Eyelash mites are usually harmless, and most people live their day to day lives without being bothered by the fact that a worm-like parasite is currently feeding off his or her oils.
Washing your face every night will keep these from getting out of control. However, they do love mascara, so ladies…make sure to properly remove your makeup at the end of the day!
Will you ever go to bed again with your makeup on??
Million dollar question, right? Sometimes acne can simply be caused by using the wrong products or not washing your skin at all. If this is the case, improving your skin will be much easier. Unfortunately, if your acne is hormonal then it will be much more difficult. We can usually improve the clarity, frequency and intensity though. Here are some tips…
1. Be consistent. Cleanse your skin every night and every morning.
2. Use products that are right for your skin and that will balance out the oil without dehydrating. Most OTC (over-the-counter, NOT professional) acne products take everything out of your skin and don’t replenish it. This can make things worse and/or cause you to age quicker.
3. Use Grapeseed Oil. This will hydrate your skin and balance the oil. Read here for al the benefits. My clients use and love this! It really does work. Cleanse, tone and apply oil. If you are using serums, apply those first and then the oil. A little goes a long way.
4. Keep your pillowcase clean. Even though you are washing your face every night, this is still important. If have a more severe case, then you should be changing/washing it at least every week.
5. Use alcohol to clean your phones and sunglasses. Bacteria spreads very easily.
6. Don’t touch or pick at your face.
7. Get regular facials. Having an expert (like me!) do extractions helps. It’s better than you doing it and healthier for your skin.
8. Dairy can aggravate acne in some people. Give it up for 6-12 weeks to see if there is any significant improvement.
9. Drink lots and lots of water.
10. Make sure you aren’t using any pore clogging makeup. Heavy or thick foundations are not good for the skin. Try not reapply as the day goes on.
11. Wash your makeup brushes. You should wash them with baby shampoo at least twice a month and using a brush cleaner every single day. Of course, this is for people that wear makeup everyday. Adjust if necessary but those are the guidelines. Don’t reuse sponges and don’t use powder puffs.
12. Get a physical exfoliant like a sponge because it’s gentle.
13. Wear SPF because you should anyway but also because sometimes the sun can darken the blemishes and leave your skin with scars and hyper pigmentation.
14. Salicylic Acid should be in your products. This is dehydrating so remember to use other products that will replenish water loss. (see #3)
15. Be gentle. You don’t have to scrub hard or a lot to get results. Hopefully you are using effective products so that they can do all the work for you.
16. Have patience and know that it will not go away in a day or even a week. Avoid buying anything that tells you differently.
18. Book a consultation and/or facial with me. I can help! Book Here!!
I’ve said this a lot but I think it’s important to repeat. I had a client come in the other day and I could tell she wore Tinted Moisturizer. This isn’t something I should be able to guess when the client comes in with “clean” skin. Here is the trick to wearing this…
Always, Always apply your regular moisturizer first! Yep, it’s that simple! Make sure it dries and then apply the Tinted Moisturizer. Now the tint won’t get stuck in your pores or any dry patches you might have on your face. It will also give you a more even application.
It costs a lot of money to look this cheap! -Dolly Parton
1. Invest in some high quality makeup brushes. I don’t always believe that more expensive means better but it is usually true with brushes. The ones that you are getting at Target simply are not the same as the ones at Nordstrom. Sorry. đŚ The good news is that if you take care of these, they will last you a very, very long time. So at least you are getting your money’s worth.
2. Makeup will never look good on dirty, un-exfoliated skin. Take care of the canvas and your makeup will look so much better! Come see me if it’s been awhile since your last facial. You will be amazed at the difference.
3. Apply lip balm prior to makeup application so your lips will be ready for your lip gloss, lip pencil or whatever you are using.
4. Lips and Cheeks should work in harmony.
5. Eyes- Think color theory! Going with colors that are the opposite of your eye color will bring out your eyes.
6. Shadows have always been the most flattering to fill in your eyebrows but now they have brush on colors and I love them. Black is too harsh for everyone! If you apply the eyeshadow color against the hair, it will stick to the skin and last longer.
