Great Looking Skin Even During Summer Heat

by Inna Grinblat of Glamorized Skin

Summer has finally started here in Southern California, which means the days are super hot and we mostly spend our time inside with the AC turned on. If not at the office/school, we spend time outside, baking in the heat and enjoying the nice weather. The bad thing about these situations is that extreme temperature changes lead to dry skin, no matter what skin type you are. All this causes flakyness for those with dry skin and more oil for those with oily skin (oily skin compensates for the dryness by producing more oil). Therefore, a gentle but thorough cleansing and exfoliating is a MUST and you should not forget to moisturize your skin to keep it hydrated. Make sure to use face moisturizers with the right ingredients - a cream/lotion for dry skin (an example is CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM) and a gel/serum for oily skin (an example is Olay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Serum).

It seems to me that during summer we want our skin to look even better, than throughout the rest of the year, because we spend so much time outside in bright light. With a help of a good and well matched foundation this can be easily achieved. In this article, I will help you figure out how to choose the right color and will recommend which foundation might better suite your skin type. First, you need to figure out if you have a pink or yellow skin tone. While standing in a good (preferably natural) light look in the mirror. Do you see mostly yellow undertone or pink? If this does not help, look on the inside of your wrist - if your veins look mostly green, then you have yellow undertone, but if they look mostly blue, then you have pink undertone.

Once you figured out your skin tone, half of the work is done and all you need to do, when looking for a proper foundation shade, is find the right intensity - fair vs. dark. The brands I will be recommending below have a good array of colors to choose from. When choosing a color, try a small amount of foundation on the back of your hand, not to see if it matches your skin color, but to see if it has a pink or yellow undertone. Once you find the right undertone for your skin, you will probably need to buy one or two shades that are similar to your skin color in order to check them out in a good light at home. Keep in mind that most drugstores and department stores will allow you to return opened makeup if you are not satisfied (ask about their makeup return policy). Many brands at the department stores would also provide you with a substantial sample to try at home for free before buying. This will give you the opportunity to try out several shades in the daylight in front of the good size mirror at home.

When you are home and ready to try your new foundation(s), use a sponge (or your fingers) to apply a small amount of the product to your jaw bone area and your cheek. What you are looking for is whether the color blends well with your natural skin tone. If your face is lighter (or darker) than your neck, do not try to match the shade of your neck to the shade of your face completely because it will only make your foundation look like a mask. Try to find a color somewhere in between the two shades, but closer to the one of your face. Thus, even after a sunburn you would look flawless as always.

Foundation recommendations for oily/combination skin:

Clinique Even Better Makeup SPF 15, L'Oreal Paris True Match Super Blendable Makeup SPF 17, MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 (personal favorite)

Foundation recommendations for dry skin: Stilla Illuminating Liquid Foundation, Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Airbrush Finish, Estee Lauder Resilient Lift Extreme Radiant Lifting Makeup SPF 15.

Foundations recommended above are not guaranteed to work for your skin type and life style, but it is a good start in finding that perfect one. If you have any questions please post them here and I will be glad to answer them.

Summer Vacation Here We Come! Or, a Guide to Efficient Packing of Your Cosmetics

It's summer time! Time to relax, enjoy the weather, and go out of town for a worry free vacation. We women, usually, have a hard time figuring out what we are going to take with us. This applies to everything - dresses, shoes, hats, bathing suites, skin care, make up and much more. The Glamorized Skin Team will help you with this dilemma. In this article we will guide you through packing your toiletries and make up essentials for your next glamorous trip.

Let us start with skin care products. Based on your skin type (oily/combination or dry/sensitive) you should take the minimum amount of  necessities with you. You will need a gentle cleanser, exfoliant, disinfectant (only if have acne prone skin), and a good moisturizer/serum with SPF for morning and without SPF for night. A good amount of sunscreen (SPF 45+) to keep your whole body protected from the sun throughout the vacation, is a good addition to the list. Additionally, you will need to pack a small amount of your favorite shampoo, conditioner and a full body moisturizer to treat your skin after a full day at the beach. We would not recommend taking body soap, shower gel or a large amount of moisturizer because most hotels provide these things for you in sufficient amounts. Finally, you should check with your airline/airport policies regarding the size and the amount of containers you are allowed take in your carry-on if you are taking your essentials on board.  We like to keep small containers from samples and gifts, which are under 3 oz., and re-use them each time we travel. To sum up below is a list of skin care necessities we recommend to take with you:

- Face Cleanser

- Exfoliant and Disinfectant (optional)

- Moisturizer AM (w/SPF) & PM (w/o SPF)

- Body Sunscreen (SPF 50+)

