Top 10 Beauty Essentials: 

1) Sunscreen
It’s no surprise that sunscreen tops my list! Sun damage is the number one way to prematurely age your skin, so aside from staying indoors 24/7, sunscreen is your skin’s best friend! The sooner you give up tanning and start using sunscreen, the younger you will look later in life! But even if you were like me and tanned up a storm until you were 25, it’s never too late to start wearing sunscreen daily. This is the best anti-aging product ever!

2) Enough Sleep
Sure everyone skimps on sleep because there are a million seemingly better things to do, but lack of sleep makes you look old and tired, gives you bags under your eyes, makes your skin look ruddy, gives you bloodshot eyes – and that’s just in the short term! Long term sleep deprivation taxes your body and ages you faster inside and out. I try to sleep 7-9 hours a night. I know that sounds like a lot, but there’s nothing worse than having people tell you that you look tired all the time!

3) Healthy Diet
Eating a healthy diet is just about as boring and difficult as getting enough sleep, but again it’s essential to your health, and the healthier you are, the healthier your skin and body will appear. Cut out the bad stuff (sugar, simple carbs, soda, processed foods, and trans fats), and load up on tons of antioxidant-rich vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats. I love sugar, so it’s horrible to me that it causes your skin to wrinkle faster, but it does!

4) Exercise
Exercising regularly is another difficult task, but it helps de-stress you (and stress is a major cause of aging). Exercise increases blood flow and circulation, and it helps prevent diseases, which can prematurely age you. A lot of people also get a “healthy glow” after exercising. I’m not sure if I’m one of those people, but I just know how many health benefits exercise provides, and slowing down the aging clock is definitely one of them! Toning up flabby skin, and reducing cellulite are other reasons I find exercise essential.

5) Retinoids
Topical prescription retinoid creams are one of the few products that have been proven to soften fine lines and wrinkles, even out your skin tone, and help with acne (depending on which retinoid you use). The over-the-counter ingredient retinol is also a proven wrinkle fighter, as long as you pick a retinol product with an ample amount of retinol, and make sure to avoid jar packaging. Personally I don’t waste my money on many hyped miracle creams – I just stick with retinoids like Renova for wrinkles, and Differin for acne, plus wrinkles. These aren’t miracle products, but they do give some visible results.

6) Antioxidants
Topical antioxidants give your skin a little extra prevention against sun damage, pollution, and second-hand smoke, all of which cause a breakdown of collagen and elastin. Luckily a lot of new sunscreens and moisturizers now come with antioxidants, or you can apply an antioxidant serum in the morning before your sunscreen. I haven’t seen noticeable results from antioxidant products, but to me they are just extra protection against aging. A lot of people do claim they see results with topical Vitamin C, Ferulic Acid, Idebenone, etc. but I haven’t seen any results – I just know they are good preventive anti-aging ingredients. Also, you can speak to your doctor about vitamin antioxidant supplements. I take a multivitamin and several other daily vitamins. I haven’t seen any results from oral antioxidants either, but I take them knowing they may be preventing aging  – it’s just impossible to know for sure!

7) Good Skin Care Regimen For Your Specific Needs
A simple skin care regimen that addresses your specific skin care issues is essential. Everyone can benefit from using a gentle cleanser, sunscreen and antioxidants, and either a retinol/retinoid product (which increases the skin’s turnover rate), or an exfoliating product like glycolic acid, or a weekly facial scrub. Regular exfoliation keeps your skin looking smoother and younger. If you have any skin problems like Rosacea, Eczema, Melasma, or severe acne, it’s important that you see a Dermatologist for help. For mild to moderate acne, I have a slightly more complicated acne regimen that works for me. If you have dry skin like I do, moisturizers are great for temporarily plumping up your skin and preventing flakiness, but if you have oily skin, you can probably skip them. I also recommend reading the book ”The Skin Type Solution” which gives you a skin care regimen for your specific skin type.

8) Makeup!
I wish I didn’t love makeup so much, but like most women, I feel naked and exposed without it. If you are prone to acne, make sure you avoid makeup and skin care products that cause cosmetic acne. I try to keep my makeup pretty simple so it only takes me about 5 minutes to apply everything, but it makes me feel a lot more presentable to the world. 

9) Big UV Protection Sunglasses & Satin Pillowcases
Aside from wearing sunscreen, sunglasses are another essential sun safety beauty tool. They not only keep your eyes protected from UV damage, but sunglasses further help prevent crow’s feet and wrinkles around your eyes. Plus they prevent you from squinting and creating even more wrinkles. Look for sunglasses that say 100% UV protection, or UV 400. You don’t have to go with big sunglasses, but the bigger they are, and the more they wrap around your face, the more of your face that is protected.

A lot of people think satin pillowcases are silly, but if you want to wake up without giant creases in your face, satin pillowcases are a must! I used to have the “just rolled out of bed” look for over an hour or two when I had regular pillowcases – I would get to work and the creases would still be there! Now I wake up without any creases, and satin pillowcases are also gentler on your hair than regular ones.

10) Good Hair Care
Honestly no matter what I do to my hair, it never looks that good, so I’m still waiting for the day I can tell you what I did to achieve lush, thick, bouncy, super shiny hair. Because I have dealt with hair loss for several years, I know first-hand how traumatizing it is to have thin hair that just keeps getting thinner, and no matter what you do, nothing really works that well. Currently I’m trying to be gentle on my hair and have been using gentle shampoos, and I keep my hair styling products to a minimum. I’ve experimented with so many different hair care products and topical treatments, but there’s nothing I have tried that I love! The sleeping enough, eating well, taking vitamins, and exercising regularly tips will also help make your hair look great (in theory at least). What are your best hair care tips?  

Bonus Beauty Essentials: Injectables like Botox and Restylane
I know a lot of people are afraid of having Botox and fillers injected into their face, but these treatments really do wonders to soften wrinkles and expression lines, and to add volume to your face. Despite all of my preventive measures, this year I have seen the lines in my forehead getting deeper, and you don’t know how bad I want Botox right now! I just can’t afford it, so for now I’m using Frownines every night, which prevent me from waking up with giant frown lines in my forehead and between my eyes (the lines still come back later in the day).

A lot of these beauty essentials don’t offer instant results, but they help to prevent aging, or they gradually help to improve your appearance. If I suddenly eat perfectly for a week, or exercise every day like I should, I don’t notice instant results, but cumulatively, the healthier you keep your lifestyle, the healthier you will look. Not everyone is born with great genes when it comes to aging, but at least there’s a lot that you can do! What are your beauty essentials???

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Last week I was at CVS and noticed my favorite foundation Maybelline Pure Makeup was on closeout, and upon further investigation, it appears it’s been discontinued. It’s currently half-price at every drugstore. Why??? Why??? Do you know how many foundations I had to try before I fell in love with this one??

What to do when your favorite beauty product is discontinued:

1) Cry. Mourn. Tell yourself maybe you’ll find something even better, even though you know it’s probably not true.

2) Contact the product’s company to find out if they have a similar product that you may have previously overlooked. When my Clinique moisturizer was discontinued, I emailed Clinique (the contact info is on their website) and asked what they would recommend as a replacement. They were very polite and emailed me some suggestions, but the new products they recommended either cost more, came in jar packaging, or had completely different ingredients, so I didn’t end up buying any of their recommendations. You may even find out your product hasn’t really been discontinued, and that there’s still a way to purchase it (either at a different store, only online, etc.)

3) Head over to MakeupAlley.com and look at the product reviews of your favorite product to see if other people have suggestions for what product they found to be similar to your favorite. Then you can look through reviews of other products in the same category to see what else appears to have great reviews, but this can take hours and hours because there are so many products out there. 

4) If your favorite beauty product has been reformulated, buy the new version and maybe you will still like it. I rarely find this to be the case, but sometimes I am still happy with the new version. Ulta, Sephora, and most drugstores and department stores will let you return used makeup and skin care products you don’t like, and I have no guilt about doing it when my beloved product has been ruined with a new inferior formulation!

5) Stock up! I just bought 5 tubes of the Maybelline Pure Makeup, and I figure it will last me a few years. That will postpone the search for finding the new perfect foundation for quite a while. Hopefully by the time they all run out I’ll have found something even better, and if the makeup goes bad before then, it only cost me a few dollars each, so it was worth the risk. At least I have peace of mind…for now.

6) If you can’t find your favorite product in the store before it’s gone, again contact the product’s company to see if they can help you locate a last few bittersweet bottles of your favorite perfume or precious jars of your moisturizer. Clinique has a service that does this, but I decided against trying to track down any more of the On-line moisturizer because I was just so mad at the time, and I had found a cheaper alternative that was almost as good.

