Product worth the purchase

Let's take a minute to talk about Rimmel Show Off lip lacquer. If you're looking for some highly pigmented lip colors, these are for you. Not only do they come in 9 beautiful colors that range from a nude to a hot pink, they also go on like butter. They leave you with a satin smooth shine that feels incredibly comfortable on the lips like you're not wearing anything. Incredibly smooth and creamy and last on the lips much longer than a normal lipgloss, almost like a stain. Aside from the weird smell, that almost smells floral like, these beautiful lacquer lip colors are a must have. Try them out, you will be surprised how much you end up loving them and for a price tag of only $4.99 these can't be beat.

Wearing the Rimmel Show Off Lip lacquer in "Stellar".

 

Facial Scrubs

 

I know we all have had moments of desperation and grab any facial scrubs at the drugstore hoping that it would do the job it says it's going to without hurting our skin too badly. I know I religiously used the St. Ives apricot scrub for many years without even questioning what it's really doing to the skin. After learning more about skin and earning my license as an Esthetician, I'm here to tell you, STOP USING ST. IVES! As the granules of the scrub are too large it ends up just scratching and tearing the skin as opposed to exfoliating. Thus, it allows bacteria to grow in the surface of the tiny scratches/tears. It can even end up causing inflammation and if used over a period of time, it can cause premature aging (fine lines and wrinkles).

 

Picking out a good exfoliator can be a tough task and sometimes leaves your brain in a massive jumbled mess. I know it's taken awhile for me to finally find scrubs that do the job they are intended to do and are gentle on the skin. The key to exfoliating is to not over do it. Start out by exfoliating just 2-3x a week, if you eventually want to do it more, work your skin up to it. Over exfoliating is just as bad on your skin as using harmful products on it. Try these products out, they might cost more, but ingredients is always critical, especially when you're putting it on your face.

 

 

 



• Lush - Let the Good Times Roll - Probably my favorite exfoliator/cleanser ever. It smells amazing like a delicious cookie. Not to mention the ingredients consist of popcorn, corn meal and cinnamon. It cleans the skin gently and leaves it oh so soft!
• Boots No7 Total Renewal Micro-dermabrasion - Made with Aluminum-oxide crystals, the same as dermatologists that smooth, refine and renew the skin. A great at home micro dermabrasion scrub that gives you results and leaves the skin smooth and improves the texture.
• Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant -  Great for all skin types, this finely milled rice based powder is incredibly gentle on the skin. Makes it so soft and smooth. Just add water and exfoliate away!
• Michael Todd True Organics Tropical Fruit Facial Polish - Another one of my favorite scrubs. It smells like heaven and it works so amazingly on the skin. Made with enzymes that eat away dead skin cells leaving the skin soft and smooth. Great for all skin types!

Physical and Chemical Sunscreen; what's the difference?

There's no doubt that sunscreen is one of the most important elements in anyone's daily regime. As an esthetician, I am always taking extra caution as to what I apply to my skin and how it will make my skin look when I'm older. Sunscreen is an absolute essential to prevent premature aging and potential cancers. Before you go and stock up on sunscreen for the rest of the season take into consideration the two types of sunscreen and how they can benefit you.

 

Sunscreens fall into two different types of categories; physical and chemical. Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing ultraviolet radiation (UVR) to minimize its impact on the skin, while physical sunscreens work by reflecting UVR away from the skin. Here's a little more about each:

 

Chemical:

• 
  Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing the sun's rays although some chemical filters can scatter sun rays, but still mostly just absorb them. They contain ingredients such as avobenzone, oxybenzone, and helioplex that act as filters to absorb UVR. They are usually colorless, odorless and more on the runny side than physical sunscreens.

• Chemical sunscreen is best suited for ladies (and males) with a minimal skin routine. They tend to be more irritating on the skin and can cause a reaction if you have sensitive skin. Can also be doubled as a makeup primer depending on the formulation.

 

Physical:  

• Physical sunscreens protect your skin from the sun by deflecting or blocking the sun's rays. They contain ingredients such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Titanium dioxide protects against UVB rays, but not the full spectrum of UVA rays. Zinc oxide protects against the entire spectrum of UVB and UVA rays. They also tend to be thick and opaque and tend to be harder to apply. They also leave a white cast or tint on the skin.

• Physical sunscreens are best suited for all skin types, although if you tend to break out when using mineral makeup, avoid physical sunscreens with titanium dioxide as the main ingredient. This type tends to rub off easily, so make sure you apply it more frequently than you would a chemical sunscreen.

 

Another misconception about sunscreen is, the higher the SPF the better. This is not entirely true. It is recommend to use at least an SPF 50 whenever you're in the sun, or an SPF 40 on the face daily. Sunscreens with really high SPFs, such as SPF 75 or SPF 100, do not offer significantly greater protection than SPF 30 and mislead people into thinking they have more protection than they actually do. Additionally, in order to have broad spectrum protection, the UVA protection should be at least 1/3 of the UVB protection. High SPF sunscreens usually offer far greater UVB than UVA protection, thus offering a false sense of full protection.

 

To read more about SPF in sunscreens, check out FDA's page.