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Skin Care
Cosmeceutical Beverages Want You to Drink Up
Ah, drinks that are supposed to improve your skin. You all may remember my not-so-amazing encounters with Glowelle and Borba, and at this point I don't think I ever want to put another vial of powdered "nutraceuticals" in my water bottle. But just when I thought the Splenda headaches and weirdly thick tinctures were behind me, I find out that there are a whole bunch of new drinks, including an antiaging version, an organic version, and one made, appealingly, with cow mammary gland proteins, slated for release over the next several months.
Why Won't This $85 Treatment Work For Me? Let's Find Out.
Julia Coney of All About the Pretty has the most beautiful complexion. If I didn't know better, I'd think she has a secret entourage of Photoshoppers touching up her skin as she walks around all day. It's just that flawless and glowing.
Is This Face Scrubber a Match For Clarisonic?
Do you squeal with joy upon finding a much (much) cheaper alternative to an expensive beauty item? Of course. At any rate, you all know what I've had to say about my Clarisonic, but at almost $200, it's most certainly an investment.
Would You Vampirize Yourself?
Maybe Dracula had it at least a little bit right: apparently blood really can keep you young, but only if it's your own.
In the UK, the hottest new antiaging procedure is "S3" or Stimulated Self Serum skin therapy, which is a pretty alliterative euphemism for injecting your own blood into your face. Well, not your blood, exactly, but the clear serum that's left over once your red blood cells and platelets have been removed.
A Callus Rejection: 3 Ways to Ditch Thick, Rough Skin
I wear a lot of heels, which are a surefire way to get calluses, but even if you don't, those cute ballet flats, comfy Chucks, or spiffy top-siders are putting pressure on several points on your feet, causing callus buildup. It's not like calluses are harmful — they're a natural part of life — it's just that they're ugly, and it's guaranteed you won't notice one until you're about to go out on a date wearing cute new sandals. To prevent this scenario, I've put together three inexpensive tricks to keep calluses at bay.
How Many Skincare Products Is Too Many?
My skincare routine has gotten increasingly complicated over the last few weeks. I've added a couple of things that I really want to try, but now I'm using seven products every night before bed. For the sake of my sanity, and my skin, things can't go on this way.
Do Nighttime Potions Really Work? Yes and No.
The nighttime skincare market is a booming business, with sales for the first half of the year reaching an astounding $43 million just for facial moisturizers alone. "At nighttime, skin does its repair," StriVectin's Kristine Cryer told the New York Times. That sounds believable, but does our skin really get that much extra benefit from specifically formulated nighttime treatments?
DIY Spa Treatment: Depuffing Cucumber Honey Eye Nourisher
From making your own bubble bath to a wide variety of ideas for creating your own body scrubs, isn't it apparent that I love me some DIY formulations? Recently I came across this Cucumber Honey Eye Nourisher recipe from celebrity esthetician Christopher Watt for Honey.com, and immediately realized it was a perfect addition to our DIY coverage. Not only does this four-ingredient mask help reduce puffiness around the eye area, but it also soothes and cools the delicate skin surrounding your peepers.
There Is Such a Thing as Clean Coal — on Your Face
Ages ago, in the first half of the 20th century, charcoal was a common ingredient in everything from toothpastes to soap to indigestion pills. As Americans began using new, "modern" synthetic products, charcoal went out of vogue, consigned to the world of unreliable folk remedies from your great-aunt and the sketchy back aisles of fetid hippie-run co-op grocery stores. Which is sad, because charcoal is a very effective cleanser, non-acnegenic, and totally biodegradable.
To Tone or Not to Tone?
There's something about toner that seems a little old-fashioned. It's not that I haven't used one — I spent most of high school dousing myself in witch hazel — it's just that between cleansers, exfoliants, masks, and the army of high-tech new potions that claim to do anything and everything you can imagine, toner seems really simple, almost quaint. But appearances can be deceiving, and even though Sea Breeze ($5) and its ilk may be the same as they were in the '70s, there are some new toners out there with futuristic formulations that fight aging, acne, and even redness.
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