7) Start a Facebook campaign to have your favorite product brought back. Okay this one is pretty far-fetched, but TV shows have been brought back from the dead by people signing online petitions, and Betty White got her SNL hosting job from Facebook supporters. I kind of doubt a tube of lipstick or mascara would garner the same support as a TV show, or Betty White, but you never know…

8) Type in the first several ingredients of your favorite product into Google and see if there’s another product out there that has similar ingredients. The same company may make the same product under a different name, or you may find another company that makes a very similar product. This is a slight long-shot, but it’s worth trying.

9) Check online to see if your favorite product is still available somewhere – on a website that specializes in discontinued beauty products, on Amazon, on eBay, on a store website in another country, etc. Just be cautious because I find it’s not always a good idea to buy beauty products from eBay or random websites, and chances are you can’t return the product if you have a problem with it (it’s a fake, it’s expired, etc.) Amazon is a good place to buy from, though, because they offer refunds.

10) Start saving up some money because in the end you will probably have to start the quest for your new favorite lipstick/moisturizer/shampoo/sunscreen, and it will inevitably cost a lot to find it. The whole kiss a lot of frogs thing is totally true when it comes to beauty products (as well as men of course). Unless I get lucky, I will probably have to try 5-10 new foundations before I find one I like as much as the Maybelline Pure Makeup. I will probably end up returning some future foundations I end up hating, but most people keep their purchases, even when then don’t really like them. Despite reading great reviews about a product online (or on my site), everyone is different, so even though a product may work great for most people, you may not be one of them:(

What’s your favorite beauty product that’s been discontinued? How did you go about finding a replacement that you love just as much? The only silver lining in this whole thing, for me at least, is that I’d run out of things to write about if I never tried new products. And even if you think you’ve found the best beauty product ever, there’s probably something out there that’s even better, but you just don’t know it yet…

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RevitaBrow review
The RevitaBrow website says the product will make your eyebrows look darker, thicker, and fuller, so what I thought that meant was that my patchy, bald areas would fill in, and I would regain the eyebrows I used to have. However, inside the box, there’s a disclaimer that says, “RevitaBrow Eyebrow Conditioner is not intended to treat, prevent, cure, relieve, resolve, stop or reduce hair loss or to promote the growth of hair.” Isn’t that a contradiction??

Nonetheless, I applied the product every night with the easy-to-use wand applicator. I didn’t see any changes to my eyebrows until at least 6 weeks, which is when I noticed my eyebrow hairs looked darker and the diameter of the actual hairs seemed thicker and healthier. So I guess that’s what they meant by thicker. Even my boyfriend noticed my eyebrows seemed darker when I asked him if they looked different. It’s been over 8 weeks now and my patchy spots and outer hairs haven’t grown back, but apparently they aren’t supposed to since the product isn’t a hair growth aid. I usually need to do minimal plucking of stray hairs, and I did notice a few more stray hairs than usual, so either the RevitaBrow did help to grow some new hairs, or it darkened hairs I already had but just couldn’t see before. Interestingly, the second ingredient of the product is Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract, also known as Saw Palmetto, and orally that is a supplement that may help with genetic hair loss. I didn’t have any adverse effects from the product.

Is RevitaBrow worth it?
I may be wrong, but I assume most people that buy eyebrow enhancing products do so because they have thinning, sparse eyebrows, and they are hoping to regrow them. After viewing the product info on the RevitaBrow website, I had assumed the product would help regrow lost hairs, and it wasn’t until I read the fine print in the actual box that I found out the product wasn’t intended to grow hair. So personally I felt misled. However, the actual RevitaBrow box only says that it will “dramatically enhance the beauty of your Natural Eyebrows” and you are left to guess what exactly that means.

For $110 a tube, RevitaBrow is expensive, but I did see a change in my eyebrows – the existing hairs got darker and thicker. I’m not sure how long the tube lasts, but it’s been over 2 months and I still have some of the product left. If you are seeking darker eyebrows, an alternative would be to have them dyed once a month, but that may not be a whole lot cheaper, and it’s dangerous to use dye near your eyes.

The bottom line: If you can afford it, RevitaBrow may be worth trying if you are seeking eyebrows that are darker and healthier looking. Just remember that chances are you won’t see new hair growth. Also, I assume you will need to continue using the product indefinitely to keep up with the results.

