Hot Hot Heat

While I am guilty of this, it annoys me when people feel the need to point out that its hot. I mean, last I checked it was summer on the east coast. Which basically means that hot weather and stifling humidity are a given. Its like women who complain that kohl eyeliner smudges. Its kohl… its entire reason for being is to smudge. Moving on…

What is worthy of comment is how different women handle said heat. With my sun allergy, sunblock becomes my life jacket because I practically burn from just looking outside on a sunny day. Here’s a few other ways that I deal with the summer sizzle:

• On days when the temperature rises over 100 degrees, I don’t allow myself to drink anything other than water. The dehydrating effects of suger and caffeine intensify in the heat.
• Avoid spa treatments for at least 2 hours after significant sun exposure. I’m not talking about 5 minutes of incidental sun, but if you’ve been laying on the beach for the last 4 hours it is not wise to immediately go for a glycolic peel. Your skin with be sensitized from the sun exposure which will increase your odds of irritation.
• *Gasp!* Cut back on make-up, especially formuals that are very dewey or creamy. Oil based products will melt or liquify in this heat and will either seep into pores or melt right off your face in unattractive streaks and blotches.
• If you choose to wear full face make-up in the summer, please wash it off every night before you go to bed. I actually use a heavier duty face wash in the summer to make sure that my skin in squeaky clean and then add supplimental moisture with a light face cream.
• Always always always paint your nails. Its summer and the one time you can get away with bright, outrageous colors like flamingo pink and electric coral. I keep the look toned down and polished by having my nails filed short and squared off. Nail polish is the one cosmetic that won’t melt off you in the heat or clog your pores. And since polish will last a whole week, its a very low-maintenance way to add color to your every day look.
• Go easy on scent. A 108 degree day is not the time to douse yourself in 5 squirts of Calvin Klein Obsession.
• If you’re showing leg, use body oil to moisturize your skin. The sheen that’s left behind is very sexy and makes your legs look longer.

Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer

$38 from www.sephora.com

While the original wasn’t enough to sway me from my beloved MAC Prep + Prime, the Green Adjust – Color Corrector kinda rocks my world.

The primer itself fills in fine lines and sun damage while the green color all but erases the hyperpigmentation left from past blemishes and evens out my skin tone. It makes my skin look buttery smooth and creates a great base for power foundation to adhere to. I also love how it seems to control the amount of oil my skin produces.

 $42 from www.sephora.com

The next primer on my list is Smashbox’s Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 With Dermaxyl Complex . You’ve got to love just about anything that gives you that extra dose of spf. I just need to find out if it will make my skin feel oily or not.

Aspirin Toner

The top question people ask me when they find out that I write a beauty blog is, "What's the best product you've ever tried."

Answering that question can get a bit sticky, but one of the most effective skin care treatments I use is also my best kept secret…

Aspirin toner sounds weird. But you have to rewind back to high school chemistry for this to make sense. What is the chemical component of aspirin? Salicylic acid. What is the most effective skin care product for chemical exfoliation? Salicylic acid. And no, that's not a coincidence.

Aspirin Toner Ingredients:

• 8 uncoated aspirin tablets or 1 package of aspirin (BC) powder
• 2 ounces of witch hazel
• 1/2 ounce of pure aloe vera juice (if you skin is on the dry side)

Simply toss the aspirin into the bottle and let the mixture sit for 24 hours. This will give the aspirin time to dissolve and saturate the witch hazel. Shake the mixture before you use it, dab it on to a cotton pad, fold the pad in half (so that the powdered aspirin is sandwiched in the middle), and wipe over skin.

Discard the unused product after 2 weeks and make a new batch.

Now please use common sense people. If you're allergic to aspirin… don't use this. If it starts to burn, stop using it. If it makes you break out, stop using it. If it dries your skin, use it less, add more aloe, and/or add a moisturizing ingredient to the mixture.

