How to & Tips

Determining your skin type is especially important when you get to that age of using skin care products to treat whatever issues you have! This normally starts right when you hit your teens. Here are some characteristics of the different skin types to figure yours out.

Normal skin:

• an even complexion
• pores that are normal sized
• skin with very few lines or wrinkles

Your goal: Lucky you! All you need to do is maintain and protect.

Oily skin:

• all over shine
• pores that are medium to large
• acne-prone skin – blemishes, whiteheads, blackheads, pimples

Your goal: Minimize shine, control breakouts, moisturize and protect.

Combination skin:

• oily in the t-zone
• dry in cheeks
• basically, your skin seems to be a combination of dry/oily in different places

Your goal: Control shine, normalize skin, treat and protect.

Sensitive skin:

• Thin, delicate skin
• Flushes easily
• Prone to broken capillaries
• Frequently Allergic
• Rashes/peeling skin

Your goal: Treat, moisturize, protect.

Dry Skin:

• fine, almost invisible pores
• skin that feels dry and tight
• cheeks are flaky and dry
• visible lines and wrinkles around the eyes and mouth

Your goal: Hydrate and moisturize, treat, then protect.

What’s your skin type? Has your skin type changed as you enter different stages in your life?

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I was a very indecisive teen during highschool. Every 3 months my best friend and I would terrorize our local hairdresser.

“Gimme a perm! I want to be blonde! Straighten my hair! Gimme layers! Gimme extensions!” My most ridiculous request? “Please give me curly hair underneath, ONLY. I want the top of my head to be straight, and underneath to be curly! Woohoo! Oh, and dye the curly bit black, and leave the rest my natural brown.”

What the heck?! Where did I get that idea from? In two days, my best friend had two perms and bleached her hair blonde! (She still has hair, in case you’re wondering.) You can bet she had to chop off half her hair and deep condition like crazy for the rest of the year, though.

Poor hairdresser. We still go to her today when we’re in town. The thing is, we didn’t really need to have that second perm, or almost faint when we saw our hair turned out red instead of ‘rich brown’ – simply showing a picture of what you want to a hairstylist will help much better than words.

So here’s my tip:

Bring photos to your hairstylist of what you want – and specifically DON’T want – it really helps them greatly. Instead of using words, use visuals to explain.

The reason? One inch to you might be different for them (for whatever reason). I once asked for 2 inches off my ends, I got 4 inches off. Sigh.

Any crazy hair stories to share?

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The beauty industry, especially the skin care industry, is starting to overload with products – some might feel a little overwhlemed with what is available on the market today. Serums, scrubs, night creams, eye creams, day creams, this-and-that creams … Don’t know about you, but I’m confused!

However, no matter what new ‘miracle cream’ comes into the market, there are 5 skincare tips that will always make your skin look amazing:

1. Sunscreen is a must. It helps prevent skin damage that ages you, and of course skin cancer. The best is to get an SPF 15 or higher.
2. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. It helps to keep every part of your body looking healthy, younger and soft.
3. Remove makeup throughly. Remove all traces of makeup before you sleep. Also, try not to cake on too much foundation that might clog pores and result in blemishes and zits.
4. No smoking! Smoking will dramatically age your skin, amongst other things!
5. Get your beauty sleep. You know what they say … Beauty sleep is just that – you feel fresh, look fresh, and your body is energized and healthy. What can possibly be better for your skin?!

What are your top skin care tips?

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Here’s an interesting, quick hair tip I haven’t heard before from Allure magazine (and was published in their Aug ’08 issue.)

Condition your hair before you shampoo. That way, you’ll still get the moisture and elasticity, but you’ll wash out any residue that can weigh down fine hair.

Thoughts? I might have to try this – you have not seen flat hair ’til you’ve seen mine! (Although dry shampoo has been helping me these past few months, it’s the quickest way I’ve found volume so far. If your hair is still having trouble getting volume, my post 8 Ways to Get More Volume in Your Hair may be of help.)

What do you think of this tip from Allure? Seems like it would make sense. Does anyone do this trick?

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I suddenly thought of something I read when long ago about fragrance (at 4.45 in the morning no less?!) in one of the women’s magazines my mother has lying around everywhere. The tip was how to make your fragrance last longer on your skin. I’ve heard the whole ‘layer your scent’ review thing but personally I haven’t tried it out. But this one really works: Apply a thin layer of Vaseline to your skin, and spray your perfume over it.

Apparently the heat and moisture ‘soaks’ the fragrance more and it will stay on much longer. I can fully endorse this tip, as I have tried it countless times in the past… can’t remember why I stopped, though – probably got lazy! I should probably start again, because I am either a sore loser when it comes to picking out perfumes or have no sense of smell, because every thing I’ve tried seems to disappear quickly, even if it’s Eau du parfum! I urge you to try this out!

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The very first reader question! Let me hyperventilate.

OK done.

Reader K writes:

I’ve been looking around your site and it has some great beauty tips for general us! I am having a spring wedding though, and was wondering if you had any bridal-specific beauty tips?

Congratulations on your engagement! I am sure you’d want to look your best possible on your special day – not to mention, the wedding photos last a lifetime, so it’s vital to look your absolute best! I am nowhere near getting married so I don’t have any personal tips, however I can imagine, and plus I did some research online. Here’s what I found:

Hair and Make Up

• Keep the whole look classic and timeless. Don’t experiement with any new hair colors or haircuts right before your wedding, try it out at least one month before. Same for makeup – no trying on blue eyeshadow or some lipstick that flakes everywhere on your special day! Take photos of your makeup so you can access how you will look like in your wedding pictures!

• Start with the weekly conditioners a month before the wedding. I would recommend anything by Redken, especially their All Soft range.

• Schedule your hair and makeup trial appointments about a week before the wedding – that way, if you do like it, the stylist can remember what they actually did! Trying on makeup and hairstyles months before the wedding is not such a good idea; 1) because you might change your mind, and 2) the stylist might not remember exactly how he/she did it.

• Have a test day for your whole ensemble. Sometimes, the hair can look beautiful – but when it’s with your dress it might look completely different and make the proportions look all wrong!

• A last tip for hair? Use L’Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray. It really is the best.

• This is a recommendation from a friend … she says Bobbi Brown has some of the best natural looking makeup, and Bobbi herself has always said your wedding day should just be a more beautiful version of yourself, and I couldn’t agree more! Opt for something natural and beautiful, like this picture from her Spring makeup collection above! Stunning.

Skin care

• Try adopting these good skin care habits months before the wedding such as daily moisturizer and sunscreen.

• Do not try any new skincare products closely to your wedding. If you can, go to a dermatolgist a month before so he/she can sort out any skin problems you might have. If it’s nothing serious, get a facial – but at least 2-4 weeks before the wedding, in case there are any reactions.

• Waxing should be done at least 4 days before your wedding day, in case you get irration or ingrown hairs.

• Two words for the big day (apart from I do of course!): BLOTTING PAPERS. Or a makeup artist lurking around somewhere. Blotting papers are quick touch ups that soak up any nasty sebum or mishaps that has happened with your makeup. Try getting powdered ones – it’s a more natural, light alternative to piling on lots of applications of powder throughout the day.

One last tip … waterproof mascara – for everyone in the family! (And take some time to de-stress and relax through all that planning!)

Does any other brides, soon to be or not, have any other bridal beauty tips?

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