How to get radiant skin

Radiant skin equals beautiful skin

We all want to look radiant. We all want beautiful skin. Yes, some of this beauty comes from our genes. Yes, some of this beauty comes from eating the right foods. Yes, some of this beauty comes from taking the right beauty steps.

One of the most important beauty steps one must take is to exfoliate their skin. Exfoliation is the key to removing dead skin. We need to remove dead skin to keep our skin from looking dull. We also need to do this to keep our skin looking smooth. Smooth skin will not only feel good; it will help keep light reflecting off it properly.  One can exfoliate daily with a brush or lufah pad. However, one should use an exfoliating product no more than a couple times of times a week.

Once a week, one should consider using an at-home skin peel on their face that contains hydroxyl acids. This will help remove those dead cells and help replenish the skin. If one has sensitive skin, they may want to turn to a scrub that also contains gentle beads and some citrus.

Make moisturizing a habit. Yes, now is the time to moisturize your face. This should be done at least twice a day. This will help strengthen your skin’s lipid barrier. It will also help restore any hydration you may have lost. Plus, it will help keep your skin from becoming dry. Dry skin is the number one cause of wrinkles and fine lines.

Examine your skin for dark spots and unevenness. If you find an area that concerns you, begin treatment now before the area becomes darker or more uneven. You can do this with serums or creams that contain hydroquinone, kojic acid, soy or Vitamin C. If none of these products, consider turning to a dermatologist and discussing the idea of laser treatment.

Finally, consider using a self tanning product to add an overall glow to your skin. A product such as Jergens Natural Glow can give you a sun-kissed look without any damaging UV rays. Yes, radiant skin and glowing skin may make you feel good. Plus, it can make you look good, as well.

 

On manicures

(And getting to know your manicurist)

You're well-trained in the art of beauty. You know where to drop cash for good quality (foundation, conditioner, eye shadow) and where you can skimp for savings (mascara, shampoo, lip gloss). You also know that having someone else save you the hassle of painting your nails is a must. You know these things not because you're girly or superficial, but because you're female. It comes with the territory. 

When it comes to nail shops, you know the true from the tacky. Experience has taught you which places to avoid: the ones that neglect your cuticles and those who don't sanitize their tools. And you know where to find the artists: the ones who do great Chinese characters, lotus flowers and reverse French manicures. You even know that spending a lot for a manicure is a waste of time and money. You discovered long ago that the cheaper joints are faster, more meticulous and better at their craft than their high-end competitors. 

And now for some things that you probably don't know. Behold. The manicure is an art as old as ancient Egypt: Cleopatra wore a deep crimson while Queen Nefertiti preferred an opalescent shade of ruby. In Paris in the late 1800s, the first French manicures began to appear on the nails of the wealthy. Max Factor perfected that same look for Parisian women in the 1930s. In the United States, beautiful hands were an indulgence of the well-off: The average cost of a professional manicure in the 1970s was $65.

And now? 43 percent of all nail salons in the United States are owned and operated by Vietnamese immigrants. The explanation is not what you'd expect. The LA Times credits actress Tippi Hedren for creating the current wave of Vietnamese nail artists when, in 1975, she had her manicurist teach the trade to Vietnamese refugees. That's right. Tippi Hedren, the actress who screamed heard head off while being dive-bombed by seagulls in Hitchcock's classic horror flick, The Birds. 

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So, what does this have to do with you, the beauty expert? A lot. The next time that you get a manicure at a Vietnamese-owned salon (Try a gel, by the way: they last for three weeks and don't chip), think about the person holding your hand in hers. She's likely physically hunched over, leaning in and squinting. She's hard at work to make your fingertips perfect. And she takes great pride in her job. By being there, you're supporting both a business and someone who left behind a lot at home. 

What can you do to brighten your manicurist's day? Well, your Vietnamese skills probably don't go beyond pho' ga, and her English may not be the easiest to decipher. If she's reticent, it's not because she's rude; it's simply a language issue. If she's trying to have a conversation with you, chat back, even if you don't understand everything. 

Most of all, remember that tips are important. If you're happy with her work, leave 20 percent or more. It means a lot. It's a nice thanks from you, and it's money that will likely be wired home at the end of the month. You're an expert at looking fabulous. And now you're a better consumer, too. 

 

 

Clean your makeup brushes

I’ll admit it.  Up until about five years ago, I did not realize that I had to wash my makeup brushes.  Instead, I had just used the poor makeup brushes until they got too dirty, and simply tossed them away.  Luckily, I now know better.

Makeup brushes work a lot better when you wash them regularly.  Plus they tend to last longer when you do your best to keep them clean.  Most importantly though, is the fact that your skin is less prone to breaking out when you make it a habit to clean your makeup brushes.

Cleaning makeup brushes is a very easy task.  You do not need anything special to get it done.  With just a bottle of shampoo, you can easily get your makeup brushes squeaky clean.

Wash and lather the makeup brushes with shampoo in a similar fashion to how you would wash your hair.  Then lay the makeup brushes so that they can hang off of a table or a sink counter.  Drying the makeup brushes this way will prevent it from staying wet all day long. 

How often should you shampoo your makeup brushes?  At the very least, you should try to shampoo the makeup brushes once a week.  However, do not go with the minimum amount of cleaning your makeup brushes if you have very sensitive skin, or skin that is likely to attract pimples.  Instead, try to shampoo the makeup brushes after every single use.  If that is not possible, you can use the wipes made for cleaning makeup brushes on most days.  However, still try to shampoo at least once a week.

Co-washing: Use conditioner as shampoo

As mentioned before, using shampoo is bad for your hair.  It can cause your hair to get all tangled up and dried out.  That is why I have previously suggested that you use less shampoo.  I know the thought of not shampooing can be quite scary for some of you out there.  So instead of just rinsing your hair out with plain water, I recommend that you try giving co-washing a chance.What is co-washing?  It is when you use conditioner to wash your hair instead of shampoo.  The cleansing agent in conventional shampoo is too abrasive and damaging toward your hair.  Meanwhile, conditioner is able to wash your in a much gentler fashion.  So it is more appropriate to wash with conditioner than with shampoo on a regular basis.

How often should you co-wash your hair?  That depends on your hair and your own personal preference.  You can use conditioner to wash your hair everyday, or you can opt to only co-wash a few times a week.  To find out what suits your hair best, test out different frequency of co-washing.  As of this week, I am washing my hair with conditioner six times a week.  Then on the one other day, I use both shampoo and conditioner. 

How much conditioner should you use?  Only use a small amount.  Using too much conditioner can weigh your hair down.  For my waist-length hair, I only use a nickel-size amount.  I leave the conditioner in my hair for about ten minutes, and then I rinse it clean.

Hydrate your hair with less shampoo

I have long hair.  In fact, for most of my adult life, I have had long hair.  I have tried cutting my hair really short once, but it just did not work for me.  So I made a vow to always have my hair at least past the shoulders.

Being Asian, I have been blessed with what people would consider to be “good hair.”  So I have had no problem getting my hair to grow out.  The long hours running in the sun and summers spent in swimming pools never caused any major damages to my hair.  Even the blonde hair phase did not cause too many problems for me.  Therefore, I was rather surprised when my hair started getting extremely dry and tangled up almost overnight.

It happened when my hair was at its greatest length—falling to the small of my back.  All of a sudden, my normal hair washing routine was no longer enough to keep my hair manageable.  I started investing in deep conditioners.  However, even that was not enough.  So I turned to Google for some help, and realized the problem was probably with the fact that I was shampooing my hair every single day.

Turns out shampoo is bad for the condition of hair.  It can dry out hair drastically.  However, I was not ready to just stop washing my hair.  My hair stylist recommended that I try to cut back on shampooing a little at a time—like I should start off by shampooing every other day.  Then as I get used to shampooing less, I can then cut back on how often I use shampoo even more.  So for the last six months I have been shampooing three times a week and my hair is no longer dried out.

