By Kim Putens It is that time of year…Memorial Day weekend is fast approaching and the outdoor activities will be getting into full swing. This means donning shorts, tank tops and a swimsuit so…you don’t want the glare off of those white limbs outshining your outfit. Learning to apply self-tanner is as much about patience and perseverance as it is an art form. It does not have to be an uphill battle, like learning how to paint the Mona Lisa. It is achievable and a few tricks of the trade will have you looking as stunningly bronzed as ever. Even if you seek out a professional for help, it is important to know what and what not to do. Remember, regardless of your self-tanning fate, it is still better to get that fake bake than to bake in the sun or in a wretched tanning bed. Step 1 – Exfoliate. You must get off all that dead skin before even attempting to point that bronzing bottle at your body. If you do not slough, the tanner will blotch. Pay particular attention to rough spots like knees, elbows, heels, and hands. When choosing an exfoliant, be sure to choose one that is oil-free. Oil prevents tanner from properly penetrating. Step 2 – Prep Yourself. To avoid turning green, orange or any other color of the rainbow, it is extremely important that you prep your skin. Remove deodorant – it can react to the self-tanner and turn your underarms green. Put moisturizer on your eye brows – the tanner can turn them orange. Finally, rub a thin layer of body lotion onto chronically dry areas such as elbows, hands, heels and hands to keep them from turning darker shades of brown. All this will ensure that the tanner absorbs nicely without splotching…
Bby Kim Putens How do I choose the right moisturizer for my face? Believe it or not, the most important thing about choosing a moisturizer is the weight, not the fancy ingredients. The wrong weight of moisturizer can actually cause as many, if not more, problems than the ingredients. If too heavy, it can clog your pores and cause breakouts. If not heavy enough, the lack of moisturizer can lead to premature aging. In choosing the right weight, apply a normal amount to your jaw line. Wait a few seconds and check the area. If the moisturizer feels sticky or greasy, it means that it hasn’t absorbed into your skin and is too heavy for your complexion. If the moisturizer soaks in and still feels dry and your skin feels taught, then the moisturizer is not heavy enough. Look for a moisturizer that soaks in to your skin, but your skin feels relieved and looks plump. Everywhere I look, all the makeup has shimmer and glitter. How do I embrace it without looking like a teenager? Shimmer can actually be your friend. Glitter, not so much. Leave glitter to stage performances. A bit of shimmer can actually make old skin look young. And, it is the easiest and cheapest way to freshen up your skin and bring about a youthful glow. But, if you over do it, you could end up looking like an over-aged teenager. Keep in mind, dry and dull looking skin exacerbates looking old. So, the best thing to do is be strategic about your placement and amount. The best place to get the most bang for your buck is to apply a bit of shimmer along the base of your eyebrow along the brow bone. It gives the illusion of an instant lift to a sagging…
By Genevieve LeFranc Let’s face it gals, it’s a tough world out there and who couldn’t benefit from a few tricks and tools that make our beauty routines (and lives) easier. We all want to look our best and be able to rely on tools that get the job done quickly and effectively. With a beauty arsenal of reliable weapons, you can face each day with confidence knowing you possess the must-haves to pull off any great look. Tweezer You may think there is little difference between the drug store tweezer you discovered in the back of a messy drawer and the precision options praised by beauty editors. But quality makes all the difference. Tweezerman is the Cadillac of tweezers and relatively inexpensive when you consider its unmatched performance and precision. Its sharp steel tips are hand-filed and grab the hair every time. It comes in different shapes, sizes and styles, some with fun patterns to complement your style. And here’s a bonus – Tweezerman will sharpen your tweezer when it becomes dulled from everyday use at no cost! This coveted favorite pays for itself, so invest! Nothing frames your face better than a set of neatly groomed, excellently manicured brows. Eyelash Curler Short of a solid eight hours in dreamland, nothing makes you look more awake or bright-eyed than curled eyelashes. Even if you have absolutely no time to throw on makeup, curling your eyelashes takes seconds and gives you a flirtatious look that lasts all day. Don’t feel like swiping on the mascara? No problem—a pair of curled lashes makes your peepers pop. Invest in a quality tool to make your curl last. The brand adored by makeup artists and professionals is Shu Uemura. It yields a perfect curl with unmatched precision, accentuating even the smallest lashes. This…
