Here Comes The Sun

Our little blog face lift got me thinking about preserving the youthful glow of summer skin. Ok, really, I pretty much always have this on my mind this time of year, but that's besides the point. I am a big advocate of self-tanners for several reasons. First, of course, is that sun damage can lead to health problems and premature aging. Second, not all of us live in climates that allow us to safely soak up the sun all year round. Finding the right one can be tough, so here are a few suggestions for facial self-tanners that will keep your summer glow right through the fall.

Cristal: Clarins Intense Bronze Self Tanning Tint. This liquid bronzer is a bit unwieldy for the clumsy or the casual self-tanner, but produces even, deep bronze tones with a simple application. Soak a cotton ball with this liquid and smooth over exfoliated skin, or mix with your moisturizer for a softer glow. Mix with your body lotion for all over tanning.

Signature Cocktail: Lancome Soleil Flash Bronzer. This lightweight, oil-free self tanning lotion, stocked with vitamin e, conditions skin and offers a tint to instantly perk up skin while the self tanner works its magic over the next hour. Simply massage onto exfoliated skin, being sure to blend well onto the jaw and hairlines for a lovely bronze glow.

PBR: Neutrogena Build-A-Tan Gradual Sunless Tanning for Face. Neutrogena's creamy formula dries quickly, smells lovely and offers subtle sunless tanning, allowing you to build to your ideal shade of bronze by continued application. Neutrogena's customizable coverage makes this version especially good for fair skin tones or those who want a subtle touch.

Siren Song

In scouring the glossies and the most recent Sephora catalogue, one thing is clear. This fall, makeup is all about new takes on the classic smokey eye, adding more drama and bright colors into the otherwise dreary fall backdrop. Although a black-and-grey smokey eye is my preferred Friday night look, I thought it could be fun to try to recreate some of these looks at a lower price. These looks are fun and flirty, but definitely not for the faint of heart and certainly not for every day. Here's my take on the "mermaid" smokey eye (not to be confused with the "fish eye" or the "stink eye").

Choose two shades of green that work with your skin tone and complement each other. To steal from Stacey London - they don't have to "match", they just have to "go"! In Style recommends one shade from Cle de Peau and one from Bobbi Brown, but since this trend will surely ebb and flow like the tide, I suggest starting with something less expensive and like ULTA's house brand eye shadows in Envy (emerald) and Luna (teal). Or, if you're looking for something that will stand the test of time and trend, try Stila's Eye Shadow Duo in Kaijiki.

First, here is where I differ from In Style - I recommend lining your upper lash line and the the outer 2/3 of your lower lid with a darker green eye pencil like Elizabeth Arden's Smokey Eyes pencil in Pine. To me, a smokey eye is all about definition and blending, and I think the look really loses something without the inclusion of an eye liner to kick things off.

Next up, apply the emerald color on the lids and line the outer 2/3 of the lower lash line. Then sweep the turquoise shade from lash line into the creases on your eye lid, blending well into the green at the crease. Bringing the shimmery teal around your whole eye and into the inner corners will add light to an otherwise dark shadow, bringing all the focus to your eyes. Finish off with two coats of mascara - maybe even try a navy one, if you're feeling daring - and let your inner Siren sing!

Cheap Tricks

Relaxation is the key to making it through the school year, getting the kids back on track, or just unwinding after a long day at work. One of my favorite ways to unwind is to relax in a long hot bath. I used to spend my cash on bath bombs and fancy bubble baths, but to tighten the budget, I decided that I could live without expensive bath products like Lush's (AMAZING!) Bath Bombs. Instead, I fill a tub and add about 1.5 c of epsom salt and a few drops of Johnson and Johnson's Lavendar Calming Baby Oil. The epsom salt soothes sore muscles and the baby oil softens skin. If you're really a multitasker, mix some salt and oil in your hand (2 parts salt to 1 part oil) and use as an exfoliator to smooth out soles and 'bows.

Grade A Skin

With Labor Day fast approaching and a new school year beginning, we're shedding summer sun dresses for fall's pressed button downs. To start off right, its also important to slough off the summer's sun damage from your skin. Plus, cooling temperatures can dry out your skin and leave you scaly. To stay ahead of the curve, I use body scrub religiously, to keep my skin moisturized and soft. Afterall, fabulously soft skin goes with any season!