Origins Skin Tone Correcting Serum

Product receiving mixed reviews from users

The human skin is rather fragile.  So after so many years of life, your skin is prone to be damaged in one way or another.  The sun can especially cause your skin to look less than perfect.  However, even if you are not a worshiper of the sun, you are still likely to suffer from some type of damage to your skin.  That is because normal stuff like acne can be sure to leave behind scars on your skin. The presence of dark age spots and acne marks on your skin can make your skin tone look uneven.  If the condition is bad enough, not even makeup is going to be enough to hide the imperfections.  So instead of trying to hide the flaws of your skin, you might be better off treating the age spots and acne marks.

There are various lotions and serums on the market claiming to have the power to even out skin tone.  One that currently has a rather strong ad campaign is the skin tone correction serum from Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins.  It claims to have the power to dramatically improve uneven skin tone in just four short weeks. With such a claim in place, the Origins skin tone correcting serum has been getting a lot of attention from the bloggers online. 

So far the reviews have been pretty mixed.  Some claimed to have their skin tone looking brighter and more even as promised.  Meanwhile, others have seen no difference at all in their skin tone.

Ditch the shampoo for healthier hair

How using less product actually improves your locks

You'll probably think I'm gross for saying this, but I might as well just come right out: I've been using the same bottle of shampoo for more than two years.

I know this because it's the kind that's supposed to protect colored hair from fading quite so quickly, and two years ago I colored my hair purple for the second time in my life. I remember using this very same bottle in the disgusting apartment in D.C. that I shared with two girls who couldn't clean a room if their lives depended on it. It came back with me to Chicago and lived with me through two apartments and I'm still squeezing pink goop out of the bottom of it as of today.

It's not one of those gallon jugs with a squeeze pump, either. This is a regular old double-size Herbal Essences bottle, the kind you pick up on sale for like five bucks when CVS is having a special. It's just that over the past two years, I simply have not washed my hair enough to necessitate buying a replacement.

I've gone through a couple conditioner bottles if only because my hair is a wild tangly underbrush that needs to be tamed with generous helpings of the slick stuff. (When I was 14 and had hair down to my waist, I could easily go through half a bottle of conditioner in a single shower.) But the 'poo? Not so much.

 

My shower-averse tendencies all started in that gross apartment, where the bathroom rug was literally rotting and there was nowhere clean to put your clothes while you showered. Despite the fact that I'd just cleaned myself, I'd actually feel dirtier post-shower just by having had to stand in the bathroom for 20 minutes. So I showered less and less, and by the end of the summer I was lucky if I could get myself to step into the tub twice a week.

My hygiene habits improved a bit when I moved back into my own apartment in Chicago, but during that summer I noticed something about my hair: the less I washed it, the better it looked. Sure, the frosty, air-conditioned environment in which it dried probably had something to do with its new sleekness, but it looked shinier, healthier too. It's almost like all those shampoos and conditioners were doing the opposite of what they advertised--instead of imbuing my hair with that shiny, healthy bounce, they were stripping it away.

I'm not the only one who's realized this. More and more people are giving up shampoo entirely, opting to rub a little baking soda into their hair once in a while or just rinse it in the shower. No harsh detergents, nothing to strip away the natural oils that are designed to coat your strands. I'm still taking a trickle out of that same bottle to scrub out the grease from my roots, but for the most part, I've gone shampoo-free. And honestly, my hair has never looked better. It's still got that scruffy, wavy edge to it, but it's shiny, full, sleek and healthy. Good to know that the only product I really need is the stuff that's already coming out of my scalp. 

Nails aren’t just for looks

When mine break, I freak out—but not for the reason you think.

As a so-called tomboy growing up, every time I heard an assumption made about a female—whether in person or on TV—I would roll my eyes, growl, and sometimes even become quite cross with people. One of the worst offenders to me was when they’d have a girl character squeak, “Oh no, I broke a nail!” if she chipped a fingernail.

How bloody insulting! As if that’s what women really worry about, right? We’ve got our kids, our jobs, our homes, bills, families, lives, and hopefully interests—yet we’re going to throw a fit over a damn fingernail. Let me tell you something, folks; this generalization doesn’t apply with all women, and certainly not with the majority that I know.

That said… I do freak out when I break a fingernail.