- Small bottle of body moisturizer

- Small bottle of shampoo and conditioner

Now lets discuss your make up necessities. You should first read our article about what skin tone/shade you have and which color scheme would suit you best (Color Wheel Your Face). Once you figure out your shading, you should concentrate on colors that will make you look fresh and well rested. If your vacation will not involve "black tie" events you should probably forgo taking with you heavy foundation, which will only make your your skin look artificial in the sun. All you will need is a tinted moisturizer with a well formulated sunscreen (over 30 SPF preferred). For our cool tone blondes a peachy shade blush and golden eyeshadow will make you look fresh and ready for various activities. A touch of a dark eyeliner and one to two coats of your favorite mascara will transform your day look for an evening outing. For brunettes, a pinkish-purple blush and light brown/purple eyeshadow with a little shimmer will make you look ready for a day at the beach. A touch of black eyeliner, a deeper brown eyeshadow in the crease, and black mascara will create a more elegant, evening look. Do not forget a good lip gloss/balm with sun protection for the day and a sheer lipstick for an evening. To sum up, here is a list of make up necessities you should take with you:

- Tinted Moisturizer (SPF 20+)

- Sheer Foundation (optional for evening use)

- Compact Powder (or loose if preferred)

- Light Eyeshadow

- Dark Eyeshadow

- Eyeliner (liquid or pencil)

- Mascara

- Lip gloss/balm (w/SPF)

- Lip gloss/sheer lipstick (w/o SPF for evening)

Additional Tips:

- Try not to take all your eyeshadow colors and lipstick colors with you. Choose the ones you look best in because you won't have time to use them all during your vacation anyway.

- If you have sensitive skin and cannot use moisturizer or body cleanser with fragrance, bring your own; the ones provided in the hotel will have fragrance.

- Do not forget a nail file (non-metal) in case you break or chip a nail. Also bring a clear nail polish to maintain your manicure.

- Try to pack you clothes in outfits (including shoes, handbags, and hats) so that you would not have to think about it while away.

- When flying, do not apply much make up before you board. However, 30-40 minutes before you land, wash your face and apply your exfoliant and moisturizer/sunscreen as usual. Then, apply your make up to look fresh when you arrive at your destination.

- Finally, do not forget to drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated and ready for all your planned (and unplanned!) activities. Skip the high sodium drinks or alcohol on the plane to help you stay hydrated and fresh.

I hope these tips will help you pack your luggage more efficiently and make your make up routine a breeze. I also wish you all great vacations this summer, no matter how long or short they are. If you can think of additional tips or tricks for vacation packing, please share with your fellow readers.

Product Review: Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

by Inna Grinblat of Glamorized Skin

I found another great product that may save time and effort and prevent frustration for many of us when it comes to lining our eyes with a liner. Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner is exactly what the name describes - a waterproof eyeliner that will stay on all day no matter what you do (you can even go swimming with it and it won't budge!). 

I know many people who have trouble with liquid eyeliner. Besides the fact that it is difficult to apply in a neat way (unless you have tons of practice), very often, it smudges, runs and leaves unwanted traces on the upper and lower eye lids. This happens especially if your upper eyelid touches your lower eyelid (Asian women have this eye shape). Additionally, if your eyelids sweat easily or get greasy because your skin is oily, you would also have trouble with a regular liquid eyeliner or even a pencil because they will all leave unwanted marks in around your eyes. These are the reasons I am always on a look out for a good eyeliner (liquid or pencil) to recommend to our readers. 

This eyeliner is a little different from other liquid eyeliners: its applicator looks very much like a pen or a thin marker. All you need to do before application is shake it. The applicator allows you to apply a thin line and you line your lash line only once. If you would like a thicker line, you can always apply an additional layer next to the first one. Make sure you make all the fixes and smudges before it sets because once it dries only an oil based make up remover, such is Clinique Take The Day Off Make up Remover, will be able to remove it.

Let us look at some other waterproof eyeliners that also perform well, but are not as good as Stila eyeliener. A good example is MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil or MAC Fluidline Liquid Eyeliner. The trouble with MAC pencil is that it is not completely waterproof and will smear with time if you have oily skin or a droopy lid. The Fluidline is similar to Stila eyeliner in terms of being very waterproof and will withstand swimming and all day wear. However, it is sold in a small jar and you will have to find a good eyeliner brush, such as Sonia Kashuk Eyeliner Brush, to use it. With Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner, all you have to do is open the pen and line your eyes without any fuss. That is why it is highly recommended by Glamorized Skin team. 

Lastly, I want to mention that the ingredient list for this eyeliner includes methylparaben and propylparaben, which are preservatives to keep this product fresh longer. These preservatives may be irritable for people with sensitive skin. If you know you have sensitivity to parabens and products containing them, this eyeliner should be tried with caution.

Product Review: Clinique Gift Spring 2011 - Not a bad choice for a sensitive skin!

by Inna Grinblat of GlamorizedSkin

In today's post, I will review products from Clinique Gift Offer with Purchase for Spring 2011.