By Genevieve LeFranc Christmas is a distant memory, New Year’s a blur, and in a couple of weeks, February 14th will be here in all its red, rose-scented glory. Contrary to popular belief and too many women’s magazines, Valentine’s Day is an equal opportunity occasion where everyone—canoodling couples and sassy singletons alike—should seize the day to look and feel their best. V-Day is all about love, so follow my tips for showing your skin, hair, and nails some major affection, no matter how you choose to spend your February 14th. Date Night Whether you enjoy the comfortable intimacy that comes with years of togetherness or you’re brave enough to agree to a Valentine’s date with a new suitor, few things compare to the giddy excitement of prepping for a date. Everyone enjoys grooming and preening to look their best, and these products will ensure that everyone else enjoys you looking your best as well. For flawless, luminescent skin that radiates in the glow of a candlelight dinner, dab a highlighter, such as Benefit High Beam, across your brow bones, the bridge of your nose, and your Cupid’s bow. This ethereal, radiant liquid highlighter creates a lustrous, dewy complexion for a romantically angelic sheen. This supermodel-in-a-bottle product works wonders for all skin tones, and will have your date drooling over your incandescent skin. To avoid that sloppy, smeared-clown look after hours of smooching, try CoverGirl Outlast All-Day Lipcolor. This affordable, long-lasting formula lasts up to 16 hours, and remains resilient through a long day at work, a romantic dinner, a tough workout, and, most importantly, a Valentine’s Day snog session with your significant (or not) other. With a moisturizing topcoat that helps lock in shine and keeps your pucker smooth, you don’t have to worry about your lips drying out or…
By Genevieve LeFranc It’s January and more than a few of us are feeling completely spent from the holidays. Literally. The winter season is tough on our skin, hair and our wallets. After weeks of shopping and stacks of bills piling up, January is a time for thrifty resourcefulness. Smart beauty means never paying too much. Knowing a few do it yourself beauty remedies can really help you save money. This month it’s about taking a break from all the holiday madness—the overindulging with rich food and alcohol, and the staying up and out way too late—things that wreak havoc with our skin and hair. With dry, flaky skin and flat, static-stricken locks, it’s time for a little DIY at-home, self-pampering using inexpensive, common items you have around the house. After a season filled with honey-glazed ham, Christmas cookies, and approximately two thousand peppermint lattes, the fridge is probably the last place you want to turn to. However, there are more than a few excellent beauty ingredients hiding in your kitchen. Avocado acts as a great moisturizer and skin softener due to its high, unsaturated fat content. Mash the pulp into a paste for a quick and easy hydrating facial treatment. You can also combine plain yogurt and oatmeal to make a hydrating mask. Yogurt is especially good for dry, sensitive skin. Leave this concoction on for about 10 minutes for a wonderful skin softener. Legs can be a ghastly sight after suffocating under jeans and tights all winter long, so show your gams a little TLC by sloughing off the dry, excess skin. Add oatmeal or sea salt to your favorite body wash or gel for a really effective exfoliator. Or for an invigorating citrus scrub, dip half of a lemon, pulp side, into common table salt and rub…
By Kimberly Putens The look for the holidays is all about “bling”. It’s bling for the hair, on our nails and on our face. Shimmer, shimmer, shimmer is the mantra for the holiday season. But remember its shimmer, not glitter. There is a big difference. Shimmer is dewy and glowing. Glitter is reminiscent of our children’s art box. Avoid the glitter and embrace the shimmer. Shimmer products are best used to accentuate one’s luminous glow. It’s best applied on the cheeks, the lips and down the bridge of the nose. It also looks great along the brow line to give the eye an instant lift. And who doesn’t want a little lift? It’s certainly cheaper and easier than going under the knife. Warm hues of copper and champagne are top notch this holiday season. Think sun kissed, bronzed and glowing, like George Hamilton. Try copper shades on the eyes accented with bronzer on the cheeks and face. Finish the look off with warm champagne hues for the lips. To fully capture this look, the lips should be 24 kt, a la J. Lo. In keeping with the trend for the fall, smoky eyes are still fashionable for the holidays. While not appropriate for the office, the smoky eye is a great evening accessory to the little black dress. Consider shades of amethyst and navy, instead of black, to add some sparkle. Simply take a dark liner and line the eyes along the top and bottom rim. Use a similar shade of eye shadow color and color over the eyeliner and smudge. Some brands have smudge pots that make creating the smoky eye a breeze. A great alternative to the smoky eye is the sultry red lip. Red lips look especially festive during the holiday season. If you intend to wear…
By Kim Putens As we approach the holidays, food becomes more than a necessity to nourish our bodies. It is a reason to bring families together, a reminder of fond memories, and the focus of many traditions. We don’t typically think of food as an important ingredient in our skin care products. In fact, many items from our holiday table are showing up in many skin care products. In the spirit of the holidays, one ingredient worthy of special attention is pumpkin. This enzyme is an alternative to alpha hydroxy acids as an exfoliant/peel ingredient for the skin. A fruit acid, pumpkin has many properties – as an exfoliation accelerator, a powerful anti-oxidant and a mild retonic acid substitute. As an exfoliant pumpkin gently breaks down the outer layers of the skin, leaving it looking fresher and feeling softer by sloughing off dead skin. As a powerful antioxidant, it combats oxidative and free radical damage. The beta carotene properties of pumpkin work to naturally repair skin damage. What also makes pumpkin so desirable in skin care products is that it does not contain fragrance chemicals that are often irritating to the skin. Since food ingredients are proliferating skin care products, let’s explore some of the other common ingredients penetrating our products, their usages and beneficial properties: Basil – contains anti-inflammatory properties and protects the vascular system. In doing so, it calms inflammation and diminishes dark circles. Blueberries – another darling of the antioxidant world, blueberries also have an important vaso-constricting impact. They help diminish redness and, because of its gentle qualities, it is safe for the rosacea-prone to use. Chamomile – found in many forms, the principal components of the essential oil extracted from the flowers has moderate antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Cranberries – provides exfoliating properties, acts as an…
By Genevieve LeFranc Fewer things leave us feeling more refreshed than the first signs of autumn. Cold, foggy mornings with frosted grass; air that smells smoky, woodsy and crisp; and that tingling excitement that comes in anticipation of the holiday season and time spent with family. While we briefly mourn the loss of summer, not one of us will miss the days of makeup dripping off our faces under the summer sun, or hiding behind massive sunglasses because of the former. Fall is the time we unpack those boxes of chunky knits and nubby knee socks, and begin to embrace the glittering, sumptuous jewel tones that dazzle this time of year. Autumn gets better as the days get shorter, and colors begin to unfold before our eyes. From the fiery foliage of morphing leaves, to the earthy palette of pumpkins and gourds, no other season embraces rich, refined colors quite like fall. So give your makeup bag an autumnal revamping that will rival the most colorful throngs of Halloween trick or treaters. Eyes are the stars of fall so don’t be afraid to give them the vibrant attention they deserve this time of year. Bold, striking brows, sleek liner, thick lashes, and mesmerizing palates turned up on the runways at Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, and Prada. The best way to execute a colorful eye look is to work with what you got! Use the natural color of your eyes, using complementary colors to guide you. Baby Blues Blue-eyed beauties should stay in the amber to bronze range. Other than that, feel free to explore this color range. If your eyes are a deep, denim blue, try a rich amber, a luxe copper, or a shimmery rust shade to provide a beautiful contrast. For pale, icy blue eyes, try a…
By Kim Putens “How can I get rid of the fine lines, dark circles, and puffiness around my eyes?” The eye area is the most delicate and where the first signs of aging begin to creep up on us. Most often, it is the area that is most neglected until we see that first wrinkle. The most important thing to realize is that prevention is the best defense against the inevitable aging process. Choosing to use an eye cream at an early age is the best defense against those fine lines creeping in before we’re ready. There are also a few other remedies to weaken the defenses of those fine lines and to address other eye concerns. Aging – When we begin to age, the eye area is the first to show those signs. That is why it is the most important area to take care of. Taking care of our eyes is quite simple – moisturizer. Keeping the eye area moisturized is key to maintaining its elasticity and keeping the crows feet and wrinkles away. Choosing an appropriate moisturizer is important. Too light of a moisturizer won’t be effective and too heavy of a moisturizer will just make your make-up a runny mess. To determine the right weight of a moisturizer, look for a moisturizer that absorbs into the skin just enough to still provide relief and still be a little slick. Furthermore, the right moisturizer must not be too intense. The eye area is the most delicate skin on our face and requires that we take great care to ensure it is treated accordingly. A moisturizer designed specifically for the eye area is the best choice. Choosing any facial moisturizer isn’t appropriate because they often contain too many active ingredients that are too much for the eye area…
By Kim Putens It has been an unusually hot summer. I have been struggling with every aspect of my grooming. Every product I put in my hair either feels sticky or does not perform at all. With such thin hair, I rely upon my products to perform. But, in this heat and humidity, it is almost impossible. My solution: a ponytail almost every day. Most daunting for me, however, has been my makeup. I need to wear makeup. I have dark circles under my eyes – thanks to heredity – and my skin can be sallow when I get a bit of color. The problem: the extreme heat and high humidity make my makeup feel like it is slipping off my face. I wonder if others are struggling with this same problem. So, I thought I would offer some tips and solutions I have found that help to keep my makeup in place and looking good. Tip #1 – Lighten Up. All of us, despite our best attempts to cover up, will get a little bit of sun this summer. This presents an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity – to lessen the number of layers of makeup you would normally wear. The challenge – the colors we wear when we are paler will change when we get a hint of color. My suggestions: Put away the foundation. Either switch to a tinted moisturizer or wear nothing at all. I would lean toward nothing. Even a tinted moisturizer will feel heavy in extremely humid climates. Substitute foundation or tinted moisturizer with a powder or bronzer. If you use powder, however, only dust on your skin lightly with a brush. Please resist the need to blot with a sponge. If you use a puff or sponge, you could make the powder…
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