*Buy RevitaBrow Eyelash Conditioner Here*

RevitaBrow ingredients:
Water/aqua/Eau, Serenoa Serrulala Feuit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Swertia Japonica Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Biotin, Octapeptide-2, Apiqenin, Oleanolic Acid, Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, Cellulose Gum, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Butylene Glycol, PPG-26-Buteth-26, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Tritcum Vulgare (Wheat) Protein, Isopropyl Cloprostenate, Disodium Phosphate, Phosphoric Acid, Pentylene Glycol

Related posts:

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There will be two contest winners, each who will win one RevitaLash Eyelash Conditioner. To enter the contest, leave a comment on the bottom of this article about why you want to win RevitaLash, and be sure to include your name and email address (your email address will not be visible to others). I will randomly pick two winners and notify each winner by email, and then I will get your address and send you your prize. You can only enter once.

The contest starts March 11th and ends March 25th, 2010.

Visit RevitaLash FAQ to read more detailed information about the product. RevitaLash is a cosmetic, so its current formula does not contain any “drug” ingredients and you don’t need a prescription to use it, unlike Latisse. RevitaLash should be safe to use for everyone, but you must follow the instructions in the box carefully, and if you have any concerns, speak with a doctor before using it. In some cases, you could be allergic to an ingredient in the product, so discontinue using it immediately if this is the case.

RevitaLash Ingredients: Water, Sodium Chloride, Panthenol, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Disodium Phosphate, Trifluoromethyl Dechloro Ethylprostenolamide, Cellulose Gum

With all that said, Good luck!!!

Update: The contest is over. Congratulations to the winners – Adelaide and Ria!

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In my quest for a new digital camera, I found out Casio cameras have a feature called Makeup Function, which is basically instant airbrushing. The feature smoothes out the appearance your skin, minimizes fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes, dark circles, and sun spots, and it helps make bad lighting look better by softening it. You can control the effect in 12 different increments, so that you can get picture perfect skin, without looking too fake. Too bad it just works in the pictures, and not in real life.

If I was rich, I would get a Casio and give it to all my friends so I wouldn’t inevitably end up having to untag more horrible pictures of myself on Facebook in the future. I also read some people hire professional photographers to shoot their Facebook profile pics(!) and their profile pics on dating websites. Since a lot of people don’t know how to use imaging software, there are also places online where you can pay someone to Photoshop your pictures for you to make your skin and makeup look perfect.  Maybe this camera could save you a lot of money in the end? I haven’t tried a Casio with Makeup Function yet, so I do wonder if this is just a gimmick, or if it works really well. Usually I buy Canon or Nikon cameras, but would totally switch to Casio just for the airbrushing feature (and they come in cute colors)!

*Check out Casio cameras with Makeup Function*

Do you have a Casio camera that has the airbrushing feature? Does it work well?

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Does Latisse work?
Allergan did clinical trials and found that 78% of patients saw a significant increase in eyelash length, thickness and fullness after 16 weeks. The treatment is meant for people with eyelash hypotrichosis (inadequate eyelashes), so it’s ironic to me that Brooke Shields is their spokesperson, since her eyelashes were plenty thick to start with, although not quite as impressive as her thick eyebrows. The Latisse website also has before and after pictures of other patients, and the results are quite pronounced. What I found odd, though, was that not one person on the Latisse website had “inadequate” lashes before they used Latisse.

The downside of Latisse
Patients are supposed to apply the Latisse solution to the base of the upper eyelash margin only (not the bottom), and results can be expected starting at 8 weeks, and full results will be seen after 16 weeks. I have no problem waiting patiently to see results, however Latisse costs $120 a month! So you will need to spend $240 to even begin seeing results, and you won’t see the final results of your eyelash growth until you’ve spent $480. You also must keep using Latisse forever to keep up with the results. Like Rogaine for scalp hair, Latisse stops working when you stop using it and your eyelashes will go back to their pre-treatment state.

Given that some women spend a small fortune on eyelash extensions, which don’t last that long, and seems like a really uncomfortable process, I guess Latisse could be a good alternative for people that already get eyelash extensions.

Latisse side effects
While Latisse has been shown to be safe for most people, it can have some serious side effects. 4% of patients reported itchy eyes and eye redness. Less common side effects include darkening of the skin where the solution is applied, dry eyes, and red eyelids. Finally, there’s a small possibility that Latisse can permanently increase the brown pigmentation in your eyes, so brown eyes would get darker, or blue, green eyes or hazel eyes could develop brown pigmentation. The main ingredient in Latisse has been used to help glaucoma patients prior to its new cosmetic use, so it’s not a new treatment, but I do still wonder about the long-term safety of the product.