Cristal: Origins Salt Rub. This sea salt based scrub contains kukui, macadamia, soy and sweet almond oils to saturate skin while you slough away dead skin cells. As an added bonus, oils are laced with spearmint and rosemary for an invigorating fragrance sure to wake you up and get your day started with a little pick-me-up.

Signature Cocktail: Kiehl's Creme de Corps Soy Milk and Honey Body Polish. The rich, creamy scent of Kiehl's ultra moisturizing body scrub is like a warm blanket on a cold morning. Plus, this creme based scrub spreads over skin easily to provide light exfoliation, and rinses easily, leaving skin smooth, soft and delicately fragranced.

PBR: Boots Mediterranean Melon Sugar Mint Body Scrub. Carry the summer into the fall with Boots' Mediterranean scrubs. Thousands of sugar granules to slough off dead skin cells and leave your skin fresh, polished and soft. And the mint infused canteloupe scent will raise your mood and bring fond memories of your summer picnics.

Touche!

YSL Touche Eclat. Well, in my welcome message, I promised I would tell you if YSL's Touche Eclat really is a miracle for $40... This much lauded product is billed by YSL as a "highlighter" but often recommended by makeup artists as a concealer. What I've found is that it is somewhere in between. The light weight fluid with built in applicator brush provides light coverage, but the light bending pigments of the highlighter fluid have a way of scattering light to lessen the impact of dark circles. I did like this product very much when used along with a dark circle counter-balancing fluid like Smashbox's Photo Op, but found, sadly, that, on its own, Touche Eclat did not provide enough coverage for my dark circles. Still, if you are looking for a product to brighten your eye area very subtly, or possibly layer over concealer, this may be the product for you. I would recommend this product for those who have minimal discoloration under the eye or are looking for a product that can even out smaller ruddy spots on the skin, but as a concealer, I'd stick with something a little less pricey like L'Oreal's True Match concealers.

Cheap Tricks

If you haven't guessed already, I am a big fan of highlighters. I think this genius little idea has revolutionized makeup, making it easier for those of us who don't have makeup artists on reserve to camouflage little imperfections with a swipe of a brush. Because I am a product addict, I use a couple of differnet kinds of highlighters to perform various magic acts. But in a pinch, there is one product that can work double time - an off-white pearl eye shadow. The off-white pearlized color flatters all skin tones and doesn't look to heavy on the skin. Use an eye shadow brush to sweep on the inner eye. Line eyes with it to appear bright eyed. Sweep a swirl on your brow bone to add dimension to the eye area. Sprinkle on cheek bones to accent facial contours. Try Cover Girl Eye Enhancers eyeshadow in French Vanilla or Champagne to add a diamond shine for pennies on the dollar.

Highlight of My Week

In fighting the good fight against dark circles, I followed the advice of beauty editors everywhere and sought out a good highlighter. I discovered that a little highlighter goes a long way. Simply apply a dab on the brow bone and inner eye corners and your eye area is instantly brightened. The highlighter serves to draw the light away from dark areas, making eyes look more open and dark circles less noticeable. You'll look like you got plenty of beauty sleep witht he help of these little gems.

Cristal: Nars The Multiple in Copacabana. Nars delivers sheer highlights with this multi- purpose pearly stick. Apply to eye corners with an angled brush, then smooth on the brow bones. For added dimension, apply to cheek bones to create a dewy look or add over your favorite lipstick for a touch of shimmer!

Signature Cocktail: Benefit Cosmetics Eye Bright. This pinkish highlighter pencil promises to brighten eyes and is friendly to most skin tones. Apply just above the brow bone too to create eye dimension. Benefit's version offers coverage similar to a stick concealer - be sure to blend well!

PBR: JK Jemma Kidd for Target Spotlight Intense Highlight Crème. JK’s highlighter stick offers light weight highlight with a subtle amount of sheen and comes in two different shades to allow you to select your perfect shade. Try the After Show for warm skin tones, or Red Carpet for cool skin tones.

Eye Wonder

Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes mascara has reecived a lot of hype in the glossies, but on the street I'd heard mixed reviews - it smudges easily, it runs, it doesn't produce better results than other products. Well, naysayers aside, curiosity got the better of me and purchased Givenchy's Pheomen'Eyes Mascara. wow. WOW! I have to admit, I agree with the glossies. Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes delivers as it promises: long, separated lashes with minimal effort. It is Givenchy's unique round brush that moves this product one step beyond other lengthening/separating mascaras, because it allows you to easily coat the inner, finer, harder to reach lashes (as opposed to traditional stick applicators that can be unwieldy around the delicate inner corners of your eye). The mascara itself is a mid-weight mascara, so if you're partial to a Dior Show or similar heavy weight, this might not be the product for you. And, admittedly, the brush takes a bit of getting used to - since it is round and shorter than your usual mascara brush, it requires application of mascara to only a few lashes at a time - and it does run more easily than others (ladies, don't use this on your wedding day!). Still, the result is so great that the positives far outweight the negatives! For the money, Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes is easily one of the best of the bunch.

Cheap Tricks

My earlier posts will tell you that I fully support the idea of skipping days between washing my hair. I was skeptical at first, but found that after about two weeks my hair was softer, less oily and all around healthier looking. Detergents in shampoos can strip hair of too much oil and can also have an impact on color. Even still, some days my hair appears to be a bit oily or even a little lifeless. My stylist recommended a dry shampoo. It worked fine, but was a bit too pricey for me. Instead, I dug through my cabinets and found my trusty bottle of baby powder. Success!! The baby powder not only freshened up my hair, it lifted the roots ever so slightly, giving my hair more bounce and style. Sprinkle a bit into the palm of your hand and massage carefully into the root of your hair, focusing only on those areas that need a little lift (like the crown and your hair line). Sprinkle a little on your skin too to keep you fresh on humid days. Johnson’s offers a range of baby powders for about $4.50 for 15 oz, proving a much better deal that more expensive dry shampoos. I like fresh scent of the Cooling Cucumber Melon version. Hey, if it’s safe for baby, it’s good enough for me!

Green with Envy

To be honest, I didn't really understand what "sulfate free" hair care was all about. Little did I know that shampoos and conditioners typically contain sulfites, silicones and parabens, which, when washed down your drain, end up in ground water that eventually comes out of your tap! These chemicals, though effective in cleansing and conditioning, could be harmful to humans over time. So, in an effort to help keep my water clean, I tested out a few "all-natural" shampoos and conditioners. These hair care lines offer luxurious lather and smoothing powers without the scary health effects!

Cristal: Fekkai Au Naturale shampoo and conditioner. Fekkai's hair care lines let you bring the luxury home. His Au Natural producs reduce sulfates and parabens fit right in, giving a rich lather, leaving your hair clean and soft without the harsh chemicals.

Signature Cocktail: Kiehl's Sunflower Color Preserving shampoo and conditioner. Kiehl's Sunflower line smells divine and leaves you feeling fresh and guilt free. Bring your bottles back to Kiehl's when empty and receive a free goodie!!

PBR: L'Oreal Paris EverPure haircare. True to form, L'Oreal offers a range of sulfate free hair care products that protect hair color and help you reduce your chemical contributionl. Try the Rosemary Mint line for a fresh burst!

Grin and Bare It

I have always been ambivalent about lip color. I love Gwen Stefani’s bright red pout, but each time I try it, even with less intense color, I feel like I'm 5 again and playing in my mom's makeup bag. A nude lip can also be difficult to pull off too - certain shades, especially in matte, create a zombie like look by blending lips into the background of your skin (great for the runway, not so much for real life). Personally, I want lip color to enhanced my natural lip color, not blend with my skin color, so I set out on a lip color mission. Taking a queue from Jennifer Anniston, I checked out Dior’s Gloss Addict, but found it too sticky. After about 27 failed attempts at sticks, glosses, creme glosses and tinted chapsticks, I felt discouraged - most offered too few choices or not the right amount of pigment. Finally I re-discovered MAC's Tinted Lip Glass, which gave me exactly what I was looking for - lipstick like color with the ease of a gloss that never feels too sticky. Plus, MAC's nude shades tend to be more like true bare lip color and less like a nude skin color. I like Soft Wave for fairer skin, Lust for medium skin, and Shock-o-Late for dark skin. Try a nude lip with sheer eye makeup for day, or with my smoky eye look from 7/17 for a flirty evening look.

