Archive for October, 2009

Here are my top 10 beauty tips for Teens (but they are great for adults too!)

1.  Don’t over wash your face.  Teens usually have oily/acne prone skin.  A knee-jerk reaction is usually to constantly wash and use toner to “dry up” the problem.  This only makes things worse.  You should wash 3 times a day at the most, and you shouldn’t strip your skin.  This seems counter intuitive, but you cannot dry out the skin and expect acne to go away.  This only makes it worse.
2. Use moisturizer.  Once again, it seems to be the opposite of what you think.  If you have oily/acne prone skin, you MUST keep your skin balanced and hydrated.  Christopher Drummond Beauty makes an amazing serum that will help to hydrate the skin, without looking or feeling like you have anything on.  Plus, it’s all natural, so you don’t get any harmful chemicals on your skin.
3. Don’t buy cheap, and don’t buy expensive.  This is true for both skincare and makeup.  Cheap cosmetics use ingredients that are more likely to irritate the skin.  Especially generics.  On the other hand, just because something is expensive, doesn’t mean it will fix all of your problems.  Do your research, and you will find that there are a lot of moderately priced products that work great.  For instance, Mario Badescu is a great line that is not the cheapest in the world, but definitely not expensive.  And the products are great.
4. Read Your Labels.  This is Sooooooo important.  Stay away from mineral oil and petroleum at all costs.  Also parabens and artificial colors and fragrances should be avoided, if possible.  They are all known irritants that can exacerbate oily skin and acne.  Dimethicone is another ingredient that is known to cause irritation and acne.
5. Watch What Makeup You Use.  Please please please don’t wear a certain makeup brand because it’s what everyone else wears!!!  Be an educated consumer, and look at the ingredients before you buy a foundation.  If there is a grocery list of ingredients you can’t pronounce, including petrolateum, dimethicone, methyl and ethyl paraben, stay away.  These and many other ingredients will clog your pores and cause acne.  Christopher Drummond Beauty makes an amazing powder foundation that makes your skin look gorgeous, and does not clog the pores or cause acne.  The Veludo Velvet Foundation is perfect when you need healthy foundation that really works.
6. Stay Away From Mineral Oil.  Oh, did I say that already?  Well, it bears repeating.  The stuff is horrible for your skin.  Really.
7. Clean Your Cell Phone.  Yes, this is a skincare tip.  Do you realize how much oil dirt and bacteria are on cell phones?  Do you also realize that these are the same ingredients that cause acne?  Clean your cellphone daily, and never rest it against your face.  You are just transferring grime and bacteria onto your face.  Gross.
8. Focus on Your Eyes.  If you are unhappy with a part of your face, like your skin, or your nose, detract attention from them by focusing on your eye makeup.  By adding shimmer or color, the first thing people will look at is your beautiful eyes.  CDB has a great eyeshadow called “Aymee” that has just the right amount of pink/orange shimmer, and it makes your eyes just light up!  Plus, you can use it as a blush and on your lips too….how cool is that?
9. Orange is your Friend.  Orange colors look good on virtually everyone.  It helps to warm up your coloring, liven the skin, and brighten the complexion.  No, I’m not talking about day-glo-orange, I’m talking a pretty subtle orangey color, like the Alluring Apricot blush from CDB.  It’s great for any time of the year, too, so you don’t have to change blush colors, just because it’s winter.
10. Trust Your Instincts.  Listen to yourself.  You know what colors you like, and what you don’t.  If someone tells you that you should wear green, and you hate the color, don’t wear it.  If you love the color purple, and it makes you feel good, then by all means, wear it.  Makeup is an expression of who you are.  Have fun with it.  Do what you want!!!  However, be educated about what you wear on your skin.  Become knowledgeable about ingredients and what works for you and what doesn’t.  Believe in your makeup choices, and you will feel great about yourself!!!!