tea-Tree cream or peppermint cream for stimulation and scent. Dry your feet thoroughly and apply as much cream as you need.

Base-Coat, Polish and Top-Coat

Any brand will do. Make sure you wipe the cream off your toenails or the nail polish will not adhesive or dry on your nail. A base and topcoat is important because it makes your polish last longer and when you have done all this work, polish should be the least of your worries. The longer your feet look good, the less work for you.

Try this every month in between your Spa Pedicures. It leaves you with O�So-Heavenly soles.

Dry Itchy Scalp

Dealing with Dry, Itchy Scalp
By Lisa Lach

If you have any open sores or patches of dry skin contact your doctor for a proper diagnoses. But if there are no patches or conditions then chances are you just need a good cleaning or moisturizing shampoo.

You should always change your shampoo to the present condition of your hair. If you have healthy shiny hair, you need a light-shampoo, if you use colour you might try a color seal shampoo. Every shampoo lines carries moisturising shampoo in all shapes, sizes and prices. Season, activity heat intensity, products used after your blow dry can make your hair dry. It�s quite simple to fix. A good moisturizing conditioner will help also.

Sometimes a hairspray or styling product may cause a little build up around the surface of your scalp. Look at the label and make sure your shampoo is a cleaning or cleating shampoo. Their purpose is to get rid of build-up and keep your hair clean allowing a conditioner to work. Sometimes if there�s too much build-up the conditioner you put at your scalp can�t reach down to the root where the root of the matter is. No pun intended.

The only caution when using a cleansing shampoo is that if you just had a dark or red colour it will fade it faster then a regular moisturizing shampoo. Ask your stylist what you can do to help that, they probably have the product that will fix both problems.