Category — Beauty Tips

Someone asked me the other day how to prevent wrinkles completely. Well, you can’t really do that. Your face is so exposed to elements on a daily basis that it does take a toll. Here’s what happens and what you can do to minimize the appearance of wrinkles.

Two major thing happen that make your skin show its age. First of all, the collagen and elastic fibers that keeps it firm start to break down in response to free radicals and other environmental effects. Secondly, there’s this spongy material between those fibers called hyaluronic acid. This lets your skin retain a healthy plumpness that prevents fine lines and deep wrinkles. Alas, this acid replenishes itself more slowly as we age.

So the best bet is to seek out anti wrinkle skin care products that address those main concerns. Here are a couple of suggestions. If you are just starting to notice fine lines, then the Philosophy Booster Serum For Aging Skin 1 oz is a good healing and preventative measure. It’s full of antioxidants that fight free radicals, and it goes on very lightly each night.

If you are fighting deeper wrinkles, then I’ve found a really powerful serum that is designed to repair tissue at a deep cellular level. Basically, it gets between the top and lower layers of your skin cells to plump up wrinkles from within. The Klein-Becker Strivectin™-HS Hydro-Thermal Deep Wrinkle Serum 0.9 oz has a good reputation as a deep wrinkle fighter.

Remember, your goal is to find anti wrinkle skin care products that will give you healthier skin; because healthy and hydrated skin goes a long way to reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Don’t underestimate the power of your senses! One of my strongest childhood memories is the smell of this peachy cereal that my mom used to feed me as a baby. Every once in a while I’ll get a whiff of it and I’m catapulted back to memories of being cared for and protected. Powerful stuff right?

I’m sure you’re aware of aromatherapy (using certain scents to induce desired emotions), maybe with candles or oils. But have you discovered aromatherapy skin care products?

The same smells that can stimulate or relax your brain are now appearing in products for your skin. I don’t usually have a problem being invigorated, but letting myself calm down at the end of a day is really rough. My mind is in overdrive, and my body seems to follow.

Now I know that lavender is one of those scents that are supposed to relax and calm you, so I decided to see if I could find any aromatherapy skin care products that would help me unwind at the end of the day. (No- beer and chocolate are not scents!)

What I discovered is the Decleor Paris Aromessence Angelique Night Balm. This is a rich, creamy balm that felt great on my itchy skin, both when I put it on, and the next morning. It infused with rosemary, geranium, and chamomile aromas. Now I can’t say that I put on the night balm and achieved instant Zen. But I definitely slowed down.

Just the process of smoothing a creamy, non-greasy, balm over my dry legs felt luxurious. But the floral scents really added to my feeling of pampering myself. Now I’m not sure how much of the benefits I felt were from the aromas themselves and how much was from the action of just slowing down and “stopping to smell the lavender”, but I definitely felt more relaxed.

Oh yeah, for the rest of the night, as I read my book and drifted off to sleep, I kept getting whiffs of flowers, just like it was coming in the window on a gentle breeze. I genuinely enjoyed my aromatherapy experience. In fact, I’ll keep my eyes (and nose) peeled for more aromatherapy skin care products and let you know what else seems to live up to its name.

Sincerely, Caterina Christakos - founder of href=”http://www.stillagirl.com”>stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Makeup Advice Get a Flawless Face

Before you spend anytime listening to makeup advice on how to match skin tone, or the best shades for your coloring, you had better make sure you’ve got the basics down first. Whenever I run across an article dispensing makeup advice I think, “Where’s the info on choosing a foundation, and getting your skin ready?” So here it is.

According to me, who spends hours on end reading up on the latest skincare and makeup advice around, you need a firm foundation before you can build a castle. (Your beautiful face being the castle, see?) One of the biggest mistakes women make is to throw makeup onto a face that is not smooth and ready for it.

Step one needs to be your skin care regimen. You might want to try the Dr. Brandt Skincare Pores No More. Minimizing your pores will go a long way to making your face look smooth and flawless. You also might try the Clarisonic Skincare Brush to gently exfoliate and remove dead and dry skin that can interfere with makeup application.

Step two involves choosing a foundation that will address your main issues (redness, blemishes ect..) as well as one that heals skin while you wear it. One of my favorites continues to be the i.d. bare Minerals SPF 15 Foundation. I think this does a great job at evening out skin tone, and the minerals are actually good for your skin. The i.d. Multitasking SPF 20 Minerals is especially good as a concealer for blemishes, acne scars and general redness.

Once you’ve taken these 2 steps your skin is truly ready for the rest of your makeup. Try something fun like the Smashbox O-GLOW . Get this- it’s an intuitive blush. That means you just smooth the gel over your cheeks and in seconds it will turn the shade of your natural blush. Talk about talking the guesswork out of choosing makeup shades. Don’t you love makeup advice that makes your life easier?

 Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

How to Get Free Makeup Samples

I must admit that “try before you buy” is a phrase that brings out my inner thrifty-girl. And “free makeup samples” has me looking a bit like Pavlov’s dog. (But cuter, less hairy.) Anyway, I have some great ways to get free and almost free makeup samples online, or down the street. Here are my favorites.

1. Find a coupon- There are a lot of free coupons available online if you just visit the right website. The key is finding the samples you want to try, not the cheapest makeup on earth. But it can be done. Try www.retailmenot.com and it will give you those elusive coupon codes for online purchases. Anything from Bliss to Philosophy is up for grabs. Let me know your best win from this site.
2. Meet a professional- If you go online to your favorite vendor and type in “stores and events”, or something similar you’ll find out when professional makeup artists will be in your area. Not only do you get great beauty tips and makeup advice, a lot of the time you will get free makeup samples. For instance, www.sephora.com has both a dermatologist talking about sun sense and a workshop on the Bare Escentuals line touring this summer. Now there are some samples I’d like to get my hands on.
3. Secret Freebies- Sometimes you just have to know where to look. Try typing “free samples” into the find bar at whatever site you visit. While most people never even think of this, it’s a great way to test out new products.

You can also try sites that offer a wide range of free makeup samples and other freebies. Just a word to the wise here, a lot of these sites are looking for your contact information to sell you more stuff. So be careful of how often you send your private information into cyberspace. But overall there are some really good free makeup samples out there once you know where to look.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Makeup Beauty Tips for an Easy French Manicure

I love the look of a French Manicure, especially on toes in the summertime. It looks so clean and fresh. A great French Manicure has straight bright white lines marking the tips of your nails and a very light, pale, almost translucent pink over the rest. While I know a lot of you also like the look, many girls tell me it’s too much trouble to make the French Manicure look just right. Never fear, I’ve got super simple makeup beauty tips for the easiest manicure you will every have.

If you read my blog on a regular basis you know I’m a firm believer in having the right tools for a job. Your makeup case, or in this case nail care kit, is not fully equipped if you don’t have the essentials tools. So, if you don’t have it- (this is the bargain tip of the day) go get the Sephora French Tips & Toes Manicure Pen. Sephora offers one for only $8, and it is soooo easy to use. It’s just an angled tip that lets you paint the tips of your toes or fingernails in a perfectly straight line. I tried this pen, and just love it.

With summer coming up I have weddings, graduations and all sorts of places to be in my open-toed sandals. And I have to say my cute shoes look so much nicer when my toes are cheery too! (Can you tell I’m starting to get a bit of summer fever?) The best makeup beauty tips I can give you are easy, inexpensive and darn cute. So Girls, go forth and look good!

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls