Posts Tagged ‘skin care’
Help For Acne Prone Skin
Written by Kimberly in: Skin Care
27 Dec 2011
How do you deal with putting on makeup with oily, acne prone skin? Those of you out there that deal with this problem every day know what a challenge this is. Do you need to moisturize? If so, then how do you do that with out feeling like you have an oil slick on your face? And what about foundation? You want to cover up the blemishes with makeup, but somehow doing so just seems to be making things worse!
I know how difficult and frustrating it is but don’t worry, I’m here to guide you in the right direction. Having oily, acne prone skin can be tricky business, but I can help you to have beautiful, healthy, glowing skin.
First of all, to help battle this problem, we need to know a little more about it… like, what causes skin to become acne prone? And how many different kinds of acne are there? I’m not a Dermatologist, but I can give you a very broad explanation of the types of acne and what causes them. There are four basic kinds of acne:
- blackheads,
- whiteheads,
- pimples, and
- cysts
Acne is created when your skin produces too much oil, or sebum, and the pores of your skin become clogged. Sebum is always in our skin and is actually something your skin needs, but when your hormones surge (like during “that time of the month”, being a teenager, or sometimes menopausal women), your body increases the sebum production which can cause the pores to clog. Most forms of acne can be treated by practicing good skin care habits and using the right products, but others might need the help of a Dermatologist and prescription skincare.
I’m not a doctor, but I do know about taking care of your skin, so today I’m going to go over a few important tips on how to care for your acne prone skin.
- Wash your face:
It’s so important to keep your skin fresh and clean! This is true for anyone, but especially those with oily skin. You want to cleanse the skin, but not strip it. Remember, your skin needs oil, you’re just trying to keep the excess oil at bay as well as removing dirt and other impurities.
I recommend using a cleansing gel, or foam for oily skin, a cream cleansers can feel too heavy and may leave behind a residue as can bar soaps. If you’re oily/acne prone, you need to cleanse your skin twice a day. No exceptions!
- Use the right products:
This is essential! Since you already have oily skin, you don’t need any extra oil in the products you use. Doing so can cause even more breakouts. To prevent this from happening, you’ll need to check the ingredients… anything that’s oil free, water based and non-comedogenic should be fine.
Be extra careful in checking ingredients on your foundation. I know your first instinct is to cover the blemishes, but doing so with a heavy foundation (especially one that has oil in it) will only make matters worse. Instead, go for an oil free foundation that you can layer for more coverage if you need to. Another thing to consider is to check out the ingredients in your hair care products, pomades and gels containing oils can drip onto your skin and cause breakouts. Also, using products that contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide can help treat acne and breakouts.
- Matte it up:
There are a lot of great oil mattifying, or anti-shine products out there. What that means is that they can actually help control the excess oil through out the day as well as help to prevent unwanted shine, giving a “matte” finish. There are matte moisture lotions, mattifying foundations and powders and even toners that have mattifying properties to help keep your skin free from shine and excess oil.
Tip To help maintain a clear complexion, it’s important to keep excess oil and bacteria off the surface of the skin. You can help by trying not to touch your face, cleaning and disinfecting your phone regularly, as well as using blotting papers to help absorb the excess oil. Blotting papers are portable, light weight sheets of paper (usually rice paper) often coated with powder, that you lightly press against your skin to remove the extra sebum and shine without messing up your makeup. They’re amazing! A definite must have for an oily skin.
If you have oily &/or acne prone skin, then hopefully following these tips will help to clear things up for you… remember, it’s all about keeping your skin as clean and clear as possible. You have to keep it up, too! A good skincare regime is very important to maintain and prevent breakouts. However, I must stress the importance of seeing a Dermatologist if these tips don’t work. With today’s modern medicine, there’s no reason for you to feel helpless about your skin. All you need to do is remember that you’re worth it! You’re worth taking the time to take care of your skin. I promise, you won’t be disappointed with the results.
How To Look Younger Instantly
Written by Kimberly in: Makeup
10 Jun 2011
OK, I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is that aging is inevitable. You can certainly slow things down a bit by taking good care of your skin, but eventually things will start to look different.
Here’s the good news: I just so happen to have some fabulous tips on how to keep yourself looking young and fresh-faced in a matter of minutes and I’m going to share them with you! They’re simple, quick and easy and anyone can do it. Ready? Here we go!
- Less is best:
The more makeup you have on, the older you look. To look younger, try to keep things simple and on a “must have” basis. For example, if you need concealer for dark circles, then try using one with a more fluid like consistency rather than a cream. The lighter the formulation, the less likely it’s going to settle into fine lines and wrinkles. You can also try using a concealer to spot cover any blemishes rather than using a foundation all over your face. The more your skin comes through, the better. Keep eye makeup to a minimum using one or two medium to light ranged colors. Don’t go crazy with the eyeliner, either. Too much liner can bring your eyes down and make them look tired.