Fake It

Let's face it, sometimes summer's leisurely days turn into steamy evenings, leaving you exhausted. Some mornings, even hitting the snooze button a few times won't cut it. You've got an important presentation or a brunch date and need to erase the signs of your rowdy night on the quick! Believe it or not, you don't need expensive eye creams or layers of makeup. A few simple tricks and you'll be bright eyed in no time.
1.) Reduce puffiness by placing a cold cloth over your eyes while you hit the snooze button.
2.) Layer a light weight highlighting fluid like Smashbox's Photo Op under your eyes to diffuse the light and lessen the impact of dark circles.
3.) Apply a concealer that's one shade lighter than your skin tone. Stick concealers like L'Oreal's Ideal Balance Concealer give great coverage.
4.) Apply a shimmery white eye shadow like Sephora's Pearl Mono Eyeshadow in Pearl No. 1 to the inside eye corners and lash line to brighten and eliminate any redness around your eye.
5.) Open your eyes by curling your lashes with an eye lash curler like Shu Uemera's to finish off your fresh, rested look. Finish up with your usual makeup application and start your day looking like you got your full night of beauty rest. No one has to know the truth ;-)

Cheap Tricks

So your skin needs some TLC but you're budget doesn't include facials or peels. Well, certain things, like extractions and peels, should be left to the professionals. But for a small investment, you can give your skin the attention it needs with a 30 minute home mini-facial. Start by steaming your face over a sink full of hot water. Apply a cream cleanser like Noxema and massage in small circles for about two minutes to clean deep and stimulate circulation, then rinse. Exfoliate next with a gentle scrub like St. Ives' Apricot Scrub, also massaging gently for about two minutes, and rinse again, being sure to remove all scrub particles. Steam once more, then apply a quality clay masque like Origin's Active Charcoal Mask to clean pores. Allow to dry, then remove using a soft face cloth. Apply a light astringent like Neutrogena's Clear Pore Toner to seal pores, then follow up with a generous application of your moisturizer. Glow on with your bad self!

Bronze Medal

Sometimes I'm reluctant to use self tanners because I don't want to commit to a longer tan. In looking for a hint of temporary color, I've tried a number of bronzers and found that many of them left my skin too orange. Others clearly looked like makeup. Still others were too dark, leaving my skin looking almost dirty! After many failed attemps, I found what I was looking for. Guerlain's Terracotta Bronzing Gel. This gel based bronzer comes with a built in applicator brush making application a snap and provides light weight coverage. Finally, a hint of translucent color that looks natural and, unlike powders, won't rub off on your clothes. Guerlain's gel bronzer provides such natural looking color that your friends think you took a mini-vacation. Don't worry, it'll be out little secret.

Fairy Dust

There were times when I was almost convinced that the key to an ever-elusive dewy complexion was other-wordly magic like fairy dust! No matter which products I used, I just could not get my skin to glow like I’d seen in the magazines. Sigh. Well, by some magical happening, my “fairy dust” theory wasn’t that far off. After much wishing and hoping, the beauty gods have bestowed upon us a panopoly of light weight, shimmer enhanced powders that provide just a hint of color and shimmer to brighten skin up and give us that ethereal, pixie-like glow once reserved only for goddesses-among-women (a.k.a. celebrities).

Cristal: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick. IMHO, this little compact is as valuable as a brick of gold! Bobbi Brown’s very finely milled powders produce a flawless look that feels comfy on the skin. The Shimmer Bricks compacts contain multi-colored strips of shimmer powders that blend together with a swirl of your brush. The vibrant, glowing result is no figment of your imagination!

Signature Cocktail: Bare Escentuals All Over Glow. Bare Escentuals tore onto the scene offering complete makeup solutions in finely milled mineral powder form to provide maximum coverage with minimal effort. This light-weight mineral powder delivers what it promises – virtually flaw-free skin with a light, dewy finish that feels as if you’re not even wearing makeup. Heavenly!

PBR: L’Oreal Bare Naturale All-Over-Mineral Glow. L’Oreal’s answer to the mineral makeup craze offers an easy to use product perfect for a first foray into shimmer powders for those who aren’t quite convinced of my Fairy Dust Theory, offering a basic range of sheer, slightly shimmering color designed to subtly enhance your natural skin tone and make you a believer!