7. Eyeliner is to help eyelashes look thicker. Avoid liner on the lower lids as this can age you and force peoples eye to look lower. You always want them to look up…top of your face. Imagine it or do it on a friend. It makes a difference. Sometimes you can use it if you’re going for a certain look or if you have the eye shape for it.
8. Blush- It should be the color you naturally blush. No one blushes orange!!
9. Do not confuse bronzer with contour. Most often bronzer has shimmer in it. Contour is to help shape your face and shimmer will add attention to that area. Bronzer mimics where the sun would hit your face. Orange is not a bronzer or a contour color!!
10. Your lip color should not match your outfit. It should go in harmony (as I said above) with your cheek color and also your skin.
Have fun with your makeup but always look your age!
Nothing ages someone more than trying too hard to look young!!
We all want our morning routine to be quick and easy but sometimes taking shortcuts isn’t the best for our skin. So many foundations have sunscreen in them today and it seems that it would be one less step to do. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The number on the bottle (ex: SPF 15) is not quite accurate. You would have to apply about 7x the amount of foundation to actually get that number. And hopefully, no one is wearing that much makeup! Below are some tips to protecting your skin and looking your best.
Updated: October 2017
When I went to Empire Academy of Makeup (best school ever!) many, many years ago, the first thing we learned was that if our skin didn’t look good then our makeup wouldn’t look good. In fact, the first course concentrated on skin so much that I fell in love with it and that is how I got started with skin care.
I’ve learned a lot along the way and things have definitely changed but one thing that always remains consistent is: your skin needs hydration and most people are dehydrated.
If you have dry skin, you most likely need oil and water in your skin. When you wear makeup, powders can age you and accentuate fine lines and wrinkles. And, of course, make you drier.
If you have oily skin, you have too much oil and not enough water. When you wear makeup, it feels like you need to re-apply often and you may be flaky in some areas.
Both of these issues can get better by properly hydrating your skin. A Hyaluronic Acid Serum is the best way to do this. It binds moisture to your skin and draws moisture in.
1. I don’t need to wear an SPF during the winter months or when there is no sun. This is simply not true. UVA means Ultra Violet Aging and those are visible 365 days a year. Protect your skin and always wear it. Even if you are indoors. The sun can penetrate through windows and over time, do more damage than you think.
2. SPF in my makeup is enough. Nope, sorry. đŚÂ You need seven times the normal amount of foundation and 14 times the normal amount of powder to get the sun protection factor on the label. I really hope you aren’t going to apply that much makeup!
3. Applying once a day is enough. If you are not in the direct sun AT ALL, then this is probably okay for you. Otherwise you need to re-apply every 1-2 hours. More if you are prone to burn. As soon as you are in the sun, the sunscreen starts to breakdown.
4. I put sunscreen on all the obvious areas so I’m good. What about the back of your neck? Ears? Top of your hands? These areas are often neglected but definitely exposed to sun. Skin cancer and skin damage can be anywhere!
5. Lotions, sprays and sticks all work differently. Not really. My advice is to start with a lotion (stick for the face if you want) and get a good base. When you reapply, a spray should be fine once. Then, use a lotion again. I love the convenience of a spray but it is very easy to miss spots.
6. Expiration dates don’t mean anything. YES THEY DO! If it is expired, STOP using it. No exceptions.
7. A tan is fine as long as I don’t burn. You are still damaging your skin. That is what a tan actually is.
8. My umbrella is enough protection so I don’t need sunscreen. Please don’t believe this! Did you know that sand reflects 17% of UV radiation. That means you are still exposed. It is still important to stay in the shade but wear your sunscreen.
9. The sun always cures my acne (or breakouts). This is a BIG myth. It can be a (very) temporary solution (the sun does kill bacteria) but in reality it causes a buildup of dead skin which leads to clogged pores. And, if you have oily skin, the sun will dry you out, producing even more oil. Viscous cycle.
10. I use SPF100 so I am fully protecting my skin. That isn’t even going to be available anymore because you get 96% protection with SPF30. Anything higher may give you a 4% increase but it will definitely give you more chemicals.