My take on Latisse
I never gave much thought to my eyelashes before I started seeing the Latisse commercials, but now that I’ve studied my eyelashes in the mirror, I am slightly horrified that they are pretty skimpy and inadequate. Thanks for giving me another thing to worry about:( Nonetheless, I personally have no interest in using Latisse because I have found a cheaper solution to small eyelashes – mascara! There are so many great mascaras on the market, and in one minute I can achieve the longer, darker, thicker eyelashes that Latisse promises, but for a fraction of the cost. And if you use mascara and aren’t happy with the results, switch to something else! I have no idea why Maybelline Great Lash mascara is always willing awards and is such a best seller, because it does almost nothing for me, so if you are using that, move on!

Aside from the prohibitive cost, and potential side effects, if you really do have inadequate eyelashes, maybe Latisse would be something to consider – ask your eye doctor, or Dermatologist about it.

Have you tried Latisse? Tell me what you think about it.

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Beautiful Makeup Search has a list of a bunch of beauty bloggers’ favorite beauty items for summer. I’m sure you can guess what I’ve included on the list (hint: sunscreen)!

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Lots of makeup, skin care, hair care, fragrance, and body product companies have recently created mini versions of their products to meet the needs of frequent travelers.

Check Out Sephora’s Airplane Approved Beauty Products
(type “airplane” in the search box)

There are tons of beauty products at Sephora that are airplane-approved. I also love mini products because it’s a cheaper way to test out new products before committing to a full-size pricy version. And these minis are also great to carry in your purse! Normally when I travel, I just stick all of my products in little plastic containers from Target and beauty stores, but that’s sort of a pain, and I’m always paranoid about them leaking everywhere. I just picked up a travel-size version of Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion and have lots more minis on my wishlist. Which minis have you bought recently?

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Philosophy Coconut Body Butter
Luckily Philosophy has read my mind and come out with Coconut Body Butter! I couldn’t believe my luck when I spotted it at Sephora last week. They also have a Coconut Body Scrub, Coconut Lip Shine, and a Coconut Body Gel/Shampoo/Bubble Bath. The Philosophy Coconut Collection is only available at Sephora stores (or the website).

For a cheaper alternative, I’m thinking about being naughty and buying the coconut tanning lotion at the drugstore, and mixing it with my regular moisturizer. Then if I go in the sun, I’ll put my sensible sunscreen over it to have the best of both worlds!

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Lose the Lipgloss?

Back to lip gloss…Since lip gloss is so shiny, Dermatologists theorize that it magnifies the sun’s rays, thus making your lips a prime target for skin cancer. It’s true – you can get skin cancer on your lips, and as silly as it sounds, it does make a lot of sense that lip gloss really could increase your risk of skin cancer. When you go swimming, the pool or ocean acts a giant sun reflector, and it can make you tan/burn faster than just lying on the sand.

Wear SPF on your lips!
This lip gloss press release got me to put more thought into protecting my lips with sunscreen. Currently I obsessively apply my favorite blue Chapstick, which does have an SPF of 15, and over that I apply lip gloss. Since I believe that Zinc Oxide is the best sunscreen ingredient, I want to find some other chapsticks to try, since my favorite chapstick doesn’t contain Zinc Oxide. Zinka makes an SPF 30 coconut scented lip balm, so I will definitely be trying that out!

*Neutrogena MoistureShine Lip Soother SPF 20*
The press release I received was to promote Neutrogena’s new lip glosses, which contain SPF 20 sun protection. woohoo! Now you can wear lip gloss worry-free, because these lip glosses actually protect your delicate lips from the sun. While these glosses don’t have Zinc Oxide as the sunscreen ingredient, it’s still great that they at least contain SPF. I haven’t tried them yet, but am sure I will love them, since I love all lip gloss. Neutrogena also makes MoistureShine Lip Sheer lipstick with SPF 20 if you prefer lipstick to lip gloss.

The bottom line is to remember to apply SPF to your lips. Skin cancer, brown spots on your lips, and thinning lips are all exacerbated by the sun. Also make sure to apply sunscreen above your lips as well (that’s a spot I normally forget about when I apply my daily sunscreen).

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