I know, what a hypocrite, right? But it’s not a vanity thing. In fact, my nails are very rarely painted—ever since I found out about the chemicals and formaldehyde they put in nail polish, it just hasn’t been as attractive to me. The reason I hate it when I break a fingernail is that it throws my hands off balance when I type. My nails are what I often type with, and when I do some heavy duty cleaning or hang up pictures or whatever, I sometimes break one—and then when I type, my hands feel lopsided. Not fun!

My nails also come in useful every day. They are my pocket knives; I use them to open letters or plastic wrap or tiny toys for my daughter. I use them to score clay when we make sculptures. My nails come in handy for everything from cooking to picking out splinters, scraping tiny things out of holes or scratched surfaces (such as a Lego head from a crack in the table), and so many other things! Breaking off one of my nails is like taking my husband’s Xacto knife away from him.

Each nail even has its own best uses; my thumbnails are the strongest, for example, and I use them the most for opening things. My right ring finger was very useful when I had to clean out a broken tooth—now repaired with a crown, thankfully—that floss simply would not reach. My forefinger nails are likely the most useful in daily activities, though when I type, I must admit it is my pinky nails that must stretch the furthest, enabling my small hands to comfortably reach each key, that I rely on most. And it’s my pinky nails that I broke this week while doing some heavy duty spring cleaning and furniture moving!

So the next time you think that breaking a nail is a trivial offense solely related to beauty, think again. We’re humans; we have a use for everything.

Review of Sinful Colors Professional Nail Polish

Sinful Colors Professional Nail Polish never fails to amaze me with quality of polish that comes in such a low-cost bottle. The price falls between $0.99 and $1.99, cheaper than a cup of coffee or gallon of gas. I absolutely love this company's polish but I only wear it when I'm in the mood for something bright because most of Sinful's colors stand out in the crowd. Right now I have on an almost neon pink called “Cream Pink” which makes me feel like I'm channeling my inner pop star. Try out this polish if you have fun showing off your nails for the sake of fashion and beauty. Even if you don't, you can still paint your toes with the color or pick one of the more muted shades in their collection, which the company does produce a few of. The next one on my list to paint my nails with that's not as much of a stand out and say “look at me” color as the one I'm wearing now is the “Glass Pink” shade. It's lighter and has more sparkle than “Cream Pink.”

I find that applying two coats of this polish works best when your painting your nails. It seems to fade faster if I only use one coat; the color stands out much more with two. One of the best things that I have found out about this brand is that after apply two coats, the polish tends to stay on for up to a week. I have never seen this before with such a cheap bottle. Sally Hanson is the only other nail polish that I've seen work this well for a home manicure. Pick up a bottle of Sinful Colors Professional Nail Polish the next time you're at the store in need of a fresh take on your everyday mani.

 

How to Make a Homemade Hair Conditioner

"I love the hair mask made with honey, mayonnaise and egg that I'm about to share with you"

Making your own beauty products at home saves you bundles of money, according to Real Simple Magazine in an article titled “All-Natural Homemade Beauty Products.” Taking everyday household ingredients such as honey, avocado, baking soda and oatmeal and turning them into beauty products works just as well as the fancy treatment you would get at a spa because most of them use fresh ingredients because they work on sensitive skin. The trick is to experiment with a couple of different recipes to see what works best on your skin, hair and scalp.

For example, I love the hair mask made with honey, mayonnaise and egg that I'm about to share with you because it brings out the shine in my hair. Olive oil, however, does not work in my hair if I leave it on for any length of time. My strands become this weird consistency that I can't stand. For someone else, though, olive oil may work to moisturize and replenish dull strands.

 

Homemade Conditioner

Things You'll Need:

  • Honey
  • Mayonnaise
  • Egg
  • Shower Cap

Directions:

  1. Crack one egg in a small bowl and beat until you have a smooth consistency.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons of honey to the mixture and stir until both ingredients blend well.
  3. Place 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise in with the egg and honey and stir until all the ingredients form a smooth consistency.
  4. Smooth the ingredients through your hair until all your strands are covered with the conditioning mask.
  5. Twist up your hair, place a shower cap over it and set the timer for 25 minutes. Relax in the tub or read a magazine for to escape into bliss while your waiting for your hair to set.
  6. Rinse off the mask and shampoo and conditioner as you normally would.

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