Pictures from :http://www.slu.edu/pr/images/aspirin_story.jpg http://colossus.chem.umass.edu http://www.gearbits.com/archives/000458.html

Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser

$31.00 for a 4.4 oz tube from Gloss.com

Rating: One Star (out of four)

Product Discription from Gloss.com:

Give your skin a new kind of clean! This gentle two-in-one formula gently purifies and smoothes skin with natural botanicals for a fast, natural clean. Enhances skin softness, suppleness and comfort while protecting its natural balance.

Features and Benefits

Gently eliminates all impurities

Promotes smoother, more even-looking skin

Helps refresh and revive skin while leaving it feeling soft and supple.

My thoughts:

This product sounded perfect for brightening my super sensitive complexion after the flu got its sticky hands on me. My skin looked dull and grey, so this was the perfect time to test out a new exfoliant.

What I didn't like:

1. The smell! It had the strong chemical scent of orange bathroom cleaner. Honestly, it was that offensive. I wasn't sure whether to massage it on my face or attack the grout between my tiles.
2. The microbeads were too gentle for my taste. They really didn't do anything other then slide across my skin and down the drain.
3. Texture. The formula really didn't foam well.

The only way this product could have been worse is if it had broken me out. I definitely won't repurchase this.

Photo and product description taken from http://www.gloss.com

Favorite New Things

My bathroom practically revolves around LUSH. They create some of the best bath and body products on the market. While I adore the bubble bars, ballistics, Dream Cream, and face masks; nothing compares to their soaps.

For Easter holiday, LUSH has revamped their best-selling Honey I Washed the Kids Soap into this sweet little treasure.

Bunny I Washed the Kids.

$7.15 From http://usa.lush.com

Perhaps its my inner child crying out for attention, but I think this darling peter rabbit look-a-like is even better then the orginial.

 

Another new favorite that I wanted to share with you is my latest weapon against those hormonal blemishes I get one a month.

Clearasil Instant Clean

$4.23 From http://www.familymeds.com

I thought I was done with Clearasil when I started high school and discovered life beyond CVS. But this little gem is better then products 10 times its price. (And trust me, I’ve tried those too.) The active ingredients include glycolic acid and tannic acid (yes, that stuff that comes from tea) and may actually be a miracle worker. I dabbed a little on to a pesky hormone induced breakout that was brewing on my chin. The next day, the bump was completely gone. I’m not sure where it went (not that I really care), but I’m still amazed that a simple drugstore product could work so well. I cannot stop raving about this.

NOTE: I just discovered that this product is going to be discontinued, so get it while you can.

The Importance of Proper Skin Care

THE PROBLEM: As I got ready for the wedding and was dabbing concealor on a few imperfections I wanted to hide, all I could think was, “There has to be a better way.”

THE OH SO OBVIOUS SOLUTION: While I love make-up, I’m not a fan of foundation or concealor. I feel that they hide the natural radiance of bare skin. Granted, if I had taken better care of my skin, I would not have had as many spots to cover. That’s when common sense kicked me in the head. Prevention! Prevention is the perfect substitute for cover-up.

SKIN TYPE: To start with, my skin is bipolar. It is hyper sensitive and fluctuates between normal, combo, and oily depending on the weather. I’m also prone to hormone induced cystic pimples around that time of the month. Everytime I have a pimple, it leaves behind hyperpigmentation that takes months to fade.

THE CULPRITS: Although the hormonal breakouts are not my fault, I have not been taking great care of my skin. The biggest no-no is going to sleep without washing my face. I know that it’s terrible for my skin and yet I’ll do it anyway. I also need to start using the right products that suit my skin.

SKIN REHAB: So now I resolve to start taking serious care of my skin. I will find the perfect cleansers for my skin’s many moods and solemnly swear to wash my face every night before bed. I will find a topical treatment to fade the hyperpigmentation and the perfect moisturizer to rehydrate my dry patches.