This brand caught my attention because of the personal issue I have stumbled upon recently and I want to share my experience with our readers. Ever since puberty, I had breakouts and acne. I have oily/combination skin type and it took me a while to figure out the proper way to take care of my skin so that it looks and feels healthy. Once I figured out the proper routine for my skin type, my skin would react only if I put too much benzoyl peroxide (disinfectant) or salicylic acid (exfoliant) on it. Even then, it would get red or peel a little, but overall I could use any product I wanted and my skin would not react to it. I have never had, what many of my girl friends and acquaintances had and have - skin sensitivity. However, several months ago all of this changed. The skin on my face, as well as, on my whole body suddenly did not like anything it came in contact with. I had to change my laundry detergent, hand soaps, hand lotions, body lotions, shampoos, body wash, and etc. Basically, I had to change the way I was thinking when I would purchase any of those products - no fragrance, no preservatives or irritants. The worst part was that my favorite make up products would irritate the skin on my face with the most effect on the skin around my eyes. I am a make up artist and I love to play with make up and come up with different looks. I have many eyeshadows, eye liners, powders, blushes, and many other things and it took me some time to figure out which products I am sensitive to. I also had to find new products for sensitive skin. From my extensive research on make up products and brands that are designed for sensitive skin, two stood out the most: Clinique and Almay. I already wrote a review of Almay eyeshadow, and we will be reviewing more products of this brand in the near future. Let's focus on Clinique now.

This spring, Clinique was offering a gift with a purchase, which included a Medium Pink Floral Print Fabric Cosmetic Bag, a Small Floral Print Fabric Cosmetic Bag, Lash doubling Mascara in Black, Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, Take the Day Off Eye Makeup Remover, Compact Shadow Duo and Soft-Pressed Blush, Different Lipstick & Long Last Glosswear Duo. Two choices of color combinations were available: mauve and pink. I will refer to them as plum and coral throughout the article because I believe they describe the colors more accurately. I believe that all of these products are of a very good quality and are safe to use by all of us with sensitive skin. However, the blush brush that comes with the set it horrible and should be thrown out. It does not provide an even application and the bristles are very coarse and unpleasant to the skin. Let's look at each product individually:

Lash Doubling Mascara
This is a good mascara that is recommended for every day use because, although, it does increase the thickness and length of your lashes, it does not give you tremendous drama such as Maybelline New York Volum’ Express Turbo Boost Mascara 7X. It goes on smooth and does not clump or smear. 

Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
This lotion has been a portion of the Clinique's 3 Step System for a very long time. Although it does have moisturizing ingredients, it lacks antioxidants or any other "state-of-the-art" ingredients such as some of other Clinique moisturizers have (The Cosmetics Cop website and books provide more information on state-of-the-art products and ingredients). You may use this lotion on your hands and feet as it has mineral and sesame oils, which will moisturize your dry to very dry skin. However, I would not recommend using it on your face, because there are other, more beneficial and less expensive products out there.

Take the Day Off Eye Make Makeup Remover
This is a good, silicone and water, make up remover that removes not only regular make up but also stubborn, waterproof mascara and liners as well as long lasting lipsticks. There are many makeup removers out there, but the best one I came in contact with so far is Lancome Bi-Facil, Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover and I am happy to say that Clinique is on the same level of quality with Lancome when in comes to make up removers. 

Color Surge Eye Shadow Duo
There were two choices of the Gift that you could choose - plum colors or coral colors. The plum colors gift had Twilight Mauve/Brandied Plum duo and the coral colors gift had Rosewine duo. Each color combination is on the opposite sides of the color spectrum. The plum eyeshadows have very cool undertone and the coral eyeshadows have very warm, subtle undertone. However, all the colors should look fairly well on any skin tone. 

Soft Pressed Powder Blush
The plum colors gift had a reddish-pink blush, Smoldering Plum, that does not match the cool shade of the eyeshadows in the set because it has a very warm undertone. However, it is a very nice color and would work with most skin tones. Be aware that it has a lot of pigment and the color will look intense if it is not applied carefully. As I always recommend, start with small amount and layer to increase intensity. The color color gift had a light peachy blush, Pink Blush. This is a light color that will look very natural on a fair skin. However, if you have olive skin (or darker) or you are very tanned, most likely it will not show up on your skin.

Lipstick

Each gift set had very nice lipstick colors. However, both are a little extreme in terms of colors. For example, the coral gift set had Think Bronze lipstick, that is a deep shade of orange. It would look good with a very bright/fresh make up for a walk at the beach. The plum gift set had a completely different, deep plum color, Shy, which would look vulgar during the day but a good option for an elegant evening.

Long Lasting Glosswear SPF 15
In both cases, the lipgloss matches well with the lipstick in the set. Therefore, if you decide to buy both in a full  product size the guess work is done for you. The coral gift set has a very sheer, peach color, Air Kiss. The plum gift set has a plum color gloss, Mystic. This lipgloss can be worn on its own and stays on longer than regular lipglosses. However, when it's combined with a lipstick it looses its long wear properties and you will find you need repeated application of both products.

Lastly, I wanted to say that although the offer has ended, we can still buy these products in full size form at any department store that sells Clinique. I fully intend to do so once I run out of anything because these products work so well on my newly sensitive skin. I hope you found this review beneficial and I welcome your questions as always.


Photographs Source: www.amazon.com; www.simonelovesmakeup.com