11. The damage is done so it doesn’t matter anymore. It always matters! Wear sunscreen at every age!
One of the biggest skin issues I think I hear about today is large pores. People want to know how to make them smaller, less visible, etc. Well, I have some bad news for you…it is not possible. Your pores are your pores. That is why it is so important to use the right products for your skin, and to properly exfoliate your skin. These will help keep your pores clean. The bacteria, dead skin and oil is what enlarges them.
So if this is a concern of yours, I would avoid getting your nose pierced. It is a large pore that will never go away. It is actually larger than your regular pores too. Makeup will get stuck in it…I’ve seen it! Is this something you want when you’re 40?
So the holidays are here and New Years is just around the corner. That means lots and lots of pictures! Pictures you will be looking at for a very long time. Wouldn’t be nice to finally love what you see and not feel the need to photoshop? Here are some tips that will be Facebook ready!
1. Makeup- Make sure your foundation (including the powder) is photo friendly. This way when the flash hits your face, you won’t turn white.
2. Focus your eyes just slightly above the camera lens.
3. Put your tongue behind your teeth and smile. It will relax your face. Try it!
4. Practice the model pose-Â Turn your body three quarters of the way toward the camera, with one foot in front of the other and one shoulder closer to the photographer. When you face forward, your body tends to look wider.
5. Standing Photos- Shoulders back, spine straight, suck in stomach.
6. Sitting Photos- Shoulders back, spine straight, suck in stomach. đ Yep, same thing.
7. Angling your body is important and this may take practice. Luckily we have digital cameras now so we can do this over and over again until we figure out our best angle and pose. (find a friend for this one) Keep your arm at your waist but find a way to do it naturally. Sticking one leg out and your hip at an angle is flattering to shape of your body. Point it different ways at the camera. Straight on is the least flattering because it can make you look wide (even if you’re not).
8. The camera adds 10lbs (ugh!)-Â To make the face appear slimmer, tilt you head up slightly while turning it 3/4 â or angle your camera slightly above your head while tilting your face halfway. Never take a photo from eyeâs level it will flatten your face.
9. Know your colors and what looks good on you! You can do all the steps above but if you are wearing the wrong colors or the wrong outfit, none of it may matter. On the flip side, if you LOVE what you wear and are confident, that goes a long way! Black does not look good on everyone…sorry. đŚ
10. On a night that I know pictures will be taken, I always take pictures of myself first. That way I know if I will like my hair, makeup, jewelry, etc in pictures. What I see in the mirror is not always what I see in pictures.
Curious about the BB Creams youâve been seeing advertised lately? In most countries, the âBBâ stands for Beauty Balm. In Asian countries it once meant Blemish Balm but now goes by Beauty Balm or the shorter BB Cream. Whatever name they go by, these products are claimed to do everything, from creating a flawless complexion to reducing pore size, healing breakouts, controlling oil, and lightening dark spots. Thatâs quite the to-do list!
Despite the hoopla fueled by the cosmetics industry and many beauty bloggers, BB creams are not must-have products. Essentially, the BB creams (Beauty Balms) sold in Western countries are little more than tinted moisturizers with sunscreen.
Overall, whether you use a BB cream or a tinted moisturizer, these products are all about convenience: sun protection, moisture, and sheer skin toneâcorrecting color from one product. The formulas differ widely from company to company, but sun protection and light coverage color are the norms.
Some BB creams have a thicker, creamier texture; some offer a bit more coverage than standard tinted moisturizers. As a personal preference, you may or may not care for the thicker textureâespecially if you have oily, combination, or breakout-prone skin. The BB creams from U.S. brandsâsuch as Garnier, Estee Lauder, and Smashboxâtend to have thinner, more lotion-like textures; they are nearly indistinguishable from tinted moisturizers with sunscreen, save for providing a touch more coverage.
The take-away message here is this: BB creams arenât anything special and most claims of their extra abilities are marketing fluff, not reality. There are some great BB creams available, but even they are not must-have products. Really, the best reason to consider a BB cream is if you want more coverage than a tinted moisturizer, but not as much coverage as a standard foundation. Otherwise, this is a trend you can feel comfortable to ignore. If you find this trend too hard to ignore, make sure you use the best ones, and donât get seduced by the does-it-all claims.
Skin Care Blog 