10 Tips for Clean Skin

You wash your face in the morning and evening, but are you careful to keep it clean during the day? Here’s how:

1. Keep your hands away from your face. Touching or picking blemishes can cause them to rupture and spread bacteria and can even create permanent scarring. 

2. Wash your makeup brushes once a week. Bacteria can build up and then transfer to your skin. 

3. Drink green tea and water to detoxify and hydrate your skin from the inside out. 

4. Always shower or  wash your face after working out. Sweat and bacteria can congest your pores. 

5. Shield your forehead when using hairspray. 

6. Before applying makeup, always wash your hands. 

7. Learn to manage stress, since it produces chemicals that harm your body and skin. 

8. Maintain regular monthly facials for deep cleaning. 

9. Choose makeup and skincare products labeled “noncomedogenic.” They won’t clog your pores, so your skin can breathe.   

10. Change your pillowcase often. 

Makeup Tips for Spring 2009

I’m writing this curled up on my couch sipping hot tea and watching huge flakes of snow float from the sky. Can it really be mid-March—mere days from spring?

I need sun! I need warmth! And if not sun and warmth, then at least something fresh and new and preferably not colored as white as snow or gray as rain. You, too? 

I say we create a little springtime beauty of our own. Harper’s Bazaar recently ran a piece on updating makeup for the season, and I’d like to share their tips. 

Here’s to clean, hydrated faces touched with gorgeous color.

One of the hottest cheek colors this season is peach.
Hmm, doesn’t that sound nice? Just one warning: Because the color contains strong pigments, use a light hand. Just a bit below the apples of your cheeks will keep you looking fresh but not overdone.

Lips are still red, red, red!
The trick with this color, whether you choose a matte or glossy finish, is to keep the rest of your makeup subdued to let it really shine. 

Get a lighter, brighter look with metallic eye shadows.
In shimmery palettes of gold and silver, many of these colors are quite translucent, which keeps eyes looking pretty not heavy.

Rim your eyes in dark liner on both top and bottom to make a statement.
Apply the rest of your makeup for a light, clean and natural appearance to create a dramatic focal point.