"The Routine"

I’ve been very flattered lately to have been asked by a few people what my “routine” is. I hesitate to share this because it should be different for everyone – depending upon your skin’s needs – but I decided there are enough things we all should be doing (and I do have some favorite products) that it was worth a post.

The most important thing about your routine is to find out your skin type. Whatever you think your skin type is now, I'm sorry to say you are probably wrong. I know I was. I thought that since I was prone to breakouts that my skin was oily ( a common misconception), so I kept doing things to dry it out, which just made me break out more. Then, thanks to the fact that I write this blog, I was invited to a Skin Type Solutions event about a year ago and was given a set of products by Dr. Leslie Baumann tailored to my skin type. It is not an exaggeration to say that within about a week my skin transformed itself and that I can count on one hand the number of blemishes I’ve had since then. My skin has literally never looked better. So get thee to the skin type solutions website. There you will find out what type you really are.

• Once you know your skin type, CLEANSE. I used to be a department store snob, but once Dr. Baumann’s kit introduced me to CeraVe (from the Kinerase family), available at Walgreen's, I no longer turned my nose up at buying my products at drug stores.  

Creamy and moisturizing, it’s a great morning cleanser. I used to use it at night, too, but I found that it doesn’t do well at removing makeup so I had to use a washcloth, which was unnecessarily abrasive and defeated the purpose of using a gentle cleanser, so I set about finding a good moisturizing cleanser that removes makeup well. My search landed me very happily with Fresh’s Soy Face Cleanser. It foams just a little bit, smells like heaven, and - in an unexpected bonus - takes off most of my eye makeup without any burning. When I dry my face on my white towels, there is virtually no makeup left behind!

• EXFOLIATE. Do this at least a couple of times a week, particularly if you use any type of retinoid product on your skin like I do for acne, as these products speed up cell turnover and exfoliation helps this along. My favorite exfoliator is Biore Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator (another drugstore superstar) because it’s so gentle and leaves you so glowing without over-stripping or shredding your skin. 
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  And don’t forget to exfoliate your lips, too, particularly in the winter. This will help de-flake and make your lipsticks go on more smoothly.You don’t need to waste money on a product for this. Just wet your lips with some water, rub some granulated sugar over them and rinse! Do this at night and go to bed with some Smith’s Minted Rose Lip Balm on your lips and your lips will be transformed in the morning.

• TONE. I use toner to remove the last bits of makeup from my skin, to hydrate and refresh. This is an optional step, but don’t ever, ever use products like Sea Breeze or Bonne Bell’s Ten-O-Six Lotions. You might as well just stick your head in a vat of alcohol. If you’re a dry skin type, there’s clearly no need for this and if you’re oily, you may think you’re doing your skin good, but all you’re doing is making your skin produce more oil to compensate. Gentle is the operative word here. Since my favorite toner, Kinerase Antioxidant Hydrating Mist, was taken off the market, I had to find a new toner, and, again, Fresh to the rescue with its
  
  Rose Marigold Floral Water.
• MOISTURIZE. First of all, don’t skip eye cream. I don’t care how old you are or if you have the first signs of wrinkles yet. Your undereye area is incapable of making its own moisture so you have to help it. If you don’t have visible signs of aging yet, simply use a moisturisizing product like Clarins Eye Contour Balm or Neutrogena Healthy Skin Eye Cream.  If you are older and have various issues under the eyes, there are about a zillion products out there that target each area – puffiness, dark circles, lines and wrinKles, dryness. I’ve done the legwork, though, and still my favorite (and such a bargain!) is Dr. LeWinn’s Lift and Resculpt (see my post), which targets all these issues.
• Secondly, moisturize your whole face. Even if your skin is oily, you need some kind of moisture, but follow the recommendation of your Dr. Baumann regimen.  During the day I typically use a moisturizing sunscreen (again CeraVe because it has everything I want and need: ceramides and hyaulronic acid, both crucial for water and moisture retention, is non-comedogenic and controlled-release so my skin feels moisturized all day. At night,if I’m particularly dry, I use a moisturizing oil straight out of the shower (a tip from my favorite beauty maven Jean Godfrey June).
  
  
  My pick for this is the slightly-pricey Clarins Santal Oil for Dry Skin. I follow that with the heavier CeraVe Cream (as opposed to the lighter lotion.
  
  

If all this has been too much information, feel free to ignore everything I’ve said except this: DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOME WITHOUT SUNSCREEN ON YOUR FACE AND HANDS. The brand is not important (although I like CeraVe for the quality, ingredients and the price), but the SPF (at least 30, preferably higher) and the stability of the ingredients is. This step alone will save you from premature aging, skin cancer and age spots. It will, unfortunately, also prevent you from getting enough Vitamin D, so make sure you are not deficient in this (see my previous post about this for details).

Here's to better skin for all in the new year!

Perkiest Nail Polishes for the Depths of Winter

I love winter…everything about it…the cold, the heavy clothes, even the dark makeup colors. But I was flipping through a magazine from summer the other day while my black manicure was drying and a photo of a woman with her 10 fingers decked out in Dior’s Nirvana from the Rock Your Nails collection from last spring practically jumped off the page at me. Why, I thought, can’t we wear some of spring and summer’s colors to give our nails – if not our spirits – a little boost in the middle of January?

I set about making a short list of those colors that are spring and summer-like  but will just give you that little shot of color, not make you look like you’re having a misplaced resort fantasy.

My favorite, and not just because of the name, may be Nirvana. A groovy, dense, more green-than-blue teal, it could BE the cornerstone of your black-cigarette pants and black turtleneck ensemble. It will lift your spirits everytime you do something with your hands.

A few summers ago, Essie came out with one of my all time favorite colors, Lapis of Luxury. I couldn’t stop looking at my toes every time I wore it. Last summer they went one better and darkened the shade, creating Coat Azure. A blue to remind you of the Caribbean you’re not seeing during your urban winter, but a pick-me-up nonetheless.

The orange craze isn’t over, and it’s not just for summer, as evidenced by my young, hip colleague Krista who showed up with her orange manicure this week. My favorite orange for winter is without a doubt Deborah Lippman’s Lara’s Theme (named for model Lara Stone), in part for its opacity but also for lack of blinding brightness.

Summer and pink just go together, meaning your pink nails might look a little strange in February. But not if they’re Graphic Berry. This deep berry is such an odd color in certain light it can almost be mistaken for red. Only it really is a glorious, deep fuchsia.

So there you have it, perk up your nails – and your spirits – for the price of a manicure and/or pedicure.