- Go for color:
Browns and nudes can tend to wash you out and look “muddy” on your skin, so instead try to go for some soft color. Looking younger can be as simple as wearing soft, warm pinks on cheeks and lips and peachy pink eye shadows with a plum eyeliner. A little bit of color goes a long way and do wonders for perking up your complexion.
- Lip service:
If you’ve never been one to wear lip liner, now is the time! As we get older, our lips tend to fade and look smaller. A quick fix to that is to use a soft, nude lip liner and line your lips going slightly outside your lip line and then feather in the entire lip. Next, put on your lipstick or gloss. Doing this will give you a longer wear on your lip color as well as prevent feathering and bleeding and help to make you lips appear fuller. The trick is to not go too far outside your lip line as well as not going too dark. Keep the color medium to light in either a pink, coral,or soft plum./p>
Tip One more thing to remember: Try to stay away from matte finishes which will accentuate fine lines and wrinkles. Go for the glow with products that have a soft light particle, or radiance boosting properties. Try moisture rich foundations and lipsticks and cheek colors that have a little shimmer to them are wonderful for giving your skin a youthful glow.
So there you have it! I told you they were simple! 
You can integrate one, or all into your makeup routine to instantly look younger. But don’t take my word for it… check it out for yourself!
- (1) Comment
- Tags: makeup, moisturizer, skin care
Self Tanners: Friend or Foe?
Written by Kimberly in: Skin Care
13 May 2011
Now that the warmer weather has finally arrived, we all want to bear a little more skin… that is until we catch a glimpse on ourselves in the mirror and are practically blinded by the pale, white skin! Eeek!
Well, before you go running to the tanning beds, or (gasp!) get ready to lay out, let me tell you how you can have instant gratification and an immediate tan: Self Tanners! I know, I know, they certainly have had a bad reputation in the past, but trust me, there are some amazing ones out there!
Self tanners are a great way to get bronzed, tan skin in a very quick and fairly easy manner (Not to mention cancer-free!). There are, however, a few pointers that will make things a whole lot easier for you.
- Make a good choice:
There’s no denying that there certain brands of self tanners turn skin orange while others don’t. What you’re looking for is a pretty, bronze color. Everyone’s skin is different, so it will be difficult to see what color a self tanner will turn on you until at least one hour after you first applied it. My advice is to do a test spot somewhere on your body before applying it all over. Some of my favorite self tanners have been Clarins Self Tanning Instant Gel
(Actually, any Clarin’s Sun Product is great!), St. Tropez Tanning Essentials Self Tan Bronzing Lotion
, and Dior Bronze Self-Tanner Natural Glow Face
. All of these work really well with my super fair complexion and have little to no after stink.
- Exfoliate!:
I can not stress enough how important this step is! If you have any dry skin patches, then the color in the self tanner will cling to the dry skin making it darker then the rest of your skin giving very uneven color. This can be easily avoided by using any kind of body scrub before applying your self tanner. Pay special attention to the especially dry areas such as elbows, knees, and feet.
- Get even:
To achieve the perfect look, an even application of self tanner is crucial. I prefer using lotions, gels, or creams because I can take my time and really rub them into my skin. I keep massaging the product into my skin until it’s all absorbed. It takes a bit longer, but I’ve never had any streaking or uneven patches doing it that way. Spray tanners are great for quick dry time, but tend to dry a little too quickly for me, so be careful.
Tip Wash your hands!! If you don’t wash/scrub your hands after you’ve applied your self tanner, then the palm of your hands will “tan” and most likely in a very interesting pattern. Some people find that wearing latex gloves helps, but I find I get a more even application without using gloves.
So is self tanner friend, or foe? Well my darlings, in my opinion, they’re definitely a friend… if you know how to do it correctly, which now you do! You could also check out the spray tan scene (most salon’s have spray tan available these days). In any case, self tanning is a much safer alternative to having beautiful, bronze skin for Summer… or anytime!
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- Tags: dry skin, self tanner, skin care
Anti-Aging Creams: Will They Make You Look Younger?
Written by Kimberly in: Skin Care
9 Mar 2011
No one wants to look old, which is why anti-aging creams sell so well in retail stores and online. We all wish we could just stop the clock as far as looks go to look younger, right? Wisdom yes, character sure, but wrinkles and gray hair? No way!
I know I’m not the only person on the planet that wishes to press the pause button on aging… I know that because the anti-aging industry is booming! I’ve seen women plunk down their hard earned money time and time again trying to stop those wrinkles from coming. But do the products really work? Is there such a thing as “anti-aging“, and do the creams, lotions, and other anti-aging skin care treatments work?
Well… it’s complicated. Yes, there are some wonderful products out there, but no, they won’t make you look younger and they won’t completely stop those wrinkles from coming. There are no miracle anti-aging creams that will magically transform your skin, but what they can do is help to slow things down and help to prevent premature wrinkling and aging. Prevention is really what it’s all about. Genetics have a lot to do with it as well, but trust me, it’s so much easier to prevent then is is to correct!
Don’t panic, I’m not saying it’s all over, I’m saying you need to take care of your skin. Here are a few things that you can do to help with anti-aging:
- Protect yourself from the sun:
I cannot stress enough how important this is! Prolonged exposure to the sun without proper protection is harmful to your skin! The damage is immediate with sun burns as well as long term like sun spots or worse, skin cancer! You may not even start to see the damage you’ve done to your skin until many years later. So please, please wear a good sunblock, preferably one with broad spectrum UVA and UVB coverage and reapply. Also, don’t forget to wear your hat!
- Get good antioxidant protection:
Did you know that only a very small part of our aging process is actually chronologically? It’s true! The majority of our aging is actually because of our environment. That means things like stress, smoking, sun, pollution, lack of sleep, etc. all have a major effect on how quickly you age. These things are sometimes called free radicals. Free radicals are basically unstable molecules that attack your healthy skin cells and cause them to age before their time. However, we can help to protect out skin by using antioxidants. Antioxidants help to neutralize and deflect those unstable molecules and keep your skin looking younger longer. It’s a really good idea to invest in either a serum and/or a day cream that are enriched with antioxidants.
- Eat well, be well:
Doing all the things you know you should be doing, like taking your vitamins, drinking enough water, eating right, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep will make a big difference in your skin… as well as other areas in your life!
Seriously, though, you’re a grown up, you know what to do. Just take care of yourself.
So there you have it. It’s possible it minimize the damage, but unfortunately aging is unavoidable. But don’t despair, I promise you you’re still beautiful, no matter how many wrinkles you might have!
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- Tags: skin care
Look Younger – Tips For Women At Any Age
Written by Kimberly in: Makeup
7 Feb 2011
When you’re young, you feel like you’ll stay that way forever. You don’t worry so much about the consequences of not taking care of your skin. In fact, you don’t really think there will be consequences at all! You float along, blissfully unaware, until you reach a certain age and start to actually see those consequences… sun damage, fine lines and wrinkles, lack of glow… yikes! I think most women of a certain age have that “GOOD LORD, WHAT HAPPENED?!” moment when they look in the mirror.
I admit it… I, myself, am that woman. I’ve had that terrible moment while looking in the mirror and realizing that not only am I not 22 anymore, I no longer have the skin of a 22 year old. Fortunately for me it’s alright; I’m in a pretty good place. I’ve taken care of my skin and the wrinkles are fairly minimal for now, but I know there will be more! Aging is inevitable, I’m afraid. Sad but true! However, I do have a few tricks that I use to help keep my skin looking younger, and you can use them now, too:
- Go light:
As we get older our hair and skin get lighter, and it’s important that your makeup does too. You should stay with lighter shades on your eyes, cheeks and lips. You should definitely stay away from heavy foundations, too, because they’ll only accentuate your fine lines and wrinkles. The softer, the better. I’m not saying you can’t still do dramatic, but just choose wisely. If you want a dramatic eye, go with just a dark eyeliner instead of dark shadow and liner. If it’s your lips you want to play up, try going with a shade that really pops your lips with out being too harsh, like maybe a berry color instead of a deep plum.
- Go for the glow:
Another lovely side effect (Not!) to aging is our skin can sometimes lose it’s radiance. (You know… that glow you never had to work at when you were younger now seems to be nonexistent.) To combat this, you’ll want to go with products that have a soft, natural finish rather that something that’s matte. Steer clear of powder foundations and choose either a cream or liquid, possibly one with a soft light particle that will diffuse the light and help minimize lines and wrinkles and give you back some of that glow.
- Go get skincare:
The absolute best thing you could do for yourself is to invest in a really good skin care routine. Unless you plan on having plastic surgery, it’s all about prevention! You need to use day cream, night cream, eye cream, anti-aging serums the whole nine yards! I know it can seem like a lot of effort, but trust me, it’s totally worth it and you’ll thank me later. Sunscreen is also a must! Unless you’re looking forward to having brown spots, more wrinkles or even skin cancer, sunscreen is your new best friend. Use it, love it, don’t leave home without it.
So there’s no need to worry, it’s not too late to take care of your skin. Yes, aging is inevitable, but there’s no reason for you not to look and feel good about yourself. After all, age is just a number, right?
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- Help For Acne Prone Skin
- Dramatic Eye Makeup Tips
- Keeping Your Makeup Looking Fresh In the Summer Heat
- How To Look Younger Instantly
- Self Tanners: Friend or Foe?
- Is It OK To Not Wear Makeup To Work?
- My Love Affair With Cream Blush
- Don’t Be Afraid Of Color!
- How To Wear